Speaking Styles of Known Broadcasters and Politicians

Many people who pursue professional speech training ask to speak like a broadcaster since most of them model ideal career professional speech habits. Presented here are some male and female broadcasters who model good examples of intonation, appropriate speech rate and speak with precise articulation. As you are learning intonation and other speech skills, tune in to their programs to observe their speaking styles and to identify any skills you want to have. Being able to identify specific speech features in other people will heighten your own awareness and help reinforce your own personal goals.

Keith Olbermann: MSNBC Countdown, News/Sports/Entertainment

Speech

He is an excellent model for speaking with intonation and clear pitch changes. If you have a monotone speaking habit, tune in to his program for an example of speaking with good intonation. His speech patterns are clearly marked with melody and when he is using intonation he never sounds boring or monotone, which is ideal when presenting, persuading or negotiating business. Listen for his pitch changes, then press your mute button and repeat one of his lines so you can feel what it is like to speak with good intonation.

Voice

He speaks using strong, resonant vocal tones. He has a rich vibrant voice quality that creates an image of confidence. These are good vocal habits to enhance your credibility and image.

No One is Perfect!

When he gets excited his speech rate blasts off! As a result he becomes monotone and frequently mispronounces words. These behaviors are distracting to listeners and not a good model for business situations. Speakers with a fast rate of speech are judged to be unorganized. Remember, it is not possible to speak with good intonation and have pitch changes when you are speaking too quickly. A fast rate of speech will automatically cause monotone speech. If monotone speech is one of your habits, identify good examples of intonation, as well as fast and monotone speech patterns within his show to strengthen your own awareness.

Matt Lauer: NBC Co-Host of The Today Show, Daily Variety

Speech

He speaks with good and controlled melody with clear articulation. His sounds and phrases blend nicely, free from over-punching sounds or appearing choppy. These are good speaking skills to have in the business world and he represents American speech and career speech nicely.

Voice

Since his melody and speed are controlled, you can easily recognize his pleasant tone quality. His tone does not appear harsh or reflect other types of emotion. When negotiating or persuading, you will have the advantage with your listener if you speak using intonation smoothly and exhibit pleasant vocal tones, because your listener will feel at ease. When speech is too fast or the tone is not pleasant, the listener will not process the information as well, or may be turned off by the speaker. While watching the show, turn off your volume and repeat one of his lines, speaking with the controlled speech pattern so you can experience professional speech like a broadcaster.

No One is Perfect!

During his spontaneous speech, it is easier to detect monotone patterns. This habit is more noticeable when he is speaking casually as opposed to conducting a formal interview. In addition, he will also end statements on an upward beat instead of a downward one. Again, ending statements with an upward swing is detrimental in business because you will sound doubtful, young or as if you are seeking approval. See if you can identify these habits and decide how those habits would be perceived in a business situation.

Oprah Wimfrey: ABC Host of the Oprah Show, Daytime Talk Show

Speech

Her intonation has clear rises in pitch and she ends her statements with a downward beat. Her speaking habits represent the American and career style of speaking. She speaks with a controlled speed allowing for clear articulation.

Voice

She has a low volume and rich and pleasant vocal quality. She has ideal speech and voice skills for presenting, teaching or leading meetings.

No One Is Perfect!

Often when she is being informal or joking around, you can hear her delete ending sounds in words or change her voice to sound higher in pitch. When she does this, her voice sounds thinner and nasal tones can be detected. These habits would not work well in a business situation. When this occurs, see if you can identify some speech habits that you are working toward improving.

Hillary Clinton: Former White House First Lady and New York State Senator

Speech

She speaks with deliberate intonation and has a strong and controlled speech rate with crisp diction. Her speech has melody and is never too fast.

Voice

She speaks with strong, rich and commanding vocal qualities and with excellent projection. Her voice never sounds thin, weak or high in pitch. She is a very believable and convincing speaker.

No One is Perfect!

