We started off the session with a warm up session that differed from the previous few we were doing. Claire had us sit in a circle, and had us imagined that it was an “early morning group meeting” setting. Given that it was indeed very early in the morning, the energy level within the circle was all time low. Claire then had us discuss what are some of the ways in which we can raise the low energy level if we were in that given situation. One of ways that an individual can actually increase their own energy level is through their posture. I think it has been emphasized many times on how important posture is in terms of the energy level and producing of sound. It is good to sit up straight, strong at the spine and hips and have feet planted on the ground, rather than hanging.
If this situation (group meeting) occurred in the working world in future, some things we can do to increase our energy level and be warmed up prior to the meeting are simple mouth warmups (stretching), slight humming to self, walking around to warm up the body and at the same time release the tension through breathing exercises. Even by starting short conversations with our colleagues prior to an important presentation is a good way to warm up the voice, and also find your right pitch.
We were then asked to go on and carry out our own vocal warm ups. Prior to the session, I did look up for some vocal warms up which I think suits me. Given that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, I thought that the vocal warm up for each individual should be tailored to their voice. In a situation where there is not much time to warm up the voice (given that it usually takes around 20-25 minutes to completely warm it up), I feel that I should focus more on the parts that I am weaker at.
Breathing – more for the individuals that get nervous easily. Focusing on the breathing exercises can help them regulate their breathing and calm themselves down before a presentation. Breathing exercises can also help those who speak very fast as it allows them to get use to slow breathing, which can then be applied during their speech as well.
Resonance – for those who tend to be more soft spoken and have difficulty projecting their voice. In this case, I felt that resonating my voice was not my biggest concern as I naturally have a loud voice.
Articulation – this is my biggest weakness when it comes to speech and presentation and I focused my warm up more on this area. I feel that opening of jaw and massaging my cheeks help in relaxing my mouth area. Doing tongue twisters also help in warming up my pronunciation of words.
Vocal Variety – something that I hope my warm up can help me in. Given that my tone may start to flat out at the end of my speech, making it monotonous, I think reading short paragraphs and using different tones for warm up will be a good way to warm up the vocal.
Claire also went through with us the Neethling Brain Instrument. This was one of the more interesting takeaway I got from the class as I enjoy reading and learning about things that relate to different personality types and the ways they behave. I think the main aim of Claire sharing this with us was to allow us to have a better idea on how we can better cater to our audience. We have to understand our audience type, know what to present to them in order to pull the heartstrings and capture their attention.
The way to a presentation is:
