Have you ever considered that your company's business success depends on how effectively your employees use their voices to conduct business? And, as a leader, have you considered that one of your most valuable assets is your voice and how you use it? Do you realise that your credibility depends on it?
The voice is the DNA of effective communication
We are not educated about our voices and how to use them and yet in business many of us spend up to 90% of our time communicating with our voices. We talk and talk all day, every day, to benefit our company.
Very few people in business have enjoyed the benefits of vocal training. Most are ignorant about the power of the voice to create strong emotional resonance which is the DNA of effective communication.
The voice is underestimated in everyday business
We all know that leaders do not achieve great things without great communication. Yet research shows that most leaders habitually underestimate the importance of communication (Kotter, 2000).
As a result they frequently limit their potential by failing to give communication sufficient attention. Those who do try to improve their communication skills often completely overlook the voice itself. Business professionals rely heavily on the voice but know little about its role in the communication process.
Huge potential waiting to be tapped
To date, in business, we have limited understanding and appreciation of the vital impact of the voice on performance, relationships, persuasion and credibility. As a result, in most organisations, the voice is an unrealised asset.
Our voices have immense power to positively influence others. Insufficient attention is given to developing the vocal techniques and performance attributes to ensure our voices compel, engage and inspire confidence in others. In most businesses, the door is closed on reaping the considerable benefits to be gained from effective voice use.
A good voice attracts attention
For most people, the voice and its effects work more at a sub-conscious level than on a conscious level. Your voice has a profound impact on how seriously you are taken and how respected you are. Now, in the 'Age of Attention', every second of the day we are competing for attention.
Smart companies are asking themselves "How can we be distinctive? How can we stand out from the crowd? How can we keep people tuned in to us?". Talented people with great voices will win out every time. Human beings are attracted to well produced, appealing, melodic voices. We want to attend to them.
There is a clear link between your perceived credibility and vocal tone
Our personal image and credibility are encapsulated in our voices. People make assumptions about us based on our voice and the way we use it. Our voice can open and close doors to opportunity: why is this so?
Research has established that there is a clear link between vocal tone and the perception created in others of credibility, likeability, trustworthiness and professionalism. There is also a clear link between our vocal tone and a listener's perception of a quality experience. Vocal tone also strongly influences interaction outcomes, as good vocal tone aids the ability to connect and sustain engagement at an emotional level, without which business relationships fail to thrive.
All employees, especially those in key roles, can amplify their presence, impact and effectiveness by learning to use the variables that create great vocal tone, vocal variety and distinctive vocal delivery.
Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye - Your voice is your company's brand
Your employees represent your company every time they answer the phone, or speak face-to-face with clients, in business meetings, at conferences, on planes, in restaurants, in boardrooms, in courtrooms, and in the media. Each time your employees speak on behalf of your company they project a vocal image. The first thing your client notices about your company is your employee's voice. Ask yourself:
- Does my company's voice sound confident, enthusiastic, dynamic, authoritative, trustworthy, distinctive, and dependable?
- Am I confident that my employees' voices adequately represent my company's image of success, quality and brand?
- Does my company have the voice of success? Or is my company's voice sounding lack-lustre, hesitant, insincere, distant, condescending or plain, boring or bland?
Find your company's voice brand
If you have a moment's hesitation about your employees' ability to communicate the desired quality of your company's brand, it is time to reflect seriously on how your employees can better use their voices to ensure that they protect, preserve and enhance your company's most valuable business asset - its brand. Your employee's voice really matters.
Your company leaders, top sales team, key account managers, business development personnel, client relationship managers, brand managers, key client facing staff, or those identified as future leaders, need to be able to embody the essence of your company brand through the voice itself. Why not complete a voice audit to see how effectively your key employees are ‘voicing' your brand? The learning will be fascinating.
Unlocking the power of your voice
Any great communicator uses his or her voice like a finely tuned instrument. Any voice will be dull without tone, colour, variety, emphasis, energy and melody. Without appropriate vocal technique and vocal expression, our intentions and feelings are dulled down, even clouded and open to misinterpretation. Good communicators work on developing both vocal tone and vocal variety.
To develop good vocal tone you need to produce the voice correctly, develop a good ear to listen to your voice and have the ability to make subtle adjustments. To develop vocal variety requires a sense of rhythm, good timing and the courage, skill and sensitivity to control and shape vocal dynamics. In brief, you must have:
- Good posture and body alignment (also produces greater personal presence)
- Adequate breath support
- Good vocal placement
- A well balanced vocal resonance
- Good articulation and vocal projection
- An expressive, engaging vocal style
- The confidence and performance skill to create memorable customer/client/employee experiences
Your voice really does matter
Make no mistake, your voice and how you use it plays a powerful role in the emotional judgments people make about your personality, authority, trustworthiness and credibility at both an individual and company level. Your voice affects how people absorb, retain, and are persuaded by your messages. It attracts peoples' attention and helps keep it.
Despite the pervasiveness of communication technologies, our voices clearly remain of paramount importance to us in our everyday expression and connection with others. We should never underestimate the power of our vocal tone to attract or repel.