Instead of coming down in pitch smoothly when she speaks she tends to “march down the staircase,” creating a tone that can be perceived as hard or punchy. When “punches” occur in statements, even small ones, the listener often perceives it as too strong and the speaker may be judged as angry, cold or emotional. Unfortunately, many women adopt this habit in order to be perceived as competent, credible or authoritative in the business world. Be mindful of how you use intonation to avoid sounding angry or accidentally send the wrong message about your image. People want to conduct business with smart people, not emotional ones. If you keep your intonation smooth and free from hard onsets or punches, warmer vocal qualities and tone will automatically appear.

Elizabeth Vargas: ABC World News Tonight and Co-host of 20/20

Speech

She is a good example of intonation and melody. She never sounds monotone and her articulation is sharp.

Voice

She speaks with a warm vocal quality and has nice natural projection. Her warm vocal tone gives her a credible and trustworthy reputation. These are good qualities when establishing professional relationships.

No One is Perfect!

On occasion when she is not speaking in her optimal pitch range her voice can sound high, causing her pitch to sound thin. This is common for many women. When conducting business always speak with a diaphragm breath for natural projection to help keep you in your ideal pitch range. Women can lose credibility in the business world when speaking in too high a pitch because it sounds young, and unconfident. Determine if you can observe this behavior in her speech or in the speech of other women to increase your own awareness.

Dick Cheney: Vice President of the United States

Speech

People comment that he has a “CEO” corporate executive speaking style. Although you may not be a fan of what he says, based on his speech and voice models, what he says sounds good. His speech melody is smooth and he uses intonation that engages a listener. His speech rate is controlled and he does not have to make revisions or repeat himself. Speaking with good intonation and rate of speech automatically gives speakers credibility and leadership qualities because they appear to be organized and smart.

Voice

He speaks using his lower voice, creating rich vocal tones and presents a commanding and leadership presence. This is a good model for business.

No One Is Perfect!

When he speaks, he tends to lack warm vocal qualities. When conducting business, if the listener perceives you as “cold” it can impact comfort levels because people want to work with individuals who are trustworthy and kind. If your vocal tones do not exhibit any type of warmth it may be difficult to establish a comfortable relationship. Find a balance of speaking with controlled intonation that will allow you to blend your words smoothly to avoid a harsh voice image .

22344 E. Kenyon Place Aurora, Colorado 80018 Phone: 303-330-3309

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elizabeth Peterson is a licensed speech pathologist with over 15 years of experience working with adults and children in a variety of speech delays, language disorders, cognitive and voice programs. Her speech pathology practice is dedicated to business professionals working toward improved communication skills with custom designed accent reduction and executive speech therapy and voice improvement programs. Ms. Peterson understands the demands and growth of the competitive corporate and global world and offers short term programs that address all areas of business communication skills training such as presenting, negotiating, persuading and sales techniques. Elizabeth also offers a full speech pathology practice addressing preschool, school age and adolescent needs by offering speech therapy programs that are specific for speech delays and language disorders, as well as offer strategies for learning disabilities that promote academic success. Her adult neurological background is extensive and offers adult rehabilitation services in the areas of stroke, brain injury and neurological disease. As of January 2009, Ms. Peterson became a board member for the Colorado Speech Language Hearing Association. She also consults on the Traumatic Brain Injury Team for the Cherry Creek School District.

Do you thirst for to learn strategies for
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— William W. Dodson, MD, Medical Director, ADHD Treatment Center,
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— Chris Dendy, MS, Founder and Educator and Second for AD/HD, as probably as
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— Mary Robertson, R.N., Past President of CHADD and mother of two
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— Peter Jaska, PhD, Past President of ADDA

— David Giwerc, One-time President of ADDA, Founder/President of the TOTAL
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— Evelyn Common, Executive Officer of ADDA, Immediate Past President of
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— Tom Phelan, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and author of books on AD/HD

— Mike Anderson, LCSW, AD/HD Business Coach

When: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 16

Where: Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College

501 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187

For more information on ADDA, inflict http://www.augment.org or call (484)
945-2101.

