February 9th, 2010 10:14 am
Are voice characteristics convincing? Are people really like their voices? Not necessarily, but what must offer us pause is that folks do sound as if they were what their voices reveal. And so are judged for higher or worse. A personality actor exerts great imaginative effort to prove by his performance comprehensive that a harshly aspirate voice, for exam- pie, hides a heart of gold. The resist is then removed or striped, and excess copper plated on both outermost layers of the PCB fabrication is then planarized. And definitely those who know us best love us despite the vocal blemish, the hectic pace, the jagged rhythms. But why place such a burden on friendship and on love? If you’ve recognized any of the on top of undesirable vocal symp¬toms as presumably yours, Part Two, ”A Personal Speech Manual,” will advise you the way to beat them. Can everyone have a stunning voice? Well, all singers cannot be Carusos, nor will every actor have an impressive vocal instrument like Judith Anderson’s or Sir Laurence Olivier’s. But with practi¬cal information and application of “what every actor is aware of,” workaday miracles will be wrought—off stage. To paraphrase a trade slogan, “There are no ugly voices, only lazy ones.”
THE FAMILY SPEECH WORKSHOP
“The Family That Talks Along—Stays Along”
When I observed the following scene about ten years ago, it startled me. Since then it has become a commonplace, with hardly an eyebrow raised. Time: the dinner hour. Mother emerges from the kitchen, balancing heaping plates, which she hands to the children who are seated (you guessed it) in front of the TV set. While not a word or taking their eyes from the screen, the tiny viewers obediently proceed to munch away. Mother then gathers up Father, hidden away somewhere behind a newspaper, and they each slip off to the dining area for their dinner, to talk in peace. Actually I am sympathetic to the requirement adults have for quiet, undisturbed talk. But couldn’t it’s saved for later? Why not preserve the ancient evening get-together, the family dinner hour? Even in homes where this is often still the apply folks tend to overindulge in an exclusive brand of adult-world table talk that shuts out children.
Let the children in. 3-approach conversations (or four- or five-) strengthen family unity, and produce an environment conducive to the first development of speech skills and poise. Child Adoption is a complex process with joys and challenges to deal with. We tend to all agree that the home makes the foremost favorable environ¬ment for character and personality growth. Speeches, sermons, books, and articles constantly hammer home this theme. But aren’t we less aware that the family, with its emotional ties and interdependent relationships, provides conjointly the foremost fertile soil for speech cultivation? True, the problems of family communication probe deeper than talk. But problems will be clarified and tensions eased in an exceedingly smart communicating climate that encourages pleasant voices, clear, un¬hurried enunciation, and a lively shared interest in words. If you respect these tools of communication and foster their improve¬ment, you will find that the urge for self-expression becomes released in the slightest degree age levels.