#2 USING YOUR VOICE – with baritone opera singer Bradley Christensen – podcast
Did you know Margaret Thatcher took voice lessons to deepen her pitch before one of her elections? Yes, our voices are critical. In this Talk About Talk episode you will learn about the various vocal elements (rate, volume, pitch, etc) and hints about how to use them. You will learn about vocal fry, and importantly, why you should avoid it. Opera singer Bradley Christensen shares insights about how to optimize the sound of your voice –from posture, to breathing, to using your “inner smile.” References & Links Bradley Christensen * http://www.bradleychristensenbaritone.com/ * https://www.facebook.com/bradley.christensen.18 The Changing Voices of Margaret Thatcher and Hillary Clinton * https://www.inc.com/fia-fasbinder/science-shows-people-respond-to-stronger-deeper-voices-how-to-train-your-voice-like-margaret-thatcher-obama.html * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28_0gXLKLbk * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRQwLrpX61M * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCyvyyo6dtQ Paralanguage * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralanguage Deeper Pitch * https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/communication-success/201401/how-improve-the-sound-your-voice Vocal Elements * https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/10-3-vocal-delivery/ * http://choirly.com/whats-my-voice-type/ Fast-Talkers * https://virtualspeech.com/blog/average-speaking-rate-words-per-minute Aging Voice * https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/aging-voice Vocal Fry * https://hhhhappy.com/heard-of-vocal-fry-the-phenomenon-is-taking-pop-culture-by-storm-and-its-not-going-anywhere/ Interview Transcript Dr. Andrea Wojnicki: Thank you Bradley for being here. Bradley Christensen: You’re welcome. Great to be here. AW: Let’s get into it. I’ve heard and read and seen anecdotally that people with deeper voices seem to be more successful. Have you heard that? BC: Absolutely. AW: I read when I was doing some research for this interview that people with deeper voices are typically all else equal, more successful. So we can make our voices deeper. How do we do that? BC: To ask this question to an opera singer it is fabulous because I have heard this. And I know that the way we listened to a speaking voice affect our perception of someone. But as an opera singer, I am always trying to find that natural voice, the natural instrument that doesn’t have anything put on it. So I know that when it comes to the lowering of a voice, people find that someone who does have a lower voice, they seem to think that that person has more strength. AW: Authority? BC: Authority. So they could, you know,