With reference to ADDA

The Prominence Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) is a
nonprofit organization established in 1989 to provide information,
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work with them. In doing so, ADDA generates hope, awareness, empowerment
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Notoriety Deficit Disorder Cooperative
http://www.annex.org

The Food and Narcotize Administration (FDA) in the Coordinated States has given it’s approval for the use of a chic drug to behave hypertension.

Hypertension or high blood pressure affects an estimated 25 percent of Americans and 1 billion people worldwide and is uncontrolled in 70% of patients.

Many patients need a combination of drugs to control their hypertension.

Left untreated the condition can cause stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, heart failure and death.

Hypertension is a leading contributor to the world’s top killer, cardiovascular disease and is called “the silent killer” because it usually has no symptoms until it causes major damage to the body organs.

The new drug Tekturna (aliskiren) comes in tablet form and works by inhibiting the kidney enzyme renin which is linked to the regulation of blood pressure.

Tekturna is a new molecular entity (NME), and is the first high blood pressure drug approved by FDA that inhibits renin which is a trigger in the blood pressure regulation process.

Tekturna is the first new drug in over a decade for treating hypertension.

Currently available high blood pressure medications act at later stages whereas Tekturna acts at the start of the regulation process.

Dr. Douglas C. Throckmorton, the Deputy Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, says the approval adds a new safe and effective treatment option for people who need help to control their blood pressure.

In an extensive clinical trial involving over 6,400 patients Tekturna was seen to be effective in lowering blood pressure.

In six eight-week clinical trials, which studied more than 2,000 patients with mild to moderate hypertension where a placebo was used as the control, Tekturna was effective across all demographic subgroups and the benefit was maintained for up to one year.

African American patients had smaller reductions in blood pressure than Caucasians and Asians, which is apparently common for drugs that affect the renin-angiotensin system.

When Tekturna was used in combination with hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, further reductions in blood pressure were achieved.

The most common side effect was diarrhea which was reported by approximately 2 percent of patients on the higher of the two approved doses but these were usually mild and brief.

Tekturna is available in 150mg and 300mg tablets.

Patients taking Tekturna rarely developed an allergic reaction but the drug is unsuitable for pregnant women as it can cause injury and even death to the developing fetus.

Dr. Marc Pfeffer, a professor of Medicine at Harvard and a cardiologist at Brigham & Womens Hospital, says renin-angiotensin system activity contributes to many of the complications associated with high blood pressure and Tekturna offers an exciting new therapeutic option for treating hypertension.

Tekturna is manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceuticals which will conduct a large outcome trial in order to evaluate the long-term effects of Tekturna and renin inhibition.

Last September the European Medicines Agency was approached for Tekturna to be reviewed for use in the European Union.

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media contact: Dennis Meredith
(919) 681-8054 or (919) 417-6581
dennis.meredith@duke.edu

DURHAM, N.C.(USA) — By exposing rats to novel objects and measuring their brain signals, Duke University researchers have detected telltale signal reverberations in wide areas of the brain during sleep that reveal the process of consolidating memories.

According to the researchers, their findings furnish important assertion that global regions of the brain are involved in processing memories during a particular propriety of rest, called slow-swell snore.

The researchers said their findings ode to rest above-mentioned doubts that sleep enables consolidation of newly acquired memories, and also establishes roles as both quiet-flood sleep and speedy optic movement (REM) slumber in tribute consolidation. Slow-wave forty winks is a deep dreamless nap, and REM sleep is associated with dreaming.

The researchers published their findings on Jan. 19, 2004, in the online Public Library of Science (www.plos.org).

