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kingtut3
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03 Oct 2010, 9:30 pm

How do I improve my voice inflection so it is not flat and communicates my emotions. I was always told that I have a flat voice. I would like to improve it.



bee33
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04 Oct 2010, 12:59 am

I don't know the answer to that, but perhaps you could try a speech therapist, or take acting lessons.



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04 Oct 2010, 5:56 am

I think a good way to start is to make a recording of your voice as it is now, listen a few times, and then try again. Maybe also try a few "talking books" or any other recordings of spoken word, and try to record yourself imitating the speaker. Also this is one area in which role models might help - if there's anybody out there whose speaking voice you admire, listen to their recorded work and see if you can emulate it. Of course it's better if you can find somebody you trust to advise you on your weak points and how to correct them, but I think usually it's pretty obvious when you hear yourself on the recording.



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04 Oct 2010, 6:14 am

In secondary school I was enrolled in an extra-curricular called Speech and Drama to help with my confidence. This was long before I was suspected of HFA. The speech theory, the prose (in which I had to have different voices for each character), the impromptu speeches and the recited poetry all helped with controlling my inflections and made me more conscientious of how I sounded. It also helped me to improve my acting skills. This allowed me to manage my voice and my facial impressions (which NTs read as part of what you say) much better. When I was in situations in which I was concerned about how I sounded I pretended I was acting a role and this gave me the mindset I needed to control my voice until it came more naturally in those situations. So if you're looking to improve the way your voice sounds something along the lines of drama, speech classes or even public speaking classes could help.



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04 Oct 2010, 6:20 am

^
Probably true......I rememember in a book about singing, they said that when you initate a good singer, your voice will be better than it would be if you were to sing the song as yourself, and they were right. Role-acting has remarkable powers......



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04 Oct 2010, 8:22 am

I've found that while I can sound less robotic if I try really hard, it gets tiring after a while. It's a little like putting an NT front, I think.



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04 Oct 2010, 10:25 am

I have noticed many times where I am saying something jokingly (at least I think so), but others think I am serious. I can't think of a specific example right now, but it's stuff like, "Well, a huge vulture just flew in the cafeteria and is trying to eat the hot dogs." I guess because of the tone/inflection of my voice, they must think I am serious. I don't know.


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04 Oct 2010, 12:15 pm

ToughDiamond wrote:
I think a good way to start is to make a recording of your voice as it is now, listen a few times, and then try again. Maybe also try a few "talking books" or any other recordings of spoken word, and try to record yourself imitating the speaker. Also this is one area in which role models might help - if there's anybody out there whose speaking voice you admire, listen to their recorded work and see if you can emulate it. Of course it's better if you can find somebody you trust to advise you on your weak points and how to correct them, but I think usually it's pretty obvious when you hear yourself on the recording.


I tried something similar to this today - I found movie scripts online and recorded myself reciting bits of dialogue. I did the first recording speaking the way I normally would and, after finding my weak points, tried improving on subsequent recordings. Each recording got a little better. I have to say, it is very difficult for me to add inflections to my monotonous tone, but I am learning how to speak more clearly and crisply.



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04 Oct 2010, 9:03 pm

Where do you people do the recording thing anyway? There are too many people at my house for me to have any privacy, and every time I try doing it in my car in the park or just on the streets there'd be a passerby who notices I'm talking to myself and begins giving me a funny look.



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04 Oct 2010, 9:22 pm

I pretended voices were music and copied the patterns. Apparently it worked well enough that my voice now uses formal but communicative inflection. Inflection and pacing can be used as a substitute for the punctuation in written communication. The only difference is that instead of being located between the words, it's contained in the words themselves, such as swinging your pitch downwards at the end of a declarative sentence and pausing before the next word.


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ToughDiamond
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05 Oct 2010, 4:21 am

menintights wrote:
Where do you people do the recording thing anyway? There are too many people at my house for me to have any privacy, and every time I try doing it in my car in the park or just on the streets there'd be a passerby who notices I'm talking to myself and begins giving me a funny look.

What, no quality time alone? Everybody should be given at least one room that's private to just them. I guess you could drive out into the countryside and try that.



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05 Oct 2010, 11:40 am

glider18 wrote:
I have noticed many times where I am saying something jokingly (at least I think so), but others think I am serious. I can't think of a specific example right now, but it's stuff like, "Well, a huge vulture just flew in the cafeteria and is trying to eat the hot dogs." I guess because of the tone/inflection of my voice, they must think I am serious. I don't know.


Surely that only makes the joke better.



glider18
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05 Oct 2010, 11:59 am

Invader wrote:
glider18 wrote:
I have noticed many times where I am saying something jokingly (at least I think so), but others think I am serious. I can't think of a specific example right now, but it's stuff like, "Well, a huge vulture just flew in the cafeteria and is trying to eat the hot dogs." I guess because of the tone/inflection of my voice, they must think I am serious. I don't know.


Surely that only makes the joke better.


You're right because the person who took it wrong feels very_________(well, you can fill in the blank) :lol: .


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05 Oct 2010, 11:59 am

It does, for me. People often call it "deadpan" or "dry humor". I think, hey, if people laugh, that's what I was meaning to do, right?


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