Creating an impact with your voice
by Sheetal Kakkar Mehra:

Being articulate and having a well-modulated voice is a powerful business tool to enhance your personal impact.

Though a cultivated vocabulary is the key to effective communication, scientific research shows that voice quality (pitch, tone, volume, inflection) creates 38% of the total impact.

In business meetings, while making presentations or when speaking on the phone, a pleasant voice is a business asset.

A good business voice has the following attributes:

Clear diction/ tone:
makes you easy to understand.

Projects confidence:

a low comfortable pitch makes you appear poised.

Inspires trust:
by creating synergy between your words and body language.

Displays good vocabulary: choice of words and correct grammar inspires confidence while usage of slang or foul language makes you appear immature and anxious.

Is well-paced: speaking too-fast or tooslow makes it difficult for your listeners to understand you.Expresses emotion: generates listeners’ interest, displays enthusiasm and feelings.

Is without a heavy accent: heavy regional or foreign accents make it difficult to comprehend your words.

Lacks ‘verbal junk’:

repetitive use of words like ‘basically’, ‘actually’, ‘um’, ‘like’ or ‘you know’ and finishing sentences with a question mark or ‘ok’ reduce impact.

Use these techniques to improve your vocal impact:

Diagnosis:

Tape record your voice, play it back, rate it and try to weed out the problem areas.

Vocal Exercises: Singing, humming, talking from the back of your throat, proper breathing and reading children’s stories out loud improve your vocal quality.

Body Language: Chin up accompanied with a good posture, creates a powerful visual and projects your voice better.

Practice makes perfect: Grab opportunities for public speaking to sharpen this skill. A cultivated voice conveys confidence, inspires trust and conveys warmth. A superior vocal quality, as displayed by several political and business leaders in today’s competitive world, is critical to ‘hold court.’

(Shital Kakkar Mehra is the founder of Soft Skills International)