Speech and Language Therapy
Date of issue: November 2023
Date reviewed: xxx
Review due: xxx
If review date has passed, the content will apply until the next version is published.
The earlier activities within ’tuning in to your intonation’ gave you the opportunity to start playing around with your intonation patterns. Through these activities, you may have noticed that changing your intonation relies on you making minor adjustments to your volume, pitch, rate of speech and even your facial expressions.
Try these exercises again and record yourself (all smartphones have this capability). Notice what you are changing to emphasise some words or to give an overall ‘feeling’. Consider how this sounds and whether you feel that altering your intonation would create a more authentic voice for you.
What this means in terms of perception of your voice:
- A breathy, gentler voice is often perceived as a lighter, brighter voice.
- An effortful, stronger voice is often perceived as a darker, deeper voice.
If you are looking to deepen/darken your voice:
- Say a long ‘ah’ and slightly increase the loudness and pressure you are using.
- Now try the words ‘all, am, on, any, only’ continuing this feeling of slightly increased loudness and pressure.
STOP: increasing pressure in your voice box can cause voice problems. Do not continue with this exercise if you feel any discomfort.
Accessible formats
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You can also find health related information on many topics in an Easy Read format on nhsinform.scot.
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