289. 5 voice lessons from The King's Speech

Special Edition: Watch on You Tube!

King Charles III addressed the US Congress on April 28th, 2026 and it was a vocal masterclass in diplomacy.

A video on social media I made about this went viral, and there were lots of requests for a deeper analysis - so here it is.

In this episode, I break down more of the king's vocal techniques and explain how you can apply it to your own speaking.

I cover emphasis. pace, pitch variation, gesture and intonation - and reveal the surprising psychology behind a surprise appearance of the rolled R!

Words matter - but delivery matters more. The way you use your voice can completely transform how your message lands.

Transcript

Hello. Welcome to a very special edition of That Voice Podcast. It’s normally an audio-only experience, but in light of what I’m doing in this episode, I thought: if King Charles can be on camera, I can too. Laughs.

If you’re listening, it will still make sense — but if you’re watching, welcome to the full experience.

Are you ready for voice lessons from the King’s speech?

Here’s how this episode came about. King Charles addressed the US Congress and, vocally, it was a masterclass in diplomacy. He was able to critique America while still building rapport. Listen to this delivery:

“And by Jove, Mr. Speaker, when we have found that way to agree, what great change is brought about — not just for the benefit of our peoples, but of all peoples.”

He looks back at the Speaker for the cheeky British “by Jove,” which is a bit disarming. Then when he says “way to agree,” there’s this beautiful rising inflection that vocally signifies he’s not finished speaking. He floats it up there — that they don’t always agree — but if they did, what could happen? We lean in.

Then: “great change is brought about.” He moves into this higher register, his head voice, which is where vision, planning and ideas live. And then he lands those pointed inflections on “our peoples” and “all peoples,” with both voice and gesture reinforcing this sense of unity and positivity.

And I’ll share one more moment, which I think is such a cleverly disguised scolding of Trump. Listen for how the words “carry weight” are emphasised — really heavy, almost onomatopoeic. Then you’ll hear a murmur from the crowd, and Charles lifts a little finger, like, “I’m in charge here.”

“America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since independence. The actions of this great nation matter even more.”

Whoa.

The way he says “the actions matter even more” while moving his pages and looking up through the whites of his eyes — it felt like being told off by a school teacher. A very judgy, scolding energy there. Laughs.

Remember: words are a choice, but so is delivery.

I did not expect vocal analysis to go quite so viral. It really warms my voice coach heart. And honestly? I also wasn’t expecting King Charles’ speech to be that good.

We’re talking about his address to the US Congress on April 28, 2026 — a speech that will go down in history. You asked for more, and here it is.

In today’s episode of That Voice Podcast, we’re diving deeper into the King’s speech: the vocal techniques he used, and — because I’m all about “news you can use” — how you can bring these techniques into your own speaking.

A quick caveat: because I’ve structured this episode around techniques, the examples I share are out of order.

There’s so much that could be said — and has been said — about the writing of this speech: the language devices, the metaphors, the phrasing. It really is a feather in the cap for the speechwriter. Though, as many of you shared online, I agree: I reckon King Charles had a hand in it himself. There’s this glimmer in his eye when he delivers certain lines — like, “Yep, I wrote that… and it landed exactly how I wanted.” Laughs.

So today, are you ready for five voice lessons we can take from the King’s speech?

1. The Art of Emphasis

Emphasis is making a word stand out. There are lots of ways to do it: louder, softer, pausing before it, pausing after it.

In King Charles’ speech, he has this beautiful cadence where he emphasises the final word in a phrase — and importantly, it’s always a nice, meaty word.

In Episode 217 of That Voice Podcast — I think it’s called Five Quick Speech Writing Hacks — I talk about structuring sentences so they end with a strong word.

One of the best ways to make a word stand out is through onomatopoeia — making the word sound like what it is. Bang sounds like bang. Crack sounds like crack.

King Charles uses this brilliantly. Listen to how he delivers “pain,” “shock,” and “whole world.”

“This atrocity was a defining moment for America, and your pain and shock were felt around the whole world.”

He stretches “whole” — it sounds big, round, expansive.

You can only do this if you use descriptive language in your speeches.

2. The Art of Pace and Pause

This speech was so well-paced. There was never a moment when King Charles didn’t seem in complete control.

