The Vocally Savvy Communicator
Target Participants:
Any frequent voice user such as: teachers, trainers, coaches, facilitators, sales personnel, receptionists, frontline staff, tutors, performers, broadcasters, auctioneers, public relations officers, students, doctors, nurses, journalists, stock brokers, managers, supervisors, real estate agents, executives, helpline operators, deejays, cheerleaders, motivators, politicians, grassroots leaders, lawyers, judges, call centre operators, storytellers, police officers, parade commanders, soldiers, marketers, tour guides, docents, announcers, toastmasters, telemarketers, voiceover artistes, emcees, and more…
Duration:
- One-on-one class: At least a minimum of 4 sessions, one hour per session
- Group workshops: Customisable between 1 to 4 sessions, three hours per session
No. of Participants:
- One-on-one class, or
- Group workshops: Between 6 to 25 people
Pre-Workshop Preparation:
- Participants who are able to communicate fluently in English are welcome.
- Please come dressed in loose, comfortable clothing so that you will not feel constricted while doing the various breathing and vocal exercises.
Notes for Organisers:
- Please make available a fair-sized room that can easily accommodate all the workshop participants and the facilitator (seated in a circular formation).
- Please make sure that any other tables and chairs are stored against the wall or outside the room so that the participants have space to move freely about the space when they do the various exercises.
- Please make sure that the room has been vacuumed thoroughly before the workshop. The participants will be doing deep breathing exercises; thus a dusty environment would not be conducive at all.
- Please provide a large whiteboard and pens as well as access to computer/computer projection to show PowerPoint slides.
- Please make copies of hand-outs that will be emailed to prior to the workshop. The hand-outs are to be given to the participants at the end of the workshop.
Oral communication is a vital part of our everyday lives, from expressing opinions to passing on knowledge, from presenting data to counselling others, from sharing a joke to giving instructions. Yet are you using your voice and speech effectively to communicate your intent?
For instance, do you speak the whole day and find that you are hoarse by sundown? Do you scream in a hostile environment or at your clients to the detriment of your voice? Can you be heard a metre beyond you? Can you be understood when you open your mouth to speak? Do you drone on such that your clients fall asleep?
If so, then The Vocally Savvy Communicator will provide you with key principles of effective voice and speech production as well as presentation skills that will enable you to become a more successful speaker.
Areas Covered:
- Understand basic vocal anatomy and how voice and speech are produced
- Experience how relaxation, alignment and breath support are vital for effective voice production
- Learn effective methods of voice production and release
- Learn how to improve your articulation
- Learn tips on to achieve and maintain vocal health
- Learn to connect intention and voice and gesture to produce more lively and interesting-sounding speech
- Learn how to present and interact effectively with an audience
- Apply the principles learnt from above in a presentation skills context
About the Facilitator
Verena Tay has spent more than 25 years acting, directing and writing for Singaporean English-language theatre. She has three published collections of plays and is now working on her debut novel and first volume of short stories. In addition, Verena is an active storyteller-cum-storytelling coach and a co-founder of MoonShadow Stories. Possessing an MA in Voice Studies (Central School of Speech and Drama, 2005) and an MA in English Literature (National University of Singapore, 1993), she has been helping people to improve their communication skills since 2001 and currently teaches voice, speech and presentation skills at various local institutions. For more information about Verena, please visit www.verenatay.com.
Participant’s Feedback:
Participants’ Feedback on June–July 2011 Workshop
What aspects of this workshop benefitted you most?
“1) Voice Exercises. 2) Feedback. 3) Relaxation Exercises. The presentation covers all aspects from anatomy to presentation to application to a real-life scenario. So it is quite good as it is.”
Santosh S. Nair
“Vocal warm-ups – yawning, humming, swinging side-to-side => helped me to improve my voice quality and project myself better. Loved it. ☺ Excellent coaching & constructive tips after each exercise.”
Jensen Lee
“1) Tips on warming up the body, including the vocal cords, it certainly facilitates vocal projection at ease. 2) Articulation & practice sessions on presentation of speech/instructions. 3) Wonderful illustrations and correction of posture.”
Maggie Lim