A few hours spent in a Rome airport recently reminded me how important gestures are to developing a level of vocal variety that keeps your voice worth listening to.
It is a truism that southern Europeans gesticulate when they speak
and we probably all know someone of whom it has been said that if they were made to sit on their hands they would not be able to speak at all.
On occasions in public speaking training if I am presented with a monotonous voice I will film the speaker and play it back to them - with the sound turned off!
Almost inevitably the lack of vocal variety is accompanied by a lack of physical movement:
hands clasped or folded; in pockets or behind the speaker's back.
And based on the playback I ask a simple question:
'Just by looking at that, how interesting do you think the speaker's voice is?'
And of course the answer is:
'Not very interesting.'
Sitting in Rome airport is was possible to turn my head away and 'hear' the animation in a speaker's delivery.
Even on radio sometimes it is possible to imagine and actually feel the physical animation accompanying a presenter's voice.
It is interesting to note to what degree a variety of gesture is reflected in a variety of tone.
Whereas often you will note that frequent repetition of a specific gesture is reflected in a sameness of intonation:
such as short clipped statements being continuously punctuated by matching chopped gestures.
And repetition (unless of course is rhetorical and deliberate) becomes at best monotonous and at worst, a driver to distraction, like waiting for the next drip of a tap or a roommate's snore.
Therefore as speakers we need to be aware of keeping the gesture - voice connection uninhibited.
However when presenting there are many potential obstacles to stifle that connection:
clutching a lectern restricts physical movement and can therefore dull the voice;
clasping a powerpoint controller can also cause a restriction in vocal flow;
holding cards or notes may also cause a blockage
and the archetypal managing director pontificating with one hand in his pocket and the other meaninglessly circling in front of him will also conjure up an image of droning monotony.
So if you are working at keeping your voice interesting, consider this:
as well as working directly on tone and vocal variety, keep your mind open to what your hands are doing.
Hands and voice work together.
Variety in one will usually be reflected in the other.
