Does Your Voice Create The Impression You Intend? by Dianna Booher
Channel: Dianna Booher - Communication Strategist & Author
Date: 2014-02-26

http://www.booherresearch.com  1-817-283-2333
Executive Communication Expert  Dianna Booher

Does Your Voice Create the Impression You Intend?

Your voice print is as unique as your fingerprint—and much more limiting.  That is, no one will likely find your thumb print on the copier and label you a loser. But they may hear your screech in the conference room and decide you're not ready for promotion.
We often attach a personality trait or attitude to someone's voice:
The Loud-Mouth:  Do you remember the brou-ha-ha over the after-game rant made by Richard Sherman after the recent NFL playoff game when the reporter asked for his comments? Of course, by the next day on all the talk shows, he had tamed his tongue and lowered his volume.  But a loud volume connotes several things—none of them positive:  anger, arrogance, aggression.
How to Correct:  Match the volume to the occasion, the setting, and the purpose.
The Child-Like Voice:  Ever have a dispute with a customer service agent and then ask to speak with the supervisor—only to hear, "I AM the supervisor."  An immature voice sounds light, with no intensity, no firmness. It wavers as if unsure it has permission to land.  This voice creates the impression of timidity, inexperience, and weakness.
 How to Correct:  Improve breathing techniques. Breathe from the diaphragm.  
The Monotone:  Ben Stein serves as the poster boy for this voice.  No peaks, no valleys, no speed bumps.  The monotone speaker sounds like the pitter-pat, pitter-pat of steady rain on the roof.  The personality traits most closely associated with this voice are boredom, low energy, and laziness.
 How to Correct: Select passages from famous speeches, and mark them for emphasis (underline key words and mark pauses with / or //.) Then read into a recorder to practice variation in inflection and pacing.
The Screecher:  When you hear this shrill-pitched person, your first inclination is to cover your ears.  The sound irritates even the most polite listeners.  Personality traits that come to mind when this person speaks include nervous, high-strung, out of control whiner.
How to Correct:  Exercises to relieve tension in the throat, neck, and shoulder muscles. Work with a voice coach.
The Uptalker:  This speaker turns statements into questions.  For example, she makes statements like these:  "I really liked this movie?"   or  "Our sales are improving with this new campaign?"  Either she liked the movie or she didn't, but she should know. That shouldn't be a question.  With a raised voice at the end, it sounds as though she's asking the listener for permission to like the movie.  The impression created:  Insecurity and the need for approval.
 How to Correct:  With self-awareness to break the habit

Although some people may be defensive about their voice, accepting feedback to overcome bad habits may mean the difference between getting heard and getting ahead.