The Art of Public Speaking by J. Berg (Joseph Berg) Esenwein;Dale Carnagey
page 35 of 640 (05%)
page 35 of 640 (05%)
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well.
Change of pitch is a stumbling block for almost all beginners, and for many experienced speakers also. This is especially true when the words of the speech have been memorized. If you wish to hear how pitch-monotony sounds, strike the same note on the piano over and over again. You have in your speaking voice a range of pitch from high to low, with a great many shades between the extremes. With all these notes available there is no excuse for offending the ears and taste of your audience by continually using the one note. True, the reiteration of the same tone in music--as in pedal point on an organ composition--may be made the foundation of beauty, for the harmony weaving about that one basic tone produces a consistent, insistent quality not felt in pure variety of chord sequences. In like manner the intoning voice in a ritual may--though it rarely does--possess a solemn beauty. But the public speaker should shun the monotone as he would a pestilence. _Continual Change of Pitch is Nature's Highest Method_ In our search for the principles of efficiency we must continually go back to nature. Listen--really listen--to the birds sing. Which of these feathered tribes are most pleasing in their vocal efforts: those whose voices, though sweet, have little or no range, or those that, like the canary, the lark, and the nightingale, not only possess a considerable range but utter their notes in continual variety of combinations? Even a sweet-toned chirp, when reiterated without change, may grow maddening to the enforced listener. |
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