Do you want to command attention, and inspire and motivate people to take action?
Lately while conducting Voice Power Studios’ weekly free voice analyses, I have found both men and women telling me that in order to advance in their jobs they need to sound like a leader. There have been so many requests for a leadership voice that I felt our readers needed to know more about this.
An independent consultant from a leading accounting firm said he needed to build trust and credibility in order to be more influential in his presentations. Another VP in a leading pharmaceutical told me that he was too soft spoken and didn’t articulate clearly. An IT professional mentioned that he spoke very fast in a monotone voice.
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Do you want to feel completely at ease and close every sale?
Mr. Chen, sales director for a multinational Hong based company, is very outgoing, energetic, intelligent, charming, fluent in both Chinese and English, and loves talking with people. He talked very fast, in both English and Chinese and his English pronunciation needed some improvement.
“When I present in English at a western sales conference or a multinational company, I want to feel completely at ease and close every sale,” he stated.
“Mr. Chen, whether you are speaking Chinese or English, if you expect your listeners to assimilate your meaning, you should be speaking at about 140 words per minute”.
“But they will get bored,” he replied, “and I will lose their attention.”
“ On the contrary, when you say your English words clearly it will slow your speech and help you to channel your wonderful energy toward engaging the audience—Say your words as clearly as possible and make doubly sure you say the ends of all your words.”
“When you speak fast, people have trouble concentrating, get frustrated and stop listening. They can even become slightly hostile, feel you are wasting their time or speaking down to them. By the time you are ready to close the deal, you may have lost their interest and enthusiasm.”
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"Is it possible to project your voice and not sound overly authoritative?"
Voice coaching is key to being a dynamic and confident business leader.
Whether you are giving a presentation, speaking in a business meeting, or in a telephone conference call, people will listen more readily when you speak with a confident, resonant, well-articulated voice. Why? Because a powerful, self-assured voice gets your message heard and inspires and persuades your audience to stay involved.
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the business professionals who attend my Hong Kong Executive Speaking Skills workshop. Miss Teresa Yu, a senior management trainer for a Hong Kong banking institution, who is at the height of her career, very knowledgeable in her field, and who speaks both Cantonese and English fluently asked, “Is it possible to project your voice and not sound overly authoritative?”
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