RATE , VOLUME, and PITCH for Effective Communication




RATE


Rate is the quality of voice that indicates the pace or speed of speaking. It reflects how slowly or quickly a person can speak. The average normal speaking rate is about 125 words per minute.

As a customer service provider, you must be aware of the speed you use when talking to your customers. Your main goal is to provide good service, and one of the best indicators is communicating with your customers in an appropriate manner. 

Speaking too slowly might lead your customer to become bored and think of other tasks while listening to you, while speaking too quickly may leave you almost breathless and result in a situation where the audience is unable to comprehend the message you want to express. 

Speaking too fast can affect the clarity of your message, leading you to constantly ask to repeat what you’ve said.

The rate also varies depending on our emotions. When you feel bored and tired, you tend to speak slowly. However, when you are in a hurry, happy, or surprised, you speak faster than the average. 

To consistently provide the best services to your customers, you must learn to practice the correct rate of speaking in communication.

Tips for Speakers: 


✓ When speaking, vary your rate to emphasize important parts of your message. Slow down on keywords. 

✓ Change your rate based on the mood or emotion of the message and the occasion. For instance, if you want to show excitement at a pep rally, you will naturally speak at a faster rate than if you were speaking at a funeral where you would speak slower due to sadness or contemplation. 

✓ Speak slower when making choices and thinking carefully about what you are saying. A slower pace may convey thoughtfulness to the audience. 

✓ Use a recorder to capture your speech so you can assess your actual speaking rate. 

✓ Finally, ask yourself if you are speaking too fast because you are nervous!

Always remember, whether you talk slowly or quickly really matters! But what’s most important is that your audience can comprehend the message you are trying to convey.

VOLUME


In effective communication, the way we express ourselves is just as crucial as the content of our message. As a customer service provider, mastering the art of using your speaking voice is essential to ensure your message resonates with your audience.

Volume, referring to the loudness of the speaking voice, plays a pivotal role in conveying your message effectively. Similar to speaking rate, striking a balance in volume—avoiding extremes of being too soft or too loud—is key to being fully understood by your audience.

The appropriate volume may vary based on the setting; for instance, a softer voice is suitable for one-on-one conversations, while a louder voice may be necessary in larger spaces like classrooms.

Consider these volume levels for different settings:


Quiet: Suitable for places where conversations should not be heard, such as movie theaters or libraries.

Normal Speaking Voice: Appropriate for settings with moderate noise, akin to a home environment.

Loud: Ideal for bustling, noisy places like baseball games or crowded areas.

When providing services to customers, your audience utilizes your speaking volume as a basis for forming judgments about you. 

Speaking too softly may convey uncertainty and a lack of confidence, potentially causing your audience to disengage and miss crucial information. On the other hand, speaking too loudly might come across as imposing and overconfident, making customers feel uncomfortable.

To communicate effectively and create a comfortable environment for your customers, it is imperative to practice using the appropriate volume in conversations.

Tips for Speakers: 

✓ Ensure your voice is loud enough for the audience to clearly hear you. 

✓ When emphasizing a word, increase your volume. This helps highlight the most important words in a sentence. 

✓ Varying your volume adds interest to your speech, preventing it from sounding monotonous.

✓ If you tend to speak softly, give yourself permission to project your voice louder for better understanding. 

✓ If you naturally speak loudly, work on modulating your speech volume to provide necessary contrast and maintain a comfortable atmosphere for your audience.

PITCH


Voice qualities such as rate, volume, and pitch, alongside intonation, provide the listener with more information than the words spoken alone. This is because the meaning of a message is profoundly influenced by the tone and intonation of the speech.

Learning how to use different pitches in speaking is crucial for enhancing understanding, especially in a customer service context. Utilizing pitch allows you to convey emotions and attitudes through variations in your voice. 

As a service provider, it is essential to avoid sounding like a robot, as a monotone voice can be perceived as inexpressive and uninterested, unintentionally making the customer feel less important.




Pitch, a fundamental aspect of speaking and listening, refers to the highness or lowness of the speaking voice. While often used interchangeably with intonation, pitch is specifically linked to word and syllable stress.

In communication, pitch is employed to subtly infuse meaning into spoken messages, reflecting our emotional state. High pitch is employed when articulating crucial words in a thought group or sentence, indicating emotions such as happiness, serenity, anger, or fear.

 On the other hand, low pitch is employed at the end of declarative sentences and is often associated with sadness and boredom. 

The baseline pitch represents the normal state of our speaking voice and is used for words and syllables that may not carry significant weight.

Each person possesses a unique pitch range, alterable through the manipulation of vocal cords. Raising pitch involves tightening the vocal cords, while lowering it is achieved by loosening them.

A higher pitch is employed to emphasize words when:

  • Making a simple statement
  • Contrasting or clarifying information
  • Introducing new information
  • Emphasizing a word
  • Asking a question

Understanding and mastering pitch in communication can significantly enhance your ability to convey emotions, engage customers effectively, and make your spoken messages more impactful.

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