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From: Tatyana Exum
Date: 26 Apr 2010
Time: 21:07:33 -0500
Remote Name: 76.106.165.197
Thank you Lisa for your insightful question! I would like to start with several tools which caught my eye in one of Dr. Reichel's posts. 1. Lower diaphragmatic breathing. First my mother, then the professional opera singer, and later the University acapella group - all of them, indirectly, helped me to develop correct breathing patterns. 2. Massage of articulatory muscles. Professionals in acting/singing taught me an important lesson: Our voice wakes up much later than our body, and it's unnatural to require it to perform when it's not ready. Any strenuous vocal activity, from their point of view, should shift to a later time of the day. To further promote elasticity of our speech organs and to prevent spasms, a specific massage can be used. 3. Parsing sentences and reducing speech rate are sometimes the most difficult for me due to my cluttering (they require increased self-monitoring). 4. Speech synchronous with the leading hand movement. I use my hands quite a lot. It helps to a)force the word out, b) slower the rate of speech, c) make unintended pauses look natural (especially if there is a pointer, pencil, or any convenient all-purpose object in the hand). The slight drawback of this tool is - once it becomes a habit, any hand movement restrictions may cause temporary problems, and, therefore, acknowledgement of this behavior as of a coping skills is important. I would also like to mention expansion of my vocabulary (synonyms help to replace the most stubborn words when necessary) and flash cards with the words I cannot avoid (it really helps during presentations). Occasionally, I slightly stomp my foot and can make a humorous comment about stubborn words. It relaxes my muscles, and I can get back to the word I needed. And, most of all, in the most difficult or important situations, I remind myself that I am the driver of my own emotions. I have the same right to be on the road of communication as everyone else and people, who I would like to keep communicating with, will be patient enough to give me time to say what I need to say without being impatient or judgmental. I hope, I answered your question. Thank you again.