Saying it effectively
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`When you are speaking, there is a type of voice used, when you are calling, there is a different type of voice used and your body intelligence knows what internal software to access in what situation.'
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THE PURPOSE of communication is to get your message across to others. This is a process that involves both the sender of the message and the receiver. It allows room for error, with messages often misinterpreted by one or more of the parties involved, causing unnecessary confusion and becoming counter-productive.
Articles written today on increasing a company's productivity all agree on one basic principle: those businesses which are most successful value their employees' self-esteem and usually provide avenues for bettering that image. In the long run, it means higher revenue and greater yield for the company.
If you want to increase sales, take control of the conversation in a business meeting, have more of your own criteria met in contract negotiations, sound more mature, control nervousness at the podium, improve your presentation skills, or eliminate speech problems, Voice Training can give you the leading edge.
Voice Culture expert, Ananth Vaidyanathan, was in Bangalore recently to organise a workshop for management students of the Institute of Business Management and Research. He is trained in Husler's Technique of Voice Engineering under Prof. Peter Calatin, Germany.
Here in conversation with Manish Kothari, Managing Director of IBMR, Mr. Vaidyanathan explains what Voice Culture is all about.
How do you define Voice Culture?
Voice Culture is the process of unlocking the natural capacities of the voice in terms of volume and the dynamic range. So you have to stretch the capacities, access and discover the capacities within. Each one of us has immense capacities within us.
How do you go through the process of teaching it to students?
I adopt a slightly different technique in singing and speaking. Fundamentally, I help students to access the different capacities within them by making them use their voice in different life situations. For example, when you are speaking, there is a type of voice used, when you are calling, there is a different type of voice used and your body intelligence knows what internal software to access in what situation. So I make them practise those distinctions and help them transfer those distinctions when they are singing, speaking or communicating and make them aware of the techniques that go into singing and speech making. Another technique is to understand certain processes. What happens in all processes of life is, be it singing, speaking or playing, we execute and cognate as "wholes." You are cognating a whole sentence, but the sentence is made up of words, which is made up of names. The teaching is to make you aware of what those parts are, which are making those "wholes" and how do you actually, technically execute those parts correctly. This helps to unlock the whole capacity and piece together a long paragraph or a speech.
Can you tell us how Voice Culture makes a difference for a student or an executive?
For a student who is going to be a manager or an executive, communication ability represents the fundamental strength in his bag of strengths. He may have the knowledge and the capacity to do his work, but unless he is able to communicate effectively across the table, he cannot be an effective manager or an executive. In India, the upward mobility among various ethnic groups is rapid and a lot of people who are not comfortable with English are now rising in job positions. With globalisation, people have to develop better communication skills. Once you are able to quickly access those skills, of which voice is an essential base, I think it provides for the making of an effective manager or an executive.
How much time does it take for a student or an executive to perfect this skill?
The time span depends on where they are at that present moment. In my experience, a smart person who requires few corrections can apply the technique in 45 minutes and within a week get results. But if the person's command over the language is insufficient and there is a lot of mother tongue influence or if the person has never had the habit of being expressive in his speech, then it might require anything between three to six weeks. In speech, I would target a six to eight week programme even for a below-average candidate. In music, I have seen results in two hours, and for severe cases, about 12 weeks.
What are the requirements for effective communication skills?
You need to have an effective tone. It has to have volume and the capacity to deliver dynamic range. I would also look at articulation as part of the vocal apparatus. You need to understand, when you are employing a certain language, what the basic requirements of that language are. So, you are not only making yourself well understood but are also aesthetically pleasing the person across the table and this makes a much better effect.
Do you recommend this programme to be part of the curriculum of professional courses?
For a course in management, it is an absolute must. I have seen students suffering from low sense of self-esteem because their command over the language is a major issue. Even in their mother tongue, they are not able to communicate effectively. They have knowledge though and for them to be effective in their jobs, communication is one of the primary skills, which will enhance their effectiveness and how they feel about themselves.
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