In this 22nd Story Spark session, the host introduces vocal speed, variation, and strategic pauses as essential tools for engaging storytelling. Participants are asked to write a 30‑second to 1‑minute mini‑story and perform it twice: first in a flat, monotone delivery, then with expressive changes in pitch, pace, and pauses. Alka shares a personal anecdote about delivering her father's tiffin, first in a flat style and then with emotional variation, illustrating how vocal dynamics transform listener impact. The host provides feedback, emphasizes the need for conscious practice, and leads three affirmations—“I own my voice and use speed and silence to command attention,” “Every pause I take builds presence, power, and connection,” and “I speak with intention; my pace reflects my purpose.” Alka reflects on the exercise, noting the importance of integrating emotion, dialogue, and vocal technique. The session concludes with a practical Q&A where Alka asks how to cut and download specific video segments for self‑review; the host recommends using any video‑editing tool with trimming capabilities on phone or laptop. The session ends with encouragement to continue daily practice.
Questions this video answers
Use any video‑editing tool that offers trimming functionality. You can install software on a laptop or use an app on a phone to select the desired portion, cut it, and save or download the clip.
Chapters
Awesome. So welcome to day 22 of StorySpark session, where now today we are going to talk about vocal speed or vocal variation and pauses, which really adds energy, soul to the storytelling to the speaking, because if you don't have vocal variation, it becomes very monotonous. So that's what we are going to do. We are going to first write— today's task is to first write a mini story, a story of 30 seconds to 1 minute, and then we are going to switch mode. First mode, we are— you're going to speak without any vocal variation, without any pauses, just speak in the same tone, same pace, same voice. And then in the second version, we are going to switch things around. You're going to add vocal variation, add strategic pauses, and, and we'll see the difference. So let's get jump right into it. Let's start writing a quick mini story. If you want some prompts, I'm gonna give some prompts. You can talk about any embarrassing moment You can talk about missing the bus, train, flight. You can talk about when you dropped something, anything which is short story between 30 seconds to 1 minute. So let's start journaling that.
Another 30 seconds.
All right, so did you get any story, Yuvkaji?
Yeah, I don't know, I got a very lovely story.
Awesome. So first we'll go to the mode without any vocal variation, pauses. So you're gonna just read like a few sentences, no break, in the same tone. So let's go with that.
My dad had just left to go to the office and my mother discovered and she told me, Alka, Papa has left his tiffin box at home. Go running and give him the tiffin box. I ran towards him wherever he had left, but he had gone quite far. But when I saw him from a distance, I saw that he was smoking a cigarette. I was very little and I never understood why should my dad be smoking a cigarette. And all my dreams were shattered. And my dad was my hero. But then when I saw him smoking, I felt very bad. And when I called out his name, Papa, from behind, he just threw the cigarette away. And then he looked at me in utter surprise. And when I gave him the tiffin box, He said, "Arey beta, it was alright. Why did you come? It was okay. You shouldn't have come to give me the tip in box." And this memory has stayed with me throughout my life.
Awesome. So that was mode 1. You tried to control. You still have that innate desire to bring vocal variation. So very good. Now let's go to the second variation where you add pauses, expressions, dialogues, pitch, pace, speed change. Go for it.
One, one morning, my dad had just left to go to the office, and my mother came to me and she said, Alka, can you do me a favor? Can you run and give the tiffin box to Papa? I prepared the lunch for him, but he has forgotten it at home. I said, sure, and I ran. And I was running and running and running, and as I came close to my dad, from behind I saw him smoking a cigarette. I was devastated. I said, my dad can smoke a cigarette? Why would he do that? And I felt very bad inside my heart, and I called out, Papa! Papa! And he looked back in surprise, and he just threw the cigarette away. And then he said, why, why have you come running for the dhaba? I said, you forgot the lunch and you'll be hungry throughout the day. That's why I brought the lunch for you. He hugged me, he thanked me, but I was not the same person. I had changed and I wanted to talk to my dad after that, and I did. Thank you so much.
Awesome, that was excellent. We could feel the energy, we could feel the emotions. So story power to you. How did you feel when you added More variation, more pauses.
So actually what I'm thinking, no, every day in the morning when I do the session with you, what I'm thinking is when I'm telling a story, I'm just telling a story. Now today I was thinking about the pauses, I was thinking about the variation, about the slowness of the voice, the highness of the voice, but that we are not doing when— I mean, we're actually telling the story, we have to think about those things also. It's not the story only, it's a lot of other things— the emotions, the dialogues, everything. We know everything, we're not implementing it. So I think it's a very useful exercise and making us intentionally think about what we're going— what we are saying, how we are saying, and why we are saying it. So I'm very happy with this exercise. Yeah, I have to implement it and inculcate it in my storytelling. Thank you.
Excellent, excellent. And I can— and we can see the difference when you add that. So So what happens is like any skill, you need to consciously practice before it becomes part of you. So once you start, and that is one of the purpose of these sessions, is to consciously practice many different aspects. And like every— any masterpiece, it has got so many layers, content, delivery, mindset, feedback. So once you start practicing one thing at a time every single day, that adds up. Over time. So that's what we are planning to do. Awesome. So let's go with the final part of today's session, which is the 3 affirmations. So I'm gonna show the affirmation on the screen. Affirmation number 1: I own my voice, and I use speed and silence to command attention. Go ahead and repeat.
I own my voice and I use speed and silence to command attention. Wow, very nice.
Awesome. Let's go to the second one. Every pause I take builds presence, power, and connection.
Every pause that I take, it builds presence, power, and connection. Correct. Pause. Power, presence, and connection.
Last one for today is: I speak with intention. My pace reflects my purpose.
Very nice. I speak with intention. My pace reflects my purpose.
Yeah, awesome. So that was day 22 of Story Spark Session where we worked on the vocal speed and pauses. We'll continue tomorrow with Day 23. Have a great, fabulous day. We'll see you tomorrow.
I have a question. When, when I see the video, when you'll be putting it in, in the, in the YouTube, at that time I have a question that now today's, for example, I want to see my own mistakes, what I have done in the previous and in the second one. So if I want to download the video, we do that downloading. That's it.
Ask me, I'll send you the video, right? So from YouTube it's not easy to download. I have the recordings, I can send you separately if you want.
So my question is only not about this video. I find— I, the question I'm asking is any video anywhere when we have, and I want to have a part of it for myself. How do you do it? How do you do that? What do you use to cut it from that and use it for yourself?
Yeah, there are many editing tools that you can use. So you need to use editing tools to cut that particular portion of the video.
Okay, so you have to go to any editing tool, right?
Any video editing tool has options like trimming and speed up and down and whatever you want.
Particular segment, you can cut it and download It's mostly for the phone, not for the laptop, only for the phone or anything.
You can install software on your laptop, you can use it on phone as well, so you can do that.
Okay, thank you.
All right, no problem.
Lovely day.
So have a great day and I'm gonna stop the recording.
