So, how does a woman convey vocal power and passion when she wants to be heard? I have a few suggestions and it starts with taking volume off the table. Imagine you are a blank slate, like this female right here and you get to fill her in the way you would like to create the impression you want. Let’s pretend that in order to be heard, you are unable to raise your voice- volume is not an option- what are your choices? Here in no particular order are options to consider.
Emphasis Inflection Enunciation Pacing Facial
Expressions
The factor that all five of these characteristics have in
common is AWARENESS. How would you judge your performance in these areas? Let’s start with
Enunciation and Pacing. Literally, do people
understand you? (I always think of Chris
Tucker yelling at Jackie Chan in RUSH HOUR, “Can you understand the words that
are coming out of my mouth?”) It’s not
a bad idea to pretend that someone speaks a foreign language if it prompts you
to hit your consonants and slow down.
Conversing in the business world means having an awareness of how you
want to be perceived and speeding through your thoughts with only soft
consonants and commas sprinkled throughout
can leave people scratching their heads.
Inflection. Does
everything sound like a question? Like, you know what I mean? Or are you hitting the right tone and
stressing the important thoughts? Pay attention to inflecting upward at the
ends of sentences or even being too sing-songy in an effort to make something
sound important.
I can’t stress enough, the importance of having your physical
dynamics, most importantly facial expressions (but let’s not forget body
language and gestures!) match the emotional tone of the message. Smiling too broadly, tilting your head,
shifting your body weight from side to side are small but significant signals
that discount the messenger.
The very basis of my coaching philosophy is to empower my
clients to think for themselves, make choices, experiment, try it out and
decide: does this work for me? While I
am often put in the position of offering suggestions: “try this, try that,” I
believe changes with the greatest impact come when the speaker decides for him or herself. It starts with awareness. How do you sound?
