Via narrative and story, ancient cultures sustained their unique history and practices. Tribal elders, scribes, seafarers, philosophers, merchants, minstrels, dissenters, generals and politicians all played their part in capturing, telling and influencing change via written and spoken narrative. In contemporary times, narrative and story continue to be ways of exploring, explaining, educating and working things out.
At the centre of narrative is the human voice; without this voice the story ceases to live, to be.
In my experience, the voice of the narrator, in the telling and retelling of the tale, contributes to the elicitation of intellectual and emotional responses in listeners. Thus the acoustic resonance of the storyteller’s voice aligns with the story bones to flesh out the narrative and drive home key points of the telling.
It continues to trouble me that many narrators use only those vocal elements they have discovered by chance. To use voice to full effect, each narrator requires a deep understanding of their unique vocal impact, thereby embracing vocal delivery choices and honouring the particular requirements their voice brings to the narrative context.
One vocal practice strategy I’m particularly eager to share with you is experiencing the sheer joy of the speaking voice as sound; an experience that enables the understanding of each voice’s natural boundaries. Within those boundaries, you’ll discover how much acoustic richness you have to draw upon when you speak. Children do this constantly; as adults we have lost the art of ‘voice-play’. Without exception, the purpose of adult ‘voice-play’ is focused on tangible, measurable outcomes. It uncovers the untapped potential we each hold in the unexplored depths of our vocal mechanism. And we move forward from this with a greater appreciation of the voice’s innate ability to authentically communicate thoughts and feelings that prompt desired actions and responses.
After all, it is the voice that gives colour, light, mood, resonance, texture and meaning to narrative. And it is that colour, resonance and texture that takes narrative listeners on their individual, internal journey of response to the story and, ultimately, the fulfillment of its strategic purpose.
Please ask questions and comment in order to expand and share the appreciation of human voice, its significance in business contexts and importance to business narratives and business narrative purpose.
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Looking forward to practising some voice play with you at Origins. Any suggestions how I might indulge in some in the privacy of my own home before the big event? What would be some good warm up exercises?
Also I would love your thoughts on that story voice you sometime here when people get into a sound of telling you a story. It sounds rehearsed and artificial to me. Love to hear your thoughts.
Hello Shawn,
Purposeful voice-play at Origins focuses on sound-stories and then the sounds in words that expand stories. Thus the craft of the story-writer and the story-teller integrate.
Voice-play pre-conference? Experiment with these:
With your eyes closed, listen to speech around you – radio, tv and general conversation. And ask the question: ‘How did they do that with their voice?’ when interest is piqued. And try it out if you wish (with appropriate vocal care in place).
Listen to your audio-recordings and uncover some of your personal verbal-to-acoustic patterns. And ask the question: ‘What am I doing here? And what else can I do to fill my voice with the story?’ If you decide to experiment, remember to work with your voice, not against it. If, when experimenting, the voice resists, feels strained, tight or sore – STOP. Remember the membranes that line the nose, mouth, throat and the vocal folds themselves are very delicate – thinner than the finest, lightest paper. Those membranes are giving you feedback on the action you are taking. STOP, rest and try something else another day. I cannot emphasise this enough.
Focus on caring for your voice – a fabulous full-body relaxation exercise is on its way to you. Being in a relaxed, ready state is the first step of three that allow full vocal release. I’ll cover these three steps in a practical way at the conference. (And am willing to upload somewhere on this site an audio talk through of that full body relaxation if you wish).
Have fun – play with the sounds in words – see if you can stretch them, lift them, fulfil the meaning of the word in the way that you say them.
And thoughts on ‘that story voice’ you comment upon; I believe I know what you mean. I first heard of it when studying voice at uni. It was named by one lecturer as ‘the voice beautiful’ and described as being where and when the speaker ‘falls in love’ with the sound of the voice rather than being present vocally, verbally, intellectually, emotionally, physically and in spirit, as they are speaking. As a result, ‘the voice beautiful’ becomes dominant rather than the content and its purpose within context. A disconnect arises between the speaker and the content; you’ve named this as the voice being artificial.
