Veteran media professional shares skills to unlock voice and language charm

The Centre for Corporate and Community Development (CCCD) and the Faculty of Creative Studies (FCI) jointly organised a webinar titled Develop Your Voice and Language Charm on 26 November 2024 via Zoom. The webinar was conducted by veteran media professional Ms Eeva Chang Mei Hsiang, and moderated by FCI academic Dr Soon Thean Bee.

Ms Eeva Chang is a multifaceted professional with a distinguished career in broadcasting, media management, education and talent development. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Psychology from Taiwan’s Fu-Jen Catholic University, Ms Eeva Chang began her career at Taiwan’s 'You-Shi' Radio Station, where she won the prestigious Golden Bell Award for Best Presenter in Social Programmes as a young host. She later worked as a radio presenter and senior producer for prominent stations, such as Rediffusion and 95.8FM Broadcasting Corporation in Singapore. Following her tenure at 95.8FM, she served as Chinese programme manager for Radio Heart 100.3FM before becoming a general manager at Ocean Butterflies Singapore, a renowned recording label. In this role, she trained many celebrated singers in the Asian music industry.

During the talk, she shared her experiences and skills in developing one’s voice and language charm. She emphasised, “Our voice is our most important weapon. It has its own face or colour. Understanding the unique characteristics of one’s voice is essential to unlocking its full potential.” Then, she highlighted the importance of ears in controlling voice and said, “The ears are where voice begins. We use them to control our sound, which makes protecting them crucial.”

In the session, she guided participants in analysing their natural voices. “A voice can sound different to oneself, acquaintances and strangers. A voice belongs to you, but how it feels belongs to others. That’s the truth about voice,” she explained. Apart from this, she suggested an interesting exercise to help participants understand their vocal charm. She said, “Let’s ask five friends to purely analyse the sound of your voice and this would give a clear indication of its unique appeal.”

Following next were the practical methods to make voices more distinctive and captivating. The techniques shared by her included using punctuation effectively, breaking sentences into meaningful pauses, modulating tone like walking up and down stairs; highlighting bright and clear contrasts in speech, speaking conversationally as if in dialogue, emphasising keywords and controlling rhythm and pace. She invited the participants to interact using these methods and provided on-the-spot guidance.

She delved deeper into the source of language’s power, focusing on the importance of perspective and storytelling. “Your perspective begins with your positioning or definition. What persona have you set for yourself?” she asked, encouraging participants to reflect on how they view and present themselves.

During the Q&A session, the audience had a great interaction with the speaker. They discussed topics related to the audience, target and purpose of speech, as well as the importance of consistent practice in honing basic broadcasting skills.

The webinar was made possible thanks to the connection facilitated by UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat. Ms Eeva Chang expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to interact with the university’s students and staff, and she shared her hope of visiting UTAR physically in the future.