And I especially loved how he handled humour. Listen to the timing here:

“Now, as you may know, when I address my own Parliament at Westminster, we still follow an age-old tradition and take a Member of Parliament hostage…”

Audience laughter.

“…holding him or her at Buckingham Palace until I’m safely returned.”

Audience laughter.

“These days we look after our guests rather well… to the point they often do not want to leave.”

Audience laughter.

“I don’t know, Mr Speaker, if there were any volunteers for that role here today?”

That’s excellent comedy timing.

He leaves enough space for the audience to react — whether that’s laughter, reflection, or absorbing a serious point.

And that takes experience. He’s fully in sync with the room.

3. Gesture and Vocal Alignment

Our voice is our whole body. The way we move affects the way we sound.

Throughout the speech, Charles uses incredibly clever gestures — including that little finger wag I mentioned earlier.

But there’s also this fascinating juxtaposition: he talks about disagreement and dispute between England and America, yet his palms are open and his arms relaxed.

The language is conflict. The body language is peace.

Listen and watch:

“Ours is a partnership born out of dispute, but no less strong for it.”

He says “dispute” while using this open-palmed “I come in peace” gesture.

This is such a powerful speaking technique. When your content is potentially combative, warm gestures help you maintain rapport.

Because once you lose the audience? Whew. It’s very hard to win them back.

4. Pitch: The Highs and the Lows

Different pitches create different effects.

Head voice is where ideas and thinking live. Heart voice is emotion. Lower voice — around the solar plexus — is action and grounding.

The words themselves will guide your pitch choices.

For example:

“These roots run deep.”

Roots are down. Deep is down. So naturally, the voice drops.

Now compare that to this:

“It is extraordinary to think…”

Hear how his pitch rises on “think”? Thinking lives up high.

Or this:

“These are strong foundations on which to continue to build.”

Foundations go low. Build rises upward.

And another:

“They build greater shared resilience for the future.”

Resilience grounds low. Future lifts high.

If people tell you that you sound monotone, this is one of the easiest fixes. You don’t need a singing voice — you just need range.

If it’s sky, sun, dreams, future — lift the pitch.
If it’s roots, grounding, depth, strength — bring it down.

The words will guide you.

5. The Art of Intonation*

Pitch is vertical — like an elevator going up and down.

Inflection is the movement of the pitch. Think of it like a skate ramp: the rise and fall.

King Charles uses rising inflection beautifully before pauses. A rise tells the audience: I’m not done yet. Something else is coming.

And that creates anticipation.

I call this the “tease and land” intonation pattern.

Here’s an example:

“The world may little note what we say… but it will never forget what we do.”

The rise… the pause… then boom — the landing.

And he absolutely nails this at the end of the speech:

“God bless the United States… and God bless the United Kingdom.”

Did you hear it?

“God bless the United States…” rising inflection, pause… then “God bless the United Kingdom.” Boom. Stuck the landing.

That’s how you finish a speech with authority.

The Rolled “R”

And finally — there was one fascinating vocal moment I had to research.

Near the end of the speech, Charles says:

“Let our two countries rededicate ourselves to each other.”

And suddenly there’s this very deliberate rolled “R” in “rededicate.”

I was like: Wait… where did that come from?

Because he’s speaking in Received Pronunciation — classic royal speech — which doesn’t normally include rolled Rs.

So I did some digging.

A rolled or trilled R — technically called an alveolar trill — can convey authority, tradition and clarity.

And I thought: King Charles… you genius.

At the very end of this extraordinary speech, he slips in this subtle royal power move. Like the vocal version of that little finger wag.

I did not think I would see the day. Laughs.

So what can we take from all of this?

We can use emphasis, pace, pauses, gestures, pitch changes and intonation. But above all, we need to bring the most important ingredient:

You.

Your style. Your energy. Your voiceprint.

That’s actually the name of my book — Voiceprint — because your voiceprint is the unique mark you leave on the world when you speak.

At the end of the day, you don’t want to deliver a speech someone else could have given. You want it to sound unmistakably like you.

Sure, it might not be the King’s speech. But every time you speak, it is your speech.

I hope you enjoyed this special video edition of That Voice Podcast. Next week we’ll be back to audio only — although if you loved this style of speech breakdown, let me know in the comments. You might just twist my arm.

Like, comment, subscribe, DM — I’d love to hear your thoughts and say hi.

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