Voice Training

Last night one of our Voice Trainers gave a training session to staff at the school to help us learn more about Voice Training. It was fascinating.

Our voice is part of who we are and it is one of the things people judge us on when they meet us.  People are becoming more aware of how important this is, particularly in a professional setting. Voice Training is therefore no longer just for actors and broadcasters but is also widely used by business people, politicians, lawyers, doctors, academics etc.

Voice Training is for native and non-native speakers.  A common request is for ‘accent softening’, which may involve helping a non-native speaker sound more ‘British’, or it may help a native speaker lose (or gain!) a regional accent.  As well as working on accents, many clients work on their articulation and the authority that their voice commands.  Improved articulation and authority can have a profound impact on how your words are received.

A typical session involves work on:

• breathing and posture
• tongue position when speaking
• mouth muscularity
• ability to reproduce and recognize RP sounds

We offer Voice Training on an hourly basis (minimum five hours), and many course participants choose to take some Voice Training in the evening after their English course.  For more information visit our Voice Training page.

Glossary

• Broadcasters – (n.) People who appear on radio or television, eg newsreaders and disc jockeys
• Profound – (adj.) Deep
• Posture – (n.) How you position yourself when you sit or stand, eg, Sarah has a very good posture, she sits up straight.
• RP – (abr.) ‘Received Pronunciation’, the term used for the standard British non-regional accent.

By Sophie