body language and voice variety in teaching

BODY LANGUANGE AND VOICE VARIETY

IN TEACHING

As teachers we all know that our voice is a teacher’s most

valuable asset.

   With our voices we transmit not only information, but also mood, atmosphere and emotions.

How we speak and what our voice sounds like have a crucial impact on classes.

Students respond inappropriately when they feel that the teacher’s voice is patronising, too loud, monotone or weak. 

If a teacher is having problems with his or her voice, that discomfort or pain is transmitted to the students.

EVERYONE IS SUFFERING!

Expressive voices, used in an imaginative way, draw students in and make them want to pay attention and listen.

If such a voice has quality and liveliness, they will be motivated to attend, participate and learn

VOCAL VARIETY

• VOLUME - how loudly or softly we speak

• PACE - how quickly or slowly we speak, and how we use pausing

• PITCH - how high or low in our voice range we go

• TONE - how we adjust the tone of our voice to convey a mood or emotion

Example: Psycology teacher and Investigation of Education teacher

• Mannerisms and habits we don´t realise we have effect our communication.

• • Posture, stance, gestures convey confidence,

shyness, etc.

• Every body has different habits, some people are more inhibited and hardly gesture, others over-gesticulate (like me)…

BODY LANGUAGE

• Practice standing on two feet• Practice standing 'at ease'.• Practice standing tall.• Let your shoulders relax.• Practice breathing deeply

STANCE

• Try to use confident and clear gestures. Small gestures aren´t captured by students. Have in mind that we are on a screen, so everything is smaller.

GESTURE

'When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you.'

A smile says 'I like being here. I like you.‘

SMILE

Someone tell me something, it´s not the same for a student if my face looks bored, or incredulous

FACE: WHAT IS YOUR FACE SAYING?

IN BODY LANGUAGE: • Open is:

The person who stands on both feet, head held high, chest exposed, and arms by side. In addition when they do gesture, its strong, and they smile where appropriate.

• Closed is:The person who hangs his head, folds his arms across his chest, crosses his legs, rolls his shoulders, fiddles...

The core of correct voice use is proper breathing.

BREATHING

DIAPHRAM BREATHING AND SUPPORT

VS

LUNG BREATHING AND SUPPORT

GIVE EXAMPLE

• Put hands on ribs and breathe in ribs only, shallow, then breathe into your diaphram and feel the difference try to push your hands with your breath. Inhale for 3, hold for 3,, exhale for 3

• Deep breath, exhale focusing on a point across room

• Breath in and out with aaaaa, ooooo, iiiii• Then short a-a-aa, o-o-o-o, i-i-i-i• Then mmmmmm, nnnnnn

Warm-ups• Yawn!!!• Sighing

• Toungue exercises • Humming• Floppy jaw

• papapa/bababa/tatata/dadada/kakaka/gagaga

• The tip of the tongue, the teeth and the lips

• Make me many, many more

• Hot coffee in a proper copper coffee pot

Too quickly Too slowly

Variety is the key! Not an average speed.

RATE

Exerpt from article about synaesthesia

Olympia Colizoli doesn’t see the world like you. “To me, all time and numbers are arranged in physical space. Days, weeks, months, years, centuries all have shapes, and I use those shapes to organise my mental plan,” she says. “It took me a long time to realise other people didn't think in this way.”

• What parts of this text would you say quickly, what parts would you say slowly?

PITCH

ONE-NOTE CHARLIE

THE SIREN AND

THE SEE-SAW

First siren noise, then see-saw speaking

Pitch Experimentation:

Her Grandmother died yesterday.

I want a new car.

This dinner is delicious.

Repeat the words 'Ham Sandwich' in as many varying ways as you can.

For example say it angrily, happily, sadly, lovingly, despairingly, laughingly, importantly, slyly, snidely, shyly ... PAIR WORK!

TONE THE HAM SANDWICH

Extension Ham SandwichUse the phrase to 'converse'. Take an emotional state and build a whole conversation around the phrase 'Ham Sandwich'.

For example:Imagine you've just seen the most exciting thing. You want to share that experience with a friend. You ring to tell them. The catch is you must use the words 'Ham Sandwich' to convey your feeling and NO others.

Try consoling using 'Ham Sandwich' or congratulating. Experiment with as many different ways as you can.

And yet Another Ham Sandwich:

This time take two opposite emotions, for example: happy - sad or angry - contented...

Start with one emotion and gradually switch to the other. Make sure you grade the switch.

Good breath control is fundamental to raising the volume while maintaining tone and pitch

VOLUME

•Laugh Out-loud:

• Breath in. On out breath begin a series of Ha-ha-ha-ha's until all your breath is used.

• Take an in breath and start again. Vary your laughter. Make it louder, make it quiet and then build it up again. -

Distancing Technique for Projection

With a partner, stand close together and say “Hello ______” Take a few steps back, repeat….

Imagine the sound arcing through the air, in a concentrated focused stream to reach its target. The further away you get, the more control you need to have over the outflow of air carrying your words.

When you think you have a neutral 'Hello _____' mastered, add emotional color, nastily, lovingly, sweetly ...

Same with more text

Become the character of the story, feel what he/she feels

CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR STORYTELLING

Remember: small or subtle changes won't communicate rapidly to an audience. This is not film.

What do you do when you´re happy, nervous, angry, sad (with your face, body)

Let´s think of different emotions and express them

MATCHING MOOD ANDBODY LANGUAGE

Crossing the line

Practice shifting states rapidly. (2 emotions)

• First act out a mood with your body, get into the stance, then add voice (try bored)

• How does a voice change depending on mood? In volumen, rate, pitch and tone?

• Ex: Angry is faster, louder, maybe higher pitched or lower depending on character

INCORPORATE VOICE

A shy girl or boy? An overconfident man or woman? How would these characters react differently to happiness, anger, ets..

WHO IS YOUR CHARACTER?

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

How would the different characters talk? How would the voice variety change (characters, moments of story…)

…..Who wants to read the story to everyone?

• Warm-up• Breathe well• Posture• Keep hydrated• Rest your voice

• Avoid smoke, alcohol, loud places (talking over loud noises

• Force yourself when voice is tired

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD!