How do you get rid of a monotonous voice?

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Sea Gull
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15 Jun 2009, 11:44 pm

My voice doesn't have good fluctuation. Are there any good methods? Is there anything they do for those diagnosed with AS/HFA?



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15 Jun 2009, 11:54 pm

I have a monotonous voice too. Thing is I can sometimes pick up other accents.

I don't know if you could do something like that.


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16 Jun 2009, 12:34 am

my mother was really critical of my voice... it was too high and too monotonous. I guess her complaining motivated me to change my voice. I don't really remember what I did, but I remember thinking about it, how the pitch in people's voices change, like their voices are waves, but there's a strange tempo to follow to avoid a sing-song sound, like they aim at a word and their voice follows them there. I guess I practiced a lot.

I took voice in college and that helped, but checking my vocal inflection, expressions, the way I walk, etc. to pass for "normal" is a lot of work and it tires me out. I talk too loud a lot and my voice tends to go flat when I'm stressed or insecure.



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16 Jun 2009, 2:22 am

Trying to sing along with music and really working to match the voice of the musician is good practice. Whenever I am in the NT world and talking to them, I visualize myself giving a movie performance. Yes, it is very tiring, but I can fool most folks when i work hard enough at it.


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poopylungstuffing
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16 Jun 2009, 2:38 am

I talk-sing



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16 Jun 2009, 3:17 am

It isn't a problem for me but my son talks in a very low voice and gets angry if anyone mentions it.

If you have that problem then I would suggest elocution lessons or at least speak into a tape recorder.

If you can hear the difference between what you sound like and what you should sound like then you can work on it.

Another thought is to join a group like Toastmasters. My wife dragged me along. It was pure hell at first but it got easier and I learned a lot.



kip
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16 Jun 2009, 3:39 am

I did toastmasters in middle school, that was helpful. Also, I watched telly with decent actors and mimicked what they did. When I get stressed, it actually fluctuates more now, but in weird ways. I still have the monotonous voice when I'm tired or not thinking about it though.


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16 Jun 2009, 3:49 am

My voice used to be quite monotonous, but I've been into acting for years and learnt how to use my voice properly with that.



Wombat
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16 Jun 2009, 4:02 am

Do you know what annoys me?

The opposite of a monotonous voice!

How about those women who do voice overs for radio and tv commercials?

They have honey dripping voices and can pack several emotions into one sentence.

They sound so excited that Target has 20% off socks this week. Like that is the most important thing in their world.



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16 Jun 2009, 5:01 am

I used to have a very monotonous voice, and still can if I'm tired. I had to learn to listen to my voice, and through singing and just practising, I managed to learn to have different "voices" depending on the situation. Altho sometimes it messes up and I use the wrong voice that doesn't really suit the situation!



fiddlerpianist
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16 Jun 2009, 5:34 am

Wombat wrote:
Do you know what annoys me?

The opposite of a monotonous voice!

How about those women who do voice overs for radio and tv commercials?

They have honey dripping voices and can pack several emotions into one sentence.

They sound so excited that Target has 20% off socks this week. Like that is the most important thing in their world.

Very true. Fortunately, people in the real world don't talk like that. Well, most people don't, at least...

The exaggeration is necessary for the media. It's just like putting on gobs of makeup if you are singing in an opera. If you don't, the lights drown you out and make you look pale.


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mechanicalgirl39
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16 Jun 2009, 6:23 pm

Don't.

Monotonous voices are far, far more restful to listen to.


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16 Jun 2009, 6:46 pm

I have had this problem without noticing it. I would give presentations on my work, and the other people would have to fill out an evaluation on the quality of the work with the last section being- comment on quality of presenting the material. I would get comments like doesn't spend enough time looking at audience and speaks in a monotone, though it felt like I was varying my pitch and voice. It may be a case of the nerves, since I seem to become more methodical when nervous, instead of looking anxious .



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19 Jun 2009, 2:17 pm

I'm a bit sceptical about the association between Aspies and monotony because there is so much culturally-induced monotony around. There are monotonous accents and there are too many people speaking in those monotonous accents to be accounted for by ASDs. It's not even at a national level but a local one and seems to reflect upon the cultural aspirations of a neighbourhood or family.



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19 Jun 2009, 3:01 pm

Here in UK you can get away with monontonous accent. There are so many accents here that you can pretty much say it is a regional thing! I personally have picked up a slight American/Canadian accent so I just tell irritating people that I'm Canadian!


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RarePegs
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19 Jun 2009, 6:13 pm

RarePegs wrote:
I'm a bit sceptical about the association between Aspies and monotony because there is so much culturally-induced monotony around. There are monotonous accents and there are too many people speaking in those monotonous accents to be accounted for by ASDs. It's not even at a national level but a local one and seems to reflect upon the cultural aspirations of a neighbourhood or family.


I should have added that I'm aware that some Aspies do have monotony as part of their manifestation and I'm not for a moment suggesting that any of you who are monotonous are from a background lacking in cultural aspirations - it's just that people who are monotonous for cultural reasons are probably much more numerous in society than monotonous and non-monotonous Aspies put together!