Elocution

Elocution training enables people to use their voice and speech to their full potential. A clear, expressive voice is vital for effective communication in today’s society.   The voice and speech training which you receive in our elocution sessions will enable you to present yourself with poise, clarity and confidence.

In our elocution training will you will learn to produce speech which is attractive and pleasant to listen to. Diction must be crisp and clear with consonants sounded sharply. We use tongue twisters, poems and prose pieces to practice speaking clearly. The mouth must be open to allow sounds out and for the voice to resonate.  Vowel sounds, where appropriate, can be sculpted and breath control taught for good support of the voice.

In all elocution training the intonation and interest in the voice is of prime importance. Slow, clear speech then becomes the basis for interesting tune and variation in pitch, pace, volume, emphasis and colour.

Body language is vital. Sitting up or standing straight, with head up, shoulders back, looking relaxed and symmetrical is very important for non-verbal communication and to allow free and easy breathing. If you cannot breathe, not only will you die but you will not be able to speak either. Another very important part of body language is eye contact. You must ensure that you include everyone that you are addressing.

Very importantly you must learn not to say “um”, “right”, “like”, “you know”, “sort of”. These meaningless fillers immediately tell your listeners that you are lacking in both confidence and intelligence and make your speech very hard to follow.

Most clients who come to us for elocution coaching need to start with the “golden rules” listed below.  Before you come for training you would do well to examine your voice, speech and body language to see how many of these areas you can improve on. In our elocution sessions we will use audio and video recording to assist you in monitoring your progress as well as an MP3 recording of each session to take away with you on your own USB recording device. 

The golden rules are :

OPEN YOUR MOUTH,

END YOUR WORDS,

SPEAK SLOWLY,

SIT UP STRAIGHT,

MAKE EYE CONTACT

AND………………..

DON’T SAY UM.

Believe it or not, following these simple rules will help to improve many of the problems that we see – from accents to stammers, from acting to speech impediments.