Speak Confident English: Emphasis and Vocal Variety

Introduction

• Speaker: Annemarie from Speak Confident English
• Key Expression: "It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it."
• Importance of vocal variety in English communication
  • Conveys meaning and emotion
  • Enhances clarity, engagement, and memorability

Vocal Variety

• Examples:
  • Sentence: "I love reading."
    • First: "I love reading."
    • Second: "I love reading."
• Changes include: volume, pitch, tone

Three Ways to Improve Emphasis

1. Sentence Stress

• Definition: Pronunciation pattern where certain words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are stressed
• Importance: These words carry the most meaning
• Example:
  • Sentence: "Yesterday I started watching a new show on Netflix."
  • Main words: yesterday, started, watching, new, show, Netflix
  • Without emphasizing those words, the message gets lost
• Changing Sentence Meaning:
  • Different emphasis changes the intent/feeling
  • Examples:
    • "I spoke to Julia yesterday" (different emphasis on "I", "Julia", "yesterday")
• Practice Example:
  • Sentence: "My mother owns the largest collection of roses in the neighborhood."
  • Main words to emphasize: mother, owns, largest, collection, roses, neighborhood

2. Volume Variation

• Definition: Adjusting loudness or softness in speech
• Purpose: Adds energy, emphasizes emotions like urgency, excitement, anger
• Examples:
  • Sentence: "We must act soon if we hope to save the earth."
    • Increased volume on "must act soon"
  • Sentence: "Bob said his dog was a stray, but we all know he stole his neighbor’s dog."
    • Lower volume on the latter part to indicate a secret
• Effects: Keeps audience engaged and avoids monotone delivery
  • Loud = urgency, conviction, passion
  • Soft = intrigue or secrets

3. Using Pauses

• Definition: Strategic silences to emphasize words or phrases
• Benefits: Helps slow down speech, emphasizes key points without volume change
• Techniques:
  • Pause between syllables or before/after words
  • Pause after introductory phrases
• Example:
  • Sentence: "We need to meet this deadline or the contract will be canceled."
    • With pauses: between syllables or before "need"
  • Introductory Phrase: "Most importantly, we need to meet this deadline..."
• Comparison:
  • Monotonous vs. emphasized speech
  • Emphasized speech holds more power and keeps attention

Practicing Emphasis

• Recommendations:
  • Be patient with yourself
  • Start a speaking journal practice:
    • Record yourself
    • Evaluate and compare variations
• Resources:
  • Free training: "How to Say What You Want in English"
  • Lesson: "How to Create a Speaking Journal Practice"
  • 30-day Speaking Prompts guide

Conclusion

• Recap of importance of vocal variety and emphasis
• Encouragement to practice and utilize provided resources
• Invitation to subscribe and engage in future lessons