I get so tired of up-talk. You know, what it is, right? The speaker can hardly manage ending a sentence normally, allowing voice inflection swing up. (Apparently, it’s also known as the “Valley Girl” effect.)
I acknowledge that after falling in and crawling along through that rut, it’s frightfully difficult to get out on the smooth ground of normal talk.
Anyway, that kind of speech pattern kinda bugs me in conversations. And it gets very wearisome to me when public speakers use it. So I was pleased to read the following constructive perspective:
Whenever actors, public speakers, clergy, or people in conversation, end a sentence or a phrase, they usually pause. The pause gives the listeners — the audience — time to absorb the words. But when a presenter stands up in front of an audience, the stress of the situation triggers an adrenaline rush which produces time warp that causes the presenter to speak faster and rush past the pauses.
[…]
Professional actors pay as much attention to the cadence of their speech as they do to the tone of their voices; and so, when actors end their sentences, they pause to punctuate the meaning of an idea.
[…]
Presenters would do well to give their audiences — whether native English speakers or English-as-a-second-language speakers — a moment to absorb their information by pausing at the ends of their phrases. The best way to create a pause is to drop your voice at the ends of your phrases. Sadly, many presenters today do the opposite; they let their voices rise at the ends of their phrases, producing the dreaded “Valley Girl” effect. If you concentrate on dropping your voice, you will not only sound more authoritative, you will add those valuable pauses.
Please read the whole Jerry Weissman article and study your lessons: When Presenting, Remember to Pause.
He thinks it will make your communicating more effective.
He might be right? 🙄 Sorry, I just had to do it? 😆