What can change? In 7 seconds.

What can we really change about how we communicate? And will it actually make a difference? It’s difficult to describe the impact on a message that altering your delivery can have.

Well, as the old saying goes, an mp3 is worth a thousand words.

Listen to these 7 seconds. It is a recording of one phrase, delivered before and after one dedicated client’s work with me.

It says so much about the importance of intonation and rate in delivering a message. Hard to explain, but easy to understand once you hear it. The second message is more expressive, clearer, and not as harsh as the first attempt.

This is the kind of work that I do. (To be clear, it takes more than 7 seconds to get here. But it’s worth it.)

There are many factors that can change how a message is received:

  • intonation
  • articulatory precision
  • use of pausing
  • pitch range
  • breath support
  • sentence stress and rhythm
  • linking
  • rate
  • voice resonance
  • volume

What would you change?