One sure way to put your audience to sleep (any audience – on stage, online, on the phone, etc.) is to share your message in a monotone.

Adding vocal variety not only helps to keep the eager attention of the people listening to you, it also enables you:

  • To allow people time to think about the answer to any question you ask
  • To encourage people to carefully consider an important idea
  • To add mystery and drama to your message
  • To build anticipation for a certain outcome

The video accompanying this blog post explains and gives specific examples of the 6 different aspects of vocal variety.

  1. Pitch
  2. Pitch Characteristics
  3. Tempo
  4. Volume
  5. Placement
  6. The Pause

Once you’ve watched and, more importantly, listened to the video, have some fun playing around with these different aspects of vocal variety. Then notice how they bring life and excitement to any message you share.

You will appreciate the results, and so will your audience.

To see other videos in the series, visit and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Enjoy!