How To Not Be Monotone When Speaking

Unlock the secrets to captivating public speaking! In this episode, learn how to transform your speaking style by mastering vocal variety and dynamic hand gestures. Discover tips to overcome monotone speech through practice, repetition, and using your phone's camera for self-review. By discussing topics you're passionate about, you'll naturally add energy and enthusiasm to your voice. We also delve into the importance of body language, emphasizing the role of hand gestures and eye contact to elevate your presentations. Tune in, practice these strategies, and watch your public speaking skills soar!

NOTABLE QUOTES
"Start recording today and, through repetition, you are naturally going to start talking more and you'll start to see that vocal variety in your voice rather than just being one tone." – Philip
"Start talking about something you're interested in because…you are going to naturally have a less monotone voice." – Philip
"Part of not being monotone is to have a pause in your sentence." – Philip
"As you're practicing—getting those reps in—is find places where you can actually do the emphasis." – Philip
"Using your hands, using your body, will also help break some of that monotony." – Philip

RESOURCES
Philip
Digital Course: https://www.speakingsessions.com/digital-course
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@philipsessions
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Do you sound like Eeyore when you're talking?
Chances are, you're not alone,and I was there at one point.
When we start speaking inpublic, a lot of times we tend
to talk in a really monotonevoice and we really sound like
Eeyore.
We're really boring where we'rereally boring, and so in

(00:29):
today's video, I'm going toteach you how you can be less
monotone in your speaking, sotherefore, hopefully, you're a
little more engaging.
There's other aspects that alsogo into being engaging and
speaking, but today we're goingto specifically focus on the
monotone portion portion,because if you don't have this
down unless if you have supervaluable information let's say

(00:50):
how to make a million dollars in10 seconds people are probably
going to listen even if you talklike this.
So I want to help you learn howto not be monotone so that way
we can then work on next stepsin other videos of how to
actually be more engaging.
But being monotone is somethingthat will take time I want to

(01:13):
preface that here before wereally get into the video for
you to be able to learn how tonot be monotone.
It's going to take time, it'sgoing to take practice, and so
we can say that's really thefirst step, the first step being
that you have to startpracticing.
You have to start doing videos.
We have these wonderful thingscalled phones and they've got a

(01:35):
front facing camera.
You can simply record a 10second, 30 second, five minute
video, however long you wantthat video to be.
You can simply start recordingtoday and, through repetition,
you are naturally going to starttalking more and you'll start

(01:56):
to see that vocal variety inyour voice rather than just
being one tone.
So, number one being just startputting in reps.
Number two is actually beinterested in what you're
talking about.
If I was to talk aboutmathematics and science, laplace
transforms and other thingslike that that are very

(02:19):
science-y, very mathematic-y,I'm not interested in that and
there's nothing wrong with that.
If that's something that you'reinterested in, great, go with
that.
But maybe you're into sports,maybe you're into movies, maybe
you're into traveling.
Start talking about somethingyou're interested in, because
when you're interested insomething, you are going to

(02:42):
naturally have a less monotonevoice Some people just naturally
have that but you have to havesomething that you are going to
naturally have a less monotonevoice Some people just naturally
have that but you have to havesomething that you're interested
in.
And, again, going with thefirst step of repetition and
talking about something you'reinterested in, you're going to
see that excitement and thisbuilds this natural muscle for
us, just like working out.
If I'm doing curls, and I'mdoing curls with 20 pound

(03:05):
weights, weights, 20-pounddumbbells, and at first it's
going to be really hard, butafter a while I'm like, hey,
yeah, 20 pounds, that's nothing.
I can rep out 15, 20, 30 reps,no problem at all, but at first
it was a struggle just to getfive.
It's the same thing with beingmonotone.
Once you start to put in thereps and you start talking about

(03:28):
something that you're excitedabout, naturally your voice is
going to start changing andyou're going to get the
repetition in to do that,because really being monotone is
all about not having the musclein place to not be monotone.
I mean, there's a lot of themindset there that you do as
well, but you also have to startgetting yourself in those reps

(03:50):
of not being monotone and justtalking like this, because it's
natural just to be able to sayand talk like this, because it
is more relaxing than me talkinglike this and I'm projecting my
voice a little bit more andit's a little bit higher pitch.
Yes, I got a little more moreand it's a little bit higher
pitch.
Yes, I get a little more of arumble, grumble, whatever, and

