THE SPEAKING VOICE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22608, 22 December 1936, Page 3

THE SPEAKING VOICE

NEED FOR SELF-CONTHOIJ

WHERE WOMEN FAIL A TENDENCY TO BE SHRILL On a brief visit to New Zealand en route to Australia, .Miss Lord] Parker, of Vancouver, arrived at Auckland yesterday by the Niagara. As director of the women's division of the largest radio station in Canada, .Miss Parker has had considerable experience in arranging special programmes for women and finding suitable speakers. She also acted as hostess, one of the most important aspects of her work being tho receiving of speakers and making them feel naturally and comfortably at their ease. Miss Parker said she thought there was still a wide scope lor women speakers, as very often men had to be called upon to speak at tho women's sessions. "Most women talk too fast and have a tendency to become shrill with the slightest excitement," Miss Parker said. As the nerves tightened, so did the throat, with the most unfortunate results. Relaxation, interest, a sense of inner harmony and sincerity were the surest means to a good speaking voice. This applied not only to radio speakers but also to all women, as a good speaking voice was actually ol more importance than a good appearance. Speaking Over the Air For radio speaking. Miss Parker considered sincerity was of the utmost importance. Thery was a kind of X-ray quality about the. radio that showed up every false inflexion or artificiality of speech. A good voice could bring a programme to liie, just as a bad one could kill it. Women should not be afraid to open their mouths when speaking, so that the tones could issue freely and warmly. A tight mouth and a mean voice went together. Almost all women's voices were higher than their owners realised, especially in cities when the surrounding noise caused the vocal chords to tighten involuntarily. Professional speakers .checked their voices constantly on voice-recording records, studying timing as well as quality. Many of the most admired voices of actors, orators and public speakers were the result of eflort and .control. Reflections in the Voice Voice-control was actually a matter of self-control. Lack of mental and emotional balance was reflected instantly in the voice. People who were at peace with the world and themselves usually had a naturally lovely manner of speaking, even when they were not cultured. Many women also tried to imitate someone else's tones or manner of speaking, which was definitely a wrong step. Every voice had its own personality and much of the personality of its owner. Miss Parker thought the speaking voice was to-day becoming much more important than it had ever been. In the United States special voice-record-ing studios were being remarkably well patronised by all sorts of people.

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