The Study Skills Programme
Your communication toolkit
Your voice
A loud voice cannot compete with a clear voice , even if it ’ s a whisper . Barry Neil Kaufman
The first step in becoming an effective communicator is to discover your own voice – its potential range , size and quality . Every individual ’ s voice has a unique range of sound .
Your voice box or larynx
Your voice box is a hollow , tubular structure and it is made of cartilage ( connective tissue ). It is connected to the top of your windpipe . Inside your voice box are two bands of tissue that form your vocal cords . When you speak or sing , muscles pull these cords together ( see diagram above ). The air passing through the cords makes them vibrate . We hear these vibrations as sounds . The shorter your vocal cords are and the faster they vibrate , the higher the sound produced .
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