Tone and Melody: How to Make Your Message More Memorable

Why a melody is more memorable than plain text.

To understand the power of tone and melody, let's consider a simple comparison: why is it so much easier to remember the lyrics of a song we've heard several times than it is to recite word for word a page of a book we've read the same number of times?

The answer is simple: the song has melody.

The melody creates an auditory and emotional structure that anchors itself in our memory much more effectively than a plain text.

This principle is directly applicable to oral communication.

For a message to be influential, it must first be memorable.

Therefore, adding melodic variety to our voice, playing with different notes and tones, is not a simple embellishment, but a fundamental strategic tool to ensure that our ideas linger in the minds of our audience.

The meaning that lives underneath the melody of the voice

Melody not only makes a message memorable, but also carries deep emotional meaning, even in the absence of words.

A piece of instrumental music, for example, can evoke feelings of joy, sadness or tension without the need for a single lyric.

This demonstrates that there is a "world of meaning" that lives exclusively in the melody.

The same is true of the human voice.

Beneath the words we utter, there is an underlying melody that communicates our mood, our energy and our attitude.

When we say that a person "elevates the energy of a room," we often mean the positive, vibrant melodic quality of their voice, which has a direct impact on how others feel and respond.

The "siren" technique for expanding tonal range.

To develop greater melodic variety in the voice, there is a practical and effective exercise known as the "siren" technique.

The technique involves taking any text and reading it aloud, starting at the lowest possible pitch.

The voice is then gradually slid upward, going through the entire vocal range until the highest note is reached (even in falsetto), and then descending again in the same fluid manner.

By repeating this upward and downward movement, imitating the sound of a siren, the speaker becomes more familiar and comfortable with the different notes of his or her vocal instrument.

Regular practice of this exercise helps to expand the usable tonal range, allowing the voice to become naturally more melodic, expressive and, consequently, much more captivating.

Summary

A song is easier to remember than a plain text because the melody creates an auditory and emotional structure that anchors itself in memory. For a message to be influential, it must first be memorable.

Beneath the words we speak, there is an underlying melody that communicates our mood, energy and attitude. The positive, vibrant melodic quality of the voice has a direct impact on how others feel.

To develop greater melodic variety one can use the "siren" technique, reading a text and sliding the voice from the lowest pitch to the highest pitch. Regular practice of this exercise expands the tonal range.