Intention of the class: To train you on the proper use of the microphone and begin your development with speaking in front of an audience, and familiarizing yourself with the scripts that will be used throughout a wedding reception.

Things to keep in mind:

• • Every time you are on the microphone, you are interrupting.
  • Whenever you speak on the microphone, do so with PURPOSE
    • To Direct
    • To Inform
    • To Guide

• DIG It!

Posture and Mic Positioning:  How you stand, and how you hold the microphone has as much to do with the success of your presentation as what you say and how you say it!  The best way to stand is with feet shoulder width apart with your shoulders held high, no slouching!  The microphone should be held at the base, not up by the ball, (no rapper grips!).  The top should be placed 3-6” below your mouth.  It should be vertical, not pointed in towards your mouth, so you should be speaking over it.

Breathing: Obviously you know how to breathe, but breathing for speaking is a little different.  To breathe from your diaphragm, place your hand on your stomach, if it moves out when you breathe in, you are using your diaphragm effectively.  Your Shoulders should not rise.  If they do, you are breathing too much from the top of your chest, make sure your breathing technique is proper before you speak.  Correct breathing will create plenty of air to speak clearly and strongly without causing you to shout!

Vocal Warm Ups and Exercises

The best way to get the most out of your voice is to learn to breathe properly.  It’s also the best way to start your warm-up.

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, knees relaxed, arms hanging loosely.  Theoretically and ideally, you’ve already gone through a physical warm-up.  Take a deep, diaphragmatic breath and allow yourself to drop forward at the waist as you exhale.  Roll back up and repeat, this time adding a sound as you inhale.  Repeat several more times, getting louder each time.
• Play motorcycle.  Vibrate your lips, making engine sounds, taking the pitch up and down.  Pretending to ride the road is optional, but makes it more fun.
• Massage the sides of the jaw, releasing any tension you hold there.  Cupping your hand in your chin, work your jaw up and down as fast as you can, making a sound.  It’ll come out something like “wawawawawawaw,” but the faster the better.
• Standing upright, breathing deeply, slowly and with control, start repeating “Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha.”  Think Eliza Doolittle with her paper and flame.  Listen to hear if the sound is resonating in your chest.  Feel the vibrations.
• Sustain your breath on a hum.  Play with the pitch, up and down the scale, feeling the vibrations resonate through your body.  As you get more adept at feeling the resonation, try and move it deliberately, through your chest, your jaw, your nose, your sinus cavities, your forehead, the top of your head, then back down again.
• Moving on, we go from just open sound to a shaped one, working different syllables to loosen the tongue and jaw. Start with each set slowly, repeating it until you feel confident, then increase your speed until it is almost a hum.
  • La
  • Le
  • Te
  • Ta-Ka
  • O-E
  • mamalo papalo

Once you feel like you’ve loosened up, move on to the other vocal exercises.

Tongue Twisters – Be sure and say these in only one breath!

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

A tutor who tooted the flute,
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
“Is it easier to toot,
Or to tutor two tooters to toot?”*

*The difference here is tutor and tooter.   Tutor has a long “u” which is very different than the “oo” in tooter, but Americans tend to pronounce them the same way.

Bobby Bibbit bought a bat.
Bobby Bibbit bought a ball.
With the bat, Bob banged the ball,
Banged the ball against the wall.
Amidst the mists and fiercest frosts,
With barest wrists and stoutest boasts,
He thrusts his fists against the post,
And still insists he sees the ghosts.**
**The difference between “st” and “sts” is almost a syllable.  Make sure you aren’t cutting that final “s” off or adding it where it doesn’t belong.

Breath Control
The point of the exercise is to be able to say the entire piece in 1 breath. Work up to it by doing 1 breath per stanza, then 1 breath for 2 stanzas, etc.

Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun by Shakespeare

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o’ the great,
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;
Care no more to clothe, and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning flash
Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must,
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

For extra bonus points, practice reading Dr. Seuss out loud as quickly as possible while perfectly enunciating each word.

Using the scripts found in the Scripts & Structures Section, practice presenting each of the following scripted events.  Memorize them, and make them  your own.

• The Welcome

• The Grand March

• Toast Introductions

• Cake Cutting Ceremony

• Spotlight Dance Introductions

• The Dollar Dance

• The Garter Removal & The Bouquet Toss