You may be a leader in your field. You have years of knowledge and expertise. But is that what you’re transmitting in your voice?
Let’s face it. You can write all the books you want and share your knowledge with millions. You may be seen by the world as a voice of authority in your field. Not to take away from the power of the written word, but unless you can also deliver your message with the same power that you write, then you’re missing a great opportunity.
Let’s start with your voice placement. If you’re speaking from the middle of the mouth, you’re not projecting as much as you could. It’s like playing a guitar with the guitar’s mouth partly covered. The sound will not resonate as much. While you may think that’s not important because you’re miked, the mike can only amplify your sound so much. People will hear you, but your message won’t resonate with your audience as much as it could. One way to rectify this is to change your voice placement to the mask of your face. For a great exercise to accomplish that, check out a previous blog on projection.
Also, you may be sure of your message, but is that what you’re communicating? In other words, when you’re speaking, are you pausing with ums, and ahs? If that’s the case, then no matter how confident you are of your message, your delivery is not communicating that confidence.
We’ve all heard people using ums and ahs when speaking. Think about the impression that you get of that person when they’re doing that. It’s certainly not transmitting confidence. So what do you do?
When speaking, you need to take pauses here and there to take breaths and allow yourself to formulate the next sentence. Here’s a challenge for you: allow yourself that space. Change the ums and ahs into mental pauses. This will allow time for you to visualize what you’re talking about, and to also develop a more powerful and fluid speech delivered with power and confidence.
Use the exercises above in your next speech or conversation and please share your experience in our comments section.
And until next time, may “The Voice” be with you and thanks for spreading the word!