Intonation and Voice
A message can be added to the words we are using in a spoken sentence by using an intonation in our voice. Intonation is used to convey our feelings and attitudes; anything we say can be communicated in a variety of ways by using different intonations. For example, the same sentence can be said in different ways, which might be labeled “angry”, “happy”, “grateful”, “bored”, and so on. This will let the receiver know what way the message needs to be interpreted. When talking on the phone we cannot make use of body signals like gestures, facial expression and touch. The receiver cannot see our body language and therefore we often compensate for that by putting more emphasis on the way we use the intonations in our voice. To put it in the broadest possible terms, we can see that intonation makes it easier for a listener to understand what a speaker is trying to convey.
It is also possible to hear emotions in a voice. Our voice will tremble if we are feeling emotional and still need to continue talking. The tremble can indicate various emotions and can be interpreted differently by men and women, as well as by each individual. The whole range of emotions and ways to express them is not only closely related to the intonations in our voice and body language but also to our breathing. For example, when we sigh, laugh or cry.
Silences are another important aspect in communication. When we are silent we are also communicating! What we communicate depends on what kind of silence it is. Mostly the subject of the conversation plays a major role in this. To not talk , to be silent in company when there is a lot of talking is an art in itself. Many people tend to think that when there is a silence there is just nothing more to say. However, it often means that people are trying to figure out something intuitively about themselves or the others. Quite often too they are noticing something about the body language of the others and are paying attention to that. Again, the time in between words provides feeling and thinking space for people. Generally, the more emotionally loaded the subject is, the more silences we need.
To put it briefly, our voice consists of many elements, such as tone, rhythm, pitch, loudness and so on. For maximum teaching effectiveness, it is advisable not to speak in a monotone. Listeners perceive such instructors as boring and dull. Students report that they learn less and lose interest more quickly when listening to teachers who have not learned to modulate their voices.
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