Articulate: Purpose Driven
One of the easiest ways to develop clarity is to know your goal. Whether we are in a one-to-one conversation, in a meeting, or presenting to a larger group there is a purpose. Dynamic speech requires that you become clear…
Articulate: Means to An End
When we are discussing mental processes, as we have this week on the blog, it is easy to sound enigmatic. Thoughts, intentions, and attention can seem like intangibles. For our purposes, it can be helpful to focus on the tangibles.…
Articulate: Do You Know Who You Are?
I had an interesting chat with a stranger yesterday. We got onto the subject of work and when she found out what I do, she said an interesting thing. "It's so interesting how people embody themselves, vocally." We spoke further…
Articulate: Yodelay-hee-hoo
What is a yodel? A yodel is a quick pattern in repeated sequences shifting from chest register to high-frequency head register. The blending of high voice and low is discouraged but the leaps are made smooth through breath flow. We…
Articulate: L-L-L-Like It Or Love It
Oh /l/, how is it that a letter with such anemic frequency (~4%) in the language can trip us up so thoroughly. I suspect it is your tendency to bring the tip of the tongue up to the front of…
Articulate: Groceries?
This morning in my office there was an animated debate about how to pronounce the word, grocery. The two main camps pronounced the 'c' as either /s/ or /sh/. I had never noticed the /sh/ variant but since Difference isn't…
Articulate: Phantom Pain
This morning, I had a no-show. This wasn't a new experience for sure but I am always a little baffled by it. Was a real emergency involved or did someone just forget their prepaid session? I don't know what happened…
Articulate: Pressure
Does this sound familiar? You start a sentence with plenty of volume and presence only to lose momentum, volume, and pitch by the end. This is an indication of inconsistent air flow. If you also end up feeling more percussive…
Articulate: Friction
I love fricatives. Those sounds that make the air contort itself to evade a barrier. These can be created by the tongue hovering near teeth, teeth against lip, or a change in the shape of the cavity itself. I love…
Articulate: Contortion
I work with a young man who is having some trouble being understood at work. He grew up in a neighborhood with a very distinct accent and maintained this speech pattern even while attending a college out of state. It…