07 January, 2009

The Human Voice

I overheard a conversation between two colleagues, one of which I have never met before. What became apparent during the course of the conversation was the nasally voice the one gentleman had, kinda Ray Barron'ish, only a bit higher. I found it unexpected given the man was of average build/height.

I began thinking, is a person's speaking voice a product of their environment or genetics. Surely there are elements of speaking that are learned, namely command of presence, speaking with authority and projection. But what of the other vocal properties? It isn't hard to imagine limiting factors of an poor vocal product, we've all been at a meeting/presentation of a speaker with a distracting voice. Albert Einstein himself wouldn't be taken seriously if he sounded like Shirley Temple.

As a parent, can you prevent your kid from developing a poor voice. Can you beat them early and often enough, training them into a better voice that will one day command a presence in any room they enter?

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