Shroff S.R. Rotary Institute of Chemical Technology

Raj Parekh2nd Sem

MechanicalCommunication Skills

PronunciationVoice Modulation

Pauses

ParalinguisticsParalinguistics : “with language”,“accompanying speech”= how you are saying it. 1. a bridge between nonlinguistic and “verbal” linguistics (e.g. grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation)

It consists of:1.Volume 5.Articulation2.Quality 6.Pronunciation3.Pace/Rate 7.Voice Modulation

4.Pitch 8.Pauses

Pronunciation Pronunciation means to speak out sounds which are

generally accepted. In India we follow the “British Received Pronunciation”. One should be careful enough to pronounce individual

sounds along with word stress. One should not be taken into fancy that he/she know the

correct pronunciation. Below are some words that are commonly mispronounced

with their correct pronunciation.

Word Common Error Correct Pronunciation

Arctic Ar-tic ArcticGesture Ges-ture Jesture3 tier 3 tyre 3 tearGigantic Jai-jan-tik Jai-gan-tik

The reason why pronunciation is important because whenever we communicate we communicate through speech.

It strikes the listener directly in the face (the ears, to be more precise). How good your pronunciation is in general can be judged very quickly and an opinion is formed automatically by anyone who hears you.

Importance of pronunciation

Modulation refers to the way we regulate, vary, or adjust the tone, pitch, and volume of the sound or speaking voice.

Modulation of voice brings flexibility and vitality to your voice, and you can express emotions, sentiments like impatience, careful planning, despondency, suspicion, etc. in the best possible way.

If you do not pay special attention to the modulation of your voice, then your voice becomes flat and you emerge as a languid speaker with no command over your voice.

Word stress also plays a role like in the example below:Example: This company produces 50 cars everyday.

You can stress on this company or 50 cars.

The word stressed changes the emphasis of the statement.

Voice Modulation

Pace or Speech speed: It must always be at a speed that the listener can understand. Put the pace at that speed where the listener can understand you properly.

Pitch or Depth of voice: Keep it at a level that is comfortable for you and don’t strain your vocal cords.

Pause: Pauses should be given at required intervals like where there is punctuation. It is given to let the listener absorb your information. It is given for emphasis and dramatic effect. 

Components of Voice Modulation

Volume: Try and match your listener’s speech volume, unless they are shouting. Try dropping your volume so that they have to drop their volume to hear you. Maintain your volume according to the listener decrease or increase (do not shout to increase it be loud).

Emphasis: Put emphasis by putting some pressure or focus on the key words or syllables in order to provide contrast to your words bring out their desired meaning.

Inflection: Inflection means ups and downs of words. In combination inflection links meaning and feeling with your words.

A pause is a short silence flank ed by words.

A pause in speaking lets the listener reflect on the message and digest it accordingly.

It helps you glide from one thought to another one.

It embellishes your speech because it is a natural process to give a break.

Pause

1. Pauses help your audience understand you . Pauses allow you to punctuate your spoken words, giving your listeners clues as to when one phrase, one sentence, or one paragraph ends, and the next begins. By subdividing speech into smaller segments, pauses probably contribute a great deal to the improvements of speech comprehension. The key takeaway is that your audience doesn’t have the benefit of punctuation, bolding, italics, bullets, and other formatting as in written material. You’ve got to provide that, and pauses are a central way to do it.

Importance of Pause

4. Pauses replace filler words. Excessive use of filler words (um, er, ah) undermines your

credibility, and signals lack of knowledge, lack of preparation, or lack of authenticity. Using pauses is one of the best ways to do so.

5. Pauses let your mind “catch up” to your mouth. A speaker performs two tasks simultaneously: The first task is internal, and involves thinking

what to say (and what to do) next. The second task is external, and involves vocally

projecting those words, using body language, and other interactions with an audience.

Ideally, the internal tasks build up a queue of words and actions for a speaker to deliver, always having words ready when needed. Pausing gives the advantage to the internal task, and helps your mind “catch up” to your mouth.

Thank You