Silly voices

I’ve always loved putting on silly voices.

From when I was little, right up to today.

Nowadays my dog is the main beneficiary.

Giving our voices a playground to experiment and explore

is a wonderful way to practice vocal variety.

To play with pace, volume and tone.

Do I want to be serious, or playful?

Formal or funny? Cheeky, or regal?

It’s a time and space for articulating every syllable.

Exaggerating for effect.

Varying the volume. From loud shout… to gentle whisper.

Take a children’s book.

Yes, one with simple language, dialogue and onomatopoeias.

(And no excuse, you can find plenty online!).

Change your voice for each character, add emphasis…

… Pause…

Playing in this way reveals just what our voice is capable of.

And how we can use it to bring our public speaking to life.

One of my favourite character “voices” is the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. (I wonder what that says about me.)

What’s yours?

Photo by Lina Kivaka from Pexels