When we write, we use commas and periods and paragraphs and such. Readers are GUIDED from sentence to sentence as we take the time to separate our thoughts structurally. Run-on sentences miss the point. Inappropriate or inconsistent spacing and lengthy paragraphs become challenges. All of these errors can leave our readers to wander into unrelated thoughts or, worse yet, dismiss…
Jill: [Wa-woo wa-woo wa-woo] Why all the sirens? Because you know that using intonation helps you be understood, getting the pitch that you want, emphasizing the word that you want, the syllable you want. I know intonation matters to you. Today, we’re going to practice siren sounds and we`re going to practice that on a, e, i, o and u…
Jill Diamond: Breath is the fuel of life, and ideas are made up of life. When we make the connection between our ideas and breathing and communication, we set ourselves up to be very effective when we speak. How does breathing help our speech? A recent study by neuroscientist shows that when we take concentrated breaths, we actually can change…
Jill: Hi everybody, it’s Jill Diamond. Today we’re going to work on stepping. It’s a technique in our speech where you use the scales, but you don’t go through every note. You skip over some notes. For example: orientation, implementation, presentation [stepping over last syllable]. When I say these types of words, I have to jump up, I have…
Jill Diamond: I’m moving the muscles in my face because it’s a great way to warm up the articulators for enunciation. It’s so important that you articulate and use good diction when you speak. Here is one of my favorite acting warm-up exercises that really gets all those muscles moving. We’re going to start by saying “A-E-I-O-U”, and notice how…
Jill Diamond: Hi everybody, it’s Jill Diamond and today I want to talk a little bit about the contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables. Not only is it important to know how many syllables are in a word–like we did in a previous video on rhythm–but, it’s important to know which syllables are longer and which ones are shorter. Let’s…