As vocal coaches, Danny and I consistently hear from so many
people of how they dislike the sound of their own voice. Ask yourself the question, "What
am I doing about it?" Do I just accept that this is my sound and
do nothing about it?
While doing my study and research this week, I found an
article by the world renowned *Renee Grant-Williams, who Danny and I had the
opportunity to see in Melbourne last year,
which has prompted this week's blog.
The way we speak and deliver lines of communication, like
our personal image, is one of the very
first impressions we leave with people. Not
happy with your look? You change your look.
What if we consider our voice as our very own trademark to
separate us from everyone else, to get that job we really want, or make that
presentation or to get that promotion we
are after?
Why not work on your voice to achieve an improved vocal identity?
Here are a few simple
ways to improve the quality of the way
we sound, and how we execute them.
1/ Breath control -
When we speak, we very rarely think about breathing, let
alone controlling it This causes our breaths to be shallow and therefore our
sound to be quite breathy and weak.
Engaging the diaphragm will provide the control and support needed to
give fuel to the vocal cords to make your vocal footprint.
"If you breath shallow, you sound shallow", says*
Renee.
2/ Tonal control -
"I sound like a whiny cat when I
sing", is something Danny and I hear a lot. What people are actually
referring too is the "tone" of the voice. When we speak don't think
of getting the richest, most beautiful tone we can, therefore it can sound thin
and white.
3/ Pitch -
Rise
and fall in our conversation makes us more interesting to listen too, and makes
"what" we say more convincing.
4/ Be present -
We have all had the phone calls with someone where the "vocal drone" on the other end becomes hypnotic and we just "ah huh, yes, Ok etc"
every now and then during the conversation. Meanwhile we are thinking about other things. Being present in mind and
thinking, while communicating with people can keep them engaged or make them
feel like they are being ignored and not important to us.
5/ Passion -
Do
you think about what you say before you say it? "Believing" the
things you say and feeling passionate about it, changes the way you sound and
the delivery of your information.
Give Danny and Kylie a call to discuss further how we can
help you improve your voice.
Check out Renee's article for
tips that she suggests.
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/08/10/get-a-job-by-the-sound-of-your-voice/
