Roland Millward

Modulation. What is it?

The easy explanation is to say that the word when connected with speaking or indeed music means a changing in the volume, timing or pitch. Modulation makes music or speech interesting to listen to. With speech it is modulation that makes the words and phrases stand out and to be more readily understood and remembered. It is important therefore that a public speaker masters the art of modulation.

Modulation is made up of three elements. Let me explain each one in order.

Pitch

The pitch is how high or low we speak just as there are higher or lower notes in music represented by the notes on the stave when written down. By varying the level of our voice in pitch we can create variety in our voice as well as use it to make certain words stand out. You might for example use a higher pitch for excitement and a lower pitch for something serious. People who speak on one level come across to an audience as quiet boring and so varying the pitch is essential. There are also many of us that develop a bad habit of raising the pitch at the beginning of a sentence and then gradually tapering downwards until the next one or those that end every sentence on a higher pitch. Your public speaking coach will advise you if you are doing this.

Pace

The pace or timing at which you speak also needs to be varied. There are occasions when quite rapid speech is called for, other times for it to be slowed more than normal. Rapid or slow speech should be used sparingly but there will be speeds that vary in between the very fast and the very slow. Always be wary that if you go too fast your words may become slurred and unintelligible and your listeners will not understand what you are saying. If you naturally speak fast even if the words are clearly spoken a constant fast speed will wear out your audience mentally so learn to slow down and speed up when necessary in short bursts. Likewise a naturally very slow speaker causes people to lose concentration as their minds want to go faster than the speaker. Speaking at a good pace and varying the pace does require practice and you will need feedback from your coach to help you master it. It can also help if you record your presentations and listen to them later and try and put yourself in the place of your audience.

Power

The third and final element of modulation is the power and volume that we use when speaking. Vary not just the loudness (volume) but also the power or intensity that we use in our voice. This is perhaps the simplest area of modulation to master for many people.

Practice

To be able to use good modulation will take practice and more practice. It is good as with most things in public speaking to try and use modulation in our everyday speech. You will find with good coaching and practice that good modulation will become second nature to you.

Roland Millward

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