Ten Top Tips for the Best Man's Speech

On the eve of The Auspicious Day I feel behoven to give a few tips to all Best Men out there getting nerves before the great day.
1. Stay off the booze till after you have spoken (one nip is ok but NO MORE)
2. Practise without notes several times the night before and a couple on the day if you can - then rest.
3. Try to get a decent sleep
4. Speak to the furthest guest from the Top Table to ensure everyone hears
5. Move your lips more - especially the top one - this will aid clarity and slow you down
6 Breathe from your belly.
7. Stand to your height, relax your shoulders back and down
8. Keep a chuckle in your throat so you dont tense vocally
9. Keep your jokes clean for Aunty Mabel
10. Speak from your heart and with love.

Continuing Professional Development with the BVA

I went to a day's workshop called Fair Exchange held by the British Voice Association a couple of weeks ago. Lyn Darnley of the RSC and Christina Shewell were among the guest speakers. I have just bought Christina's new book 'Voice Work : The Art and Science of Changing Voices' which will give me many happy hours. It is such a 'complete works'. By the time we all did our MA's in voice at Central School of Speech and Drama the speech therapy department was a thing of the past. Happily for us many of their skills were passed onto the MAVoice. This helped to make it a qualification of  great value, as scientific as it is artistic (or certainly was in David Carey's day). Christina is both a speech therapist and a voice teacher and has splendidly brought both together into her writing.

It was very refreshing to meet great new people, Milly, David et al and be reminded of just how much there is yet to learn.

Open Courses from May 28. Book Now

Before I talk about the open courses I want to say 'The best speaker won!' I was one of the judges at The Jack Petchy Speak Out Challenge in Waltham Forest last week. Xavit Hoxhaj gave a terrific, funny and powerful speech about the BNP. I hope we see him at the Final. Well done Xavit.


Open Courses.
We are running these once more after a break because people want something they can do for themselves rather than wait for in house training. The first one is May 28th at the Vestry House Museum E17. It is a lovely accessible venue in Walthamstow Village and five minutes from the station. We provide lunch. Please come along and have a great day out whilst learning something really really useful!

For more information and booking:  www.resonancevoice.com/opencourses

PS
Did you know the vocal folds vibrate 440 times a second whilst singing an A above Middle C? Since we only speak on the courses so we can't prove this but it is true!

Louise

Judging for Speakersbank in E17

I am delighted to have been asked back by SpeakersBank this year to judge their Waltham Forest Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge final along with luminaries such as Stella Creasy (moi with Stella!).

I did this a couple of years ago in Stratford and was asked last year but could not do it unfortunately.

Speakersbank (though probably officially a competitor of Resonance Voice Training) provide a great service to young people encouraging them to develop their Public Speaking skills and confidence within schools. The talent is fantastic and it is great to see young people develop their ability to argue a case and perform to large enthusiastic audiences.

It is a competition so although I know they will all be good I will be looking for that something extra...perhaps a connection with the audience, commitment and passion for the subject and quality of delivery. I intend to keep my ears open for the ubiquitous rsing upward terminal inflection!

More next week,
Louise