August has been a busy month for me: a family vacation (with new dog!), a final draft of a new play, new clients, and—probably like a lot of you—hours spent engrossed in the Olympics and the Democratic Convention. So this newsletter is coming in just under the wire.

While on vacation. my kids brought up a habit I have had since they were small: my tendency to do “funny voices,” when quoting certain people—notably family members. I think this is an occupational hazard for an actor/playwright, the impulse to differentiate voices. I know it both amuses and annoys my kids. Admittedly, I probably go overboard in this regard in my private speech. But I hear a lot of monotony in public speaking, and, as a coach, sometimes I need to address my client’s lack of vocal “color.”

Listening to the Convention speakers it struck me that the contrast between the great ones (looking at you, Michelle Obama), and the lesser ones, is huge. Someone really needs to tell folks to trust the microphone! Of course anyone might have a natural impulse to shout out to a crowd that big, but modern technology has made it easier for us to communicate more conversationally. Not only does yelling make you seem overly aggressive, when you yell, you have no vocal variety, no variation of pitch, tone or tempo: it is ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME.

This is not an effective way to get any point across, Much better to speak with tonal and tempo shifts. No need to go as far as I do in my family circle and give character voices to anyone you are quoting. But, just for fun, you can try as many voices as you like when you’re practicing a speech. As we say in acting class and the rehearsal room, go for it: if it’s too much, you can always pull back. But don’t be timid. Even at high volume, timid is boring!