This phenomenon can also occur when a storyteller is very familiar with the story and has told it many times. Hence the story rolls off ‘by rote’ and sounds rehearsed because the teller is on ‘auto-pilot’ rather than speaking, thinking, telling and feeling ‘in the moment’. I trust this short expose helps!
Hi Shawn,
As it goes, the tweet about this post got me in the middle of writing something about the subject. If you’re interested – I’ll post it later on today or tomorrow. In the meanwhile – ever seen ‘InkHeart’?
Regards,
Hello Limor,
Of great interest in your article is your natural response to step back and rest the voice. An example of natural, spontaneous voice care at work.
And the magic that you speak of is the connecting point between unique voice, the speaker and their innate delivery style that blends and merges to present a singular, memorable telling.
Thanks for your contribution to this.
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for all the above, experimenting is a great route.
Regards,
Sandra,
I am looking forward to your workshop, though I’m always conflicted about the role of voice in story. (I recently had yet another interesting conversation with someone from the world of theatre.) While I have no doubt I would personally benefit from your workshop, as I recognise voice is an essential tool in what I do, I am always very wary about the ’story voice’ or the ‘voice beautiful’ in the realm of storytelling, as too often the focus in on the product rather than the process in contexts where it should not be so. Also, while the beautiful voice can seduce, it can similarly alienate. In any case, your discussion reassures me, so I look forward to meeting you.
Hello Rosemarie,
Thank you, too, for your observations and comments; anticipation is building strongly and the excellent article in Straits Times adds to the energy of the conference.
I’d enjoy hearing more about your conversation with someone from the theatre – and certainly appreciate the sense of conflict that you have about the role of voice in story.
I see voice this way and will be expanding upon it during the masterclass:
Voice is the medium for the message; voice in alignment with the message’s intent, gives light, shade, colour and intensity to the story-meaning but the voice itself, when working effectively, is not dominant. It is simply the means for telling the message.
When eliciting story, it is the teller’s voice that expands the story, illuminates the impact of the event or circumstance, exposes the reverberations of the event on the individual and group. Thus, once the vital question has been asked, listening closely to what the voice is doing, how it is behaving and where it is changing is essential to successful understanding of the impact of the event.
As to the ‘voice beautiful’, this is not, in any form, the purpose of my work. To my mind, the ‘voice beautiful’ is a manifestation of the attention being on the teller rather than the story; also, of the storyteller becoming self-conscious or self-aware to the extent that the ‘voice beautiful’ is activated. The connection of voice with the telling of the story is lost.
Rather, my intent and approach is that each voice is relaxed and released so that it becomes a fuller, active, vibrant version of its natural self. This voice, your true, natural, authentic voice, when applied to the purpose of telling, performs its true task which is to release the story and its resonances, through the telling.
Hello Rosemarie,
Thank you, too, for your observations and comments; anticipation is building strongly and the excellent article in Straits Times adds to the energy of the conference.
I’d enjoy hearing more about your conversation with someone from the theatre – and certainly appreciate the sense of conflict that you have about the role of voice in story.
I see voice this way and will be expanding upon it during the masterclass:
Voice is the medium for the message; voice in alignment with the message’s intent, gives light, shade, colour and intensity to the story-meaning but the voice itself, when working effectively, is not dominant. It is simply the means for telling the message.
When eliciting story, it is the teller’s voice that expands the story, illuminates the impact of the event or circumstance, exposes the reverberations of the event on the individual and group. Thus, once the vital question has been asked, listening closely to what the voice is doing, how it is behaving and where it is changing is essential to successful understanding of the impact of the event.
As to the ‘voice beautiful’, this is not, in any form, the purpose of my work. To my mind, the ‘voice beautiful’ is a manifestation of the attention being on the teller rather than the story; also, of the storyteller becoming self-conscious or self-aware to the extent that the ‘voice beautiful’ is activated. The connection of voice with the telling of the story is lost.
Rather, my intent and approach is that each voice is relaxed and released so that it becomes a fuller, active, vibrant version of its natural self. This voice, your true, natural, authentic voice, when applied to the purpose of telling, performs its true task which is to release the story and its resonances, through the telling.
I am looking forward to meeting you and having a great conversation!
Best wishes,
Sandra
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