(04:10):
my tone when I speak moremonotone.
It's a deeper voice, so maybemore masculine at that point,
but I raise it up a little bitto make it a little bit more
engaging, a little bit lessmonotone for me, but through
talking about things excitingwill help you there.
Number three would then be toactually focus on some of these

(04:32):
things.
So how do you start focusing onthat?
You'll notice for me, naturally, I can emphasize words and I
will raise and lower my voice,and even noticing how I go into
monotone, and then I get reallyexcited again and my voice goes
up and then it comes back downto a normal level.
I'm speeding up the words thatI'm saying as well as I'm

(04:53):
slowing down as I say the wordsalso.
So I'm speeding up my sentences, I'm slowing down my sentences,
expanding and contracting, soall these different things to
help me not be monotone.
Now, that's going to be here inanother step, but the first
thing that you need to do isstart focusing in on certain
words.

(05:14):
So part of not being monotone isto have a pause in your
sentence and maybe it's notliterally in the middle of the
sentence.
I just put that pause therebecause I literally said pause.
But as you're trying toemphasize something, this is a
very important point.
I want to make an importantpoint to you today.
Those are things that you canmake, a pause which will help

(05:40):
with the monotony Because, likeEeyore, he just stretched out
every sentence and they justkind of flowed together and
there was no break in anythingand it just kind of kept going
on and on and on.
So having that pause will allowfor that break, which will
break some of that monotone-nessof your speech.

(06:04):
But also emphasizing key wordsyou might have noticed there I
said also or emphasizing youwant to emphasize some of the
key words that you want to sharewith your audience, something
that is important.
So if this is an importanttopic to talk about, then I want
to make sure that I emphasizethose key words and you might

(06:28):
not literally do it every otherword like that.
You really shouldn't Depends.
I won't say it's 100%, don't doit that way, but for the most
part you're not going to everyother sentence.
Do that.
So emphasizing and puttingpauses in will help to break up
the monotony or the monotonoustone that you have in your

(06:50):
speaking.
And then number four.
Number four would be to befamiliar with the content that
you're going to talk about, knowwhat it is that you are
actually going to say.
If you don't know what you'regoing to say, it's hard to put
that emphasis, it's hard to havethat pause.
And so it really comes back tothe very first step of getting

(07:12):
the reps in.
But now we're looking more into.
I have a speech prepared andhow do I make myself not more
monotone or make myself lessmonotone?
So what you can do there is, asyou're practicing, focus on the
words that are the key wordsfor you.
Focus on points where you cancreate a little emphasis with

(07:35):
that pause or emphasizing a word, like I just did, saying
emphasis, and then again I justdid it again, and there with
again.
So I'm not going to keep doingthis.
This is a huge cycle.
It's just going to keephappening.
But that is something that youcan do as you're practicing
Getting those reps in is findplaces where you can actually do

(07:57):
the emphasis there.
And then the fifth thing, whichisn't necessarily the voice
itself, but, as you've probablynoticed, I'm moving my hands.
I'm doing these differentgestures.
I just said voice itself.
It's the expanded andcontracted kind of thing.
Using your hands, using yourbody, will also help break some

(08:19):
of that monotony, because nowyou're not just standing there
or if you're on video as afigurehead just looking, or if
you're on stage, you're notlooking standing there.
Or if you're on video as afigurehead just looking, or if
you're on stage, you're notlooking like a statue.
So we want to make sure thatwe're actually moving our hands.
If we're not on video.
Obviously, if I walked off thevideo, it'd be kind of awkward.
I don't know if I actually madeit all the way off, but

(08:40):
whatever you get the point if Iwalked off the video, be kind of
weird on stage if you, it's thesame thing for on stage.
So it's weird if you're on videoand you walk off camera still
talking.
It's weird if you're on stageand you literally stand still
like a statue.
So on camera, make sure thatyou're using a lot more hand
gestures and you're probablygoing to use about the same

(09:01):
amount or maybe even more onstage.
But when you're on stage, alsomake sure you're looking around
the audience because you want tomake eye contact with different
people, and so you're usinghand gestures.
You're utilizing that stagethat you have at that time.
But use those hand gestureswill be the fifth thing that I
would do to help you break themonotony, or that monotone voice

(09:23):
that you have in your speech.