Your vocal skills are a key element of business success. So, if you want a more interesting speaking voice, just remember this.
Vocal expressiveness is a key skill for gaining audience interest and engagement. That's because a voice that uses variety is part of knowing how to have an effective conversation with an audience. Or, to put that in practical terms so that you can easily improve in this area of business, consider the following metaphor:
Your voice is like a three-story house—and if you're not using vocal variety, you're spending all your time on one floor. After all, in real life, there are some really interesting spaces waiting for you and guests on those other floors (including the basement and the attic)!
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Your Habitual Voice May Not Be Your Optimal One
Before we talk about some specifics of vocal variety or vocal dynamics, let's begin with your pitch. All of us are used to speaking on a specific pitch. But habit may not have much to do with using the best pitch for your personal vocal delivery.
It may come down to the difference that is often expressed as "habitual pitch vs. optimal pitch." Your habitual pitch is just what it sounds like: the one you're in the habit of using. Optimal pitch, on the other hand, refers to a pitch that's easy to produce in terms of avoiding vocal strain, carries well, and creates a relaxed and pleasant-sounding voice.
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Generally speaking, men and women can head in opposite directions where habitual pitch is concerned. Men sometimes purposely deepen their pitch, I suppose to sound more manly. That's great for when you're saying, "Hey . . . get closer to that steer before you let go of the lasso!" But maybe not for the other things you say in your business on a daily basis. Women, on the other hand, sometimes lighten their pitch by raising it, but this can (and does) negatively affect credibility and authority because the voice can sound too young and girlish.
How to Determine if Your Habitual Pitch Is Higher or Lower Than Your Optimal Pitch: Record yourself singing the "Happy Birthday" song. You know: "Happy birthday to you . . . happy birthday to you . . . " Then, keeping the recording going, talk about something related to work. Now listen.
The idea is that singing "Happy Birthday" is spontaneous and more likely to be genuine and produced naturally, i.e., your optimal pitch. On the other hand, we sometimes assume a "business voice" to sound like a serious professional, etc. Believe me that the more you sound like your honest self, the more successful you'll be when speaking for business. So, if the pitch you're using sounds too high or low compared with your optimal pitch, start developing a new habit of getting closer to the latter, which is probably the best one for you.
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Use All the Floors of Your Beautiful House!
Now, once again, the metaphor that can be helpful to you in using a fully expressive voice is to remember that three-story house + basement and attic. Whatever pitch you start out with, where you go in terms of inflecting your pitch is what we're talking about here.
"Pitch" in this context simply means highness or lowness on the musical scale (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do). When you're really focused on the point you're making—I call it being fully invested in what you're saying—your voice naturally rises and falls. There are many reasons you do this, including the relative importance of that word or phrase, your level of excitement, your commitment to that idea, your passion about the topic, etc., etc.
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Probably the easiest way for you to actually hear this and begin to speak with a more varied pitch, is to listen yourself when you're not self-conscious and trying to do well (as in hitting this important presentation out of the park or when your boss is in the audience, and so on). That mindset tends to actually flatten out your voice because it places your voice in that "serious," i.e., monotonous delivery with a decided lack of range. But when you're with colleagues or friends, or telling a joke, or talking about that exciting game, your voice does exactly what you intend it to do. The result is organic, natural, while probably employing the right pitch at the same time.
Can you see the metaphor at work here? — Sounding monotonous is like spending all your time on the first floor of your house. But the rooms and activities areas on the second and third floor are just as interesting. Occasionally, you need to go down into the basement to find something you need. And exploring the attic can be an adventure. When you use your fully expressive voice in presentations, you're letting your listeners in on the fun and excitement too.
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Gary Genard is an actor, author, and expert in public speaking and overcoming speaking fear. His company, The Genard Method offers live 1:1 Zoom executive coaching and corporate group training worldwide. He is the author of the Amazon Best-Seller How to Give a Speech. His second book, Fearless Speaking, was named in 2019 as “One of the 100 Best Confidence Books of All Time.” For nine consecutive years, he was ranked by Global Gurus as one of The World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals, and he has been named as one of America's Top 5 Speech Coaches. His handbook for presenting in videoconferences, Speaking Virtually offers techniques for developing virtual presence. He is also the author of Speak for Leadership: An Executive Speech Coach's Secrets for Developing Leadership Presence. His latest book is The Confidence Book: 75 Ways to Reduce Your Anxiety, Let Go of Your Fears, Change Your Negative Thinking, and Perform At Your Professional Best. He is also the creator of The Dr. William Scarlet psychic mysteries. Contact Gary here.
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