Speak with Impact : Voice Skills For Teachers

The purpose of this lecture is to introduce the student to the workings of the vocal mechanism and to give a basic understanding of how the voice works.

This lecture introduces the student to the vital role played in voice production by the vocal folds (or cords) and how important it is to keep the folds moist during the working day or for extended voice use.

This lecture explains how diet, lifestyle and environment affect the voice and how we can avoid hazards and pitfalls during the professional day.

This lecture explains how posture - how we sit, stand and move - can affect the voice and how it is important to consider good posture when using the voice each and every day.

If the voice is to sound appropriate for the teaching situation, then the body has to assume the correct posture and this means avoiding tension and common postural misuses.

This lecture illustrates common examples of postural misuse - often seen in the teaching situation - and the effect they have on the voice.

Good voice use means good posture and this lecture illustrates how we can achieve balanced alignment so that our body is best placed to produce good vocal sound.

We look at the typical pressures of the teaching day and the demands placed on the teaching voice.

This lecture explains the vocal techniques a teacher needs to understand and use in order to have a varied and effective delivery for a wide range of educational situations and environments.

Breath underpins all work on the voice and good breath control is vital for a voice that needs to carry easily and reach all listeners. This lecture looks at supportive breathing.

In this lecture we put breath to work and practise extending and controlling the outbreath.

This lecture explains why clear articulation is so important when delivering information in the learning environment and how we can achieve and strengthen our vocal clarity.

This lecture explains how vowels carry the sound and how long and short vowels give our speech clarity.

This lecture explains how consonants give speech distinction and how and where the consonants are formed.

We look at more examples of good articulation and how practising and working the organs of articulation to strengthen our diction can be fun and enjoyable.

This lecture explains how pitch variation adds interest to the teaching voice and illustrates how the pitch range can be safely extended for increased modulation.

Resonance helps to amplify the voice and this is important in the different environments within which the teaching voice may have to work. We look at the resonators and how to exercise them so that the teaching voice may be amplified easily and effectively.

This lecture explains how focus and intention give projection. Projection gives the voice carrying power and ensures it reaches its intended target.

This lecture looks at the emotional thought behind the words and how the psychological and physical work together to colour the voice for its appropriate content and delivery.

This lecture recaps on the techniques covered and the role they play in enriching vocal delivery and giving variety, warmth, conviction and authority to the teaching voice

Many times teachers have to work in less than perfect spaces and teaching areas. We look at how these can impact on the teaching voice .

This lecture looks at how to use the voice in a big space - the assembly hall.

This lecture looks at the vocal techniques to be employed in the science lab.

Using the voice out of doors can be a minefield for the teacher! This lecture offers advice on how to make the task easier.

Even for the sports specialist the gym and sports hall can present vocal challenges - this lecture advises how the teacher can best meet these challenges.

The strongest voice cannot compete with the hazards of the swimming pool and this lecture offers the teacher alternative strategies.

We recap on effective vocal techniques and how to use the voice effectively and effortlessly at all times.

A warmed up voice is easier to control and sustain over long periods. This lecture takes the teacher through a daily warm-up to prime the voice for its daily demands.

This lecture takes the teacher through a checklist of basic points to remember to enhance vocal delivery in the educational arena and help maintain good vocal health.

This lecture reviews the techniques covered and their application for the professional performance.