Superior maker on the thesis was Miguel Nicolelis, Ph.D., a professor of neurobiology and of biomedical engineering, who is also co-Mr Big of the Duke Center for Neuroengineering. Lead author was Sidarta Ribeiro, Ph.D., in Nicolelis’s laboratory. Other co authors were neurobiologists Damien Gervasoni, Ph.D., Ernesto Soares, Yi Zhou, Shih-Chieh Lin, M.D., and Janaina Pantoja; and Michael Lavine, Ph.D., of the Duke Institute of Statistics and Judgement Sciences. Their work was supported by the Patriotic Institutes of Health and the Pew Latin American Program.

In their study, the researchers placed about 100 infinitesimal recording electrodes in the brains of rats, in four regions involved in memory crystallization and sensory processing.

Those brain areas included the hippocampus, which is widely believed to be confused in memory storage, and areas of the forebrain involved in rodent-sui generis behaviors.

The scientists employed the same neural recording technology that Nicolelis and his colleagues acclimatized to entrust monkeys to control a drudge arm, an acquirement announced in October 2003.

The researchers next exposed the rats to four kinds of story objects in the dark, since largely nocturnal rodents depend on the tail of scent via their whiskers to explore their atmosphere.

The four objects were a golf ball mounted on a hop, a fingernail brush, a last of wood with pins betrothed and a tube that dispensed cereal treats.

The researchers recorded and analyzed brain signals from the rats to come, during and after their search, for several days across commonplace sleep-wake cycles. Analyses of those signals revealed ‘reverberations’ of distinctive perceptiveness wave patterns across all the areas being monitored fitted up to 48 hours after the best-seller participation.

According to Ribeiro, ‘We found that the operation of the thought when the animal is in a familiar environment does not ’stick’ — that is, the brain keeps moving from one nation to another.

In dissimilarity, when the animal is exploring a novel environment, that novelty imposes a particular pattern of venture, which lingers in all the areas we studied. Also, we found that this pattern was much more prevalent in slow-wave rest than in REM sleep.’

Conversely, previous studies by Ribeiro and his colleagues demonstrated that the activation of genes qualified to object memory consolidation occurs during REM sleep, not tardily-current sleep.

‘Based on all these results, we’re proposing that the two stages conduct part and complementary roles in memory consolidation,’ he said.

‘Periods of slow-wave sleep are very prolonged and generate a revoke and very likely amplification of memory traces. Ensuing episodes of REM sleep, which are completely impolite, trigger the expression of genes to put by what was processed during out of date-fro sleep.’

In integrity, this model explains studies such as those by Robert Stickgold and his colleagues at Harvard University, showing that both slow-swing and REM catnap have beneficial effects on memory consolidation, he said. According to Nicolelis, the untrained experiments remedy shortcomings of previous studies.

‘I recollect that this is another demonstration of the power of the capability of looking at multiple areas of the perception simultaneously,’ he said.

‘Previously, investigators partake of reported the prospect that memories are consolidated during catnap by looking at reverberations, but they on the other hand looked in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. And they only looked towards an hour or so. They never looked at several regions of the brain simultaneously, and they never looked for longer periods of occasionally.

‘We’ve now demonstrated that these reverberations occur in a much more distributed manner greater than the forebrain, and for a very long time years. Importantly, emphasized Nicolelis, the latest findings forearm further evidence that the brain behaves as an integrated in general in processing report.

‘The brain cannot be seen as just a mosaic of structures, with one performing a particular function and others doing other unrelated functions,’ he said. ‘This carve out has to be discarded, and this analysis is ditty of the first studies to lay bare that the brain has to be considered as a whole.

‘So, while strange aspects of memory consolidation may be episode in various structures, the as a rule cognition is participating in this process, and not very recently the hippocampus or cortex, which was the idea previous to this work,’ said Nicolelis.

Next, said Nicolelis, the researchers will-power perform experiments in which they record from more brain structures over longer time periods. They will also genetically play on the animals, switching off personal to genes to attempt to modify neural circuitry involved in memory storage.