You’ve heard about the pernicious ‘up-ending sentence’. Which is exactly that; a sentence that ends with an upward rising pitch line, much like that of the questioning intonation you might used when you say, “Is that for me?” , “Is he OK?”. Obviously, this is a perfectly OK kind of thing to do. But when this questioning tone is heard with other sentence forms, and too many times, it creates a sound of childlike insecurity. It sounds as if you are asking for permission or affirmation.
Let’s do something about it!
Step 1: You’d better find out if This Means You. You might listen to your outgoing message on your voice mail and see if you hear something like, “This is Marcia Jones? I’ll be out of the office today? You can leave a message after the beep? Have a nice day!” If you are smart you will listen to yourself on a recording or ask trusted friends.
Step 2: Deal with the emotional element. You need to have the attitude of telling someone something in an authoritative manner. This is in contrast to a tone of voice that asks for affirmation of your message. Prepare a paragraph of information in the form of simple declarative sentences (subject/predicate). Now read it in a way that conveys you expect to be understood and obeyed. (Not asking for permission, not asking for affirmation with a head nod, etc.)
For example:
“I have asked every one in the department to be at this meeting. I expect that you have all signed the attendance sheet. You will need to pay attention to the new regulations we have received. You will be expected to relay them to your own staff. Please examine the documents on the table in front of you.” Etc.
Deliver these lines with an authoritative attitude; you should be bringing your pitch down at the end of each short sentence to show you mean it.
Step 3: Everyday you should intentionally use the simple declarative sentence form with a lower pitch level at the end. Make up 10 sentences just by looking around the room. Be stupid and obvious, not deep or clever. (The rug is brown. The telephone is blinking. I can look outside. I can hear my neighbors’ voice. There is plant on my desk., etc.)
This is working on the ‘habit’ part of your speaking. Do this simple task every day (with careful self-monitoring) to make the pattern consistently authoritative and comfortable in your mouth. Do this several times a day for a week and see how easy it comes to you when you need it!
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If you would like Dr. Fleming’s help to identifying your communication problem areas and helping you get started on your own improvement, consider getting her Holiday Speak Your Best! Package, which offers a copy of her book, CD or Audio Series and a Consultation. To learn more about the Speak Your Best! package go to www.speechtraining.com/holidayspecial/
