4 Characteristics of Good Public Speaking

The voice is a powerful motivator and influences your audience on many levels. Your vocal tone is
considered an element of body language as it doesnt directly relate to your content or word choice. The
elements of ones voice are broken down into several categories and by changing one them, your overall
message can change dramatically. Think about a time when someone said he or she was sorry for
something but his or her tone didnt seem sincere. Think about how sarcasm is conveyed.
Tension, shallow breathing and nerves all tend to flatten out your vocal variety and thereby blunt your
intentions. Additionally, reading from someone elses script, not paying attention to what youre saying
or being unclear as to why you are saying it, also effects your inflections and prevents you from
sounding sincere.
Ideally as a speaker you are connected to your overall goal or objective and are clear on what your
intentions are for your supporting material. If you are clear on your action or intention then your voice
naturally will reflect it. Sometimes, if the intention isnt that dramatic, its useful as an exercise to
consciously change your vocal intonations to add some interest to your subject. This is working from the
outside in and can help you break any vocal habits. Below is a list of the vocal elements and what they
can convey:
PITCH: Lower or deeper tones denote: authority, strength, masculine energy, tired, bored.
High tone: excitement, enthusiasm, emotional, feminine energy, anxiety, tension
Even tone: controlled, in command, monotone, unconnected to material, unemotional or covering up.
VOLUME:
Obviously we need to hear you, however
Louder can: emphasize a point, create energy, wake up the audience, show authority and command an
audience. OR it can overpower an audience, be too demanding and come across as berating.
Softer volume can: create drama and emphasize a point, force your audience to listen intently and
move in towards the speaker, denote a serious, somber tone. This can be terribly annoying to an
audience if they cant hear you, it shows timidity or covering up (not wanting to be heard.)
PACE: Ideal pace: 150 180 WPM, including pauses.
Fast: excited, exuberant, young, has a lot to say, doesnt want to waste time OR unorganized,
overbearing, unintelligible, confusing.
Slow: deliberate, in command, authority, taking special care to be right, emotional OR lying, too much
thought, can put an audience to sleep.
Even pace = monotone
PAUSES: Stress key points (almost like an underline) before or after a word or point, give your audience
time to process your point, work well between points, add drama, can wake up an audience. OR can
create a halting tone, confuse the audience, show timidity.
Voice type is a system for categorizing classical and operatic solo singers, and the roles they sing, by the
tessitura, weight and timbre of their un-amplified voices in an opera house or concert hall. This
classification system is a tool for singers, composers, venues and listeners to categorize vocal properties,
and to associate possible roles with potential voices.
The term tessitura generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable timbre for a given
voice or, less frequently, musical instrument. This often refers specifically to the pitch range that most
frequently occurs within a given piece, or part, of music.
Tessitura considerations include these factors: proportion of sudden or gradual rises and falls in pitch -
speed of pitch changes; the relative number of very high or low notes; whether lines and phrases of
music in the piece tend to rise or fall C the muscular abilities of a singer may be more suited to one or
the other direction.
Coloratura describes a style of vocal embellishment, as well as the voices able to perform them.
Female Voice Types:
Soprano
Lyric coloratura soprano C A very agile voice with a high upper extension, capable of fast vocal
coloratura.
Dramatic coloratura soprano C A coloratura soprano with a large voice which can sustain fast
coloratura at full volume and sing over an orchestra, but does not necessarily have the upper extension
of a lyric coloratura soprano.
Lyric soprano - A warm voice with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra.
Light lyric - Light lyrics often have a full package of musicianship, appearance and stagecraft.
Full lyric - Some full lyrics may have a more mature sound than light lyrics, making them less suitable for
some of the lighter roles. Occasionally a full lyric will have a big enough voice that she can take on much
heavier roles, using volume in place of vocal weight. This is done when a more lyric timbre is desired in
an otherwise heavier role. Otherwise full lyric sopranos need be judicious with spinto and other heavy
roles to prevent vocal deterioration.
Spinto soprano - It has the brightness and height of a lyric soprano, but can be "pushed" to dramatic
climaxes without strain, and may have a somewhat darker timbre. It generally uses squillo to "slice"
though a full orchestra (rather than singing over it like a dramatic soprano). It also handles dynamic
changes very well.
Dramatic soprano - A powerful, rich voice that can sing over a full orchestra. Usually (but not always)
this voice has a lower tessitura than other sopranos, and a darker timbre. - Used for heroic, tragic
women of opera.
Wagnerian soprano - A dramatic voice that can assert itself over a large orchestra (over eighty pieces);
substantial, very powerful and even throughout the registers. Usually plays a mythic heroine. Successful
Wagnerian sopranos are rare, only one or two appear in a generation; arguably there are none singing
today.
Mezzo-soprano - A mezzo-soprano's range can be the same as a sopranos; some mezzo roles call for
the "soprano C", but the tessitura is lower. Mezzo voices tend to be quite versatile and able to take on a
variety of roles with success.
Lyric mezzo-soprano - A higher and sometimes lighter mezzo voice and can have a range up to or above
high C.
Dramatic mezzo-soprano C A fuller and often lower voice than a lyric mezzo; can sing over an orchestra
and chorus with ease.
Contralto/Alto
Contralto is the lowest female operatic voice, usually with a deep and dark timbre. True operatic
contraltos are very rare. Technically, "alto" is only a separate category in choral music where it refers
simply to the vocal range.
Male Voice Types:
Tenor
Leggiero tenor - The male equivalent of a lyric coloratura voice, this is an often light and very agile tenor
voice, capable of coloratura and able to sing notes above the tenor C.
Lyric tenor - A strong yet not heavy voice.
Spinto tenor - Heavier than a lyric and more dramatic.
Dramatic tenor - A powerful, rich, heroic tenor.
Heldentenor - A rich, powerful, and dramatic voice.
Baritone
Lyric baritone - High tessitura and lighter voice, quite often a comic character.
Dramatic baritone - Lower tessitura than a lyric, rich and full voice.
Bass-baritone
Bass-baritone - Also called "Heldenbariton", a bass-baritone has the tessitura of a baritone but the
lower range that is customary of a bass. Bass-baritones play a variety of roles, and frequently play either
villainous characters, or regal older men.
Bass
Basso cantante - Has agility but also a deep tone.
Basso profondo - A rich and deep, extremely dark dramatic male bass voice. Operatic bassi profondi are
rare, and these roles are sung by most operatic basses.