How to orate like a seasoned pro

22 Oct 2011


Giving a speech? Sandra Miller, a senior tutor at Rada Enterprise, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art's commercial arm, has some advice: "Use your body and your voice in the way that an actor would."

Here's how.


First, relax your lips by putting them together and blowing, emulating a horse's sound. Then it's tongue time. "A lot of the reason we stumble over words is because the tongue is not working properly," says Miller. "To relax it, stick it in and out, then try and write your name in the air with the tip."

2. CONTROL THE VOLUME "Count from one to five in a projected whisper," says Miller.

Speak as if you were whispering, but loudly and confidently. Then vocalise it in a clear voice. "You're trying to encourage resonance. A resonant voice carries further, sounds better and doesn't tire or become strained as easily."


It's not just your voice that needs relaxing -- it's your body, too. "It's about physically centring yourself," says Miller. Allow your head to fall forward, bend your knees and completely relax your upper body. Then slowly straighten the legs, and come up into an upright position vertebra by vertebra.


Warm up your voice by reciting scales -- starting in a low tone, moving up to a high one, and back again. "We use a very limited part of our vocal range. Most people are capable of using at least 20 different notes -- but research suggests the majority of us use only three to five in conversation," explains Miller.


When taking the stage, smile. "It relaxes you and your audience," says Miller. And don't be afraid to pause: "Pausing buys you credibility, it buys you time to think, and it's only when you stop talking that your audience can reflect on what you just said."

Remember to take a long pause at the end to enjoy your ovation.