How Tone of voice Shapes Classroom Culture
Sometimes how we speak becomes more important than what we speak. The tone is something that gives energy to our voice. As we are living in an environment where nonverbal communication has its prominence, the tone of voice has a specific role to play in speeches. This is evident in classroom lectures.
Voice modulations are used as powerful tools by teachers to effectively manage the classroom. It is the tone of voice of the teacher that directly influences the behaviour of students in the classroom. Teachers need to follow a balanced attitude, not very strict and not very lenient. And this gets reflected in their tone of voice.
In this blog, we are going to analyse how important are the modulations of the tone of voice and how the tone of voice of teachers shapes the classroom culture.
The approach of the teacher is conveyed to the students via his or her tone of voice. A thoughtful use of tone could make a boring lecture interesting. It is the tone of the voice of the teachers that helps in classroom engagement.
1. Establishing Rapport
The way the teacher presents the topic decides the involvement of the students in the topic being discussed in the classroom. An energetic tone of voice by the teacher helps to bring more student participation.
2. Build confidence
The tone of voice reflects the confidence of teachers in conveying concepts. Voice modulation brings trust in students, helping them gain a better understanding of the topic.
3. Reduce Conflict
If teachers can communicate clearly and genuinely, then students are better acquainted with what is being taught in the classroom. This reduces the space for confusion and other possible conflicts.
4. Structured learning environment
It is the tone of voice of the teacher that sets the learning environment for the entire classroom. When the teachers can communicate in an effective tone of voice, it leads to a structured environment in the classroom.
The various approaches to bring an excellent tone of voice into classrooms
A pleasant voice -padding-left:3%; If the voice of the teacher is pleasing, then it grabs more attention of the students as well as retains their interest in learning.
Personalised tone - The voice of the teacher should be accessible to everyone who is in the class, yet the tone must be personalised to make each of them feel as if the teacher talks to them personally.
Correct modulation - The voice of the instructor in class must be perfectly modulated. It should not feel like the teacher is just reading what is in the textbooks. Instead of a plain tone, a well-modulated tone of voice catches attention.
Use of action words - It is good to use action words in the lecture by teachers to get student involvement and interest. The students are to be mesmerised to well associate themselves with what is conveyed in the classroom.
Encouraging expressions - The tone of voice also suggests supporting gestures from the speaker. This should be greatly encouraging and inspiring for the students to better perceive what is being told. It can have impactful results in the classroom.
Proper Eye contact - If the teacher’s eye contact is not proper, then it becomes difficult to control or manage the class, however pleasant the voice might be. A pleasing voice accompanied by proper eye contact could have incredible results in classrooms.
These are the tools that if effectively used can help in retention of interest of the students in the classroom. The correct application of these tools also help in developing a positive tone of voice that in turn helps in shaping a great classroom culture.
