Business Tips - Using your Voice

 Business Tips - Using your Voice

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd 

It is said that “You never get a second chance to make a good impression and it only takes 15 seconds to make that impression.”

Rightly or wrongly the fact of the matter is that it’s the ‘visual’ – all of you – yes, warts and all, that ultimately contributes to the creation of that impression.  It’s your appearance, your attitude (portrayed by your body language), and even your voice that people first get to see or hear, and they then make a judgment on who you are, based on that.  Really crazy, but that is the truth of the matter.

Much has been stated on your appearance and there are style and image consultants galore, who will mold you and dress you and ensure that you are wearing the right clothes, in the right colours, with the right shoes and the right accessories, the right makeup and the right hair colour/cut/shape (insert what you will here).

Still, more has been said about the eating of food and the diets that go along with them to get you into some sort of shape (other than round) and that will greatly enhance your appearance.

Don’t for a minute forget all the coaching, counseling, and hours that you spend, at great expense I might add, getting a good a healthy attitude adjustment.  Making sure that your head is not only screwed on tightly but also facing in the correct direction.

On a personal note though, there is nothing more strange and off-putting for me, than meeting the most beautiful woman on the planet and then when she opens her mouth to speak, out comes something that can only be described as a high pitched squeak in a clearly phony American/English/French (insert what you want here) accent!  Or how about the very tall, extremely well built, slightly bronzed next James Bond, with the dashing smile and rippling muscles, who opens his mouth only to sound like my neighbour’s 13-year-old son, whose voice is changing?

Quite honestly, when I am confronted with voices that sound like these, I am so busy trying to keep a straight face and not burst out into gales of laughter, that I have missed whatever it is that they are trying to say.

The point of the whole article is to highlight the fact that it is clear that good vocals and good speech also is of vital importance to the package that is you and will contribute greatly in the selling the concept, service or product that you are trying to sell.

Phony accents and voices that are clearly ‘put on’ do huge amounts of damage to your credibility and therefore to your value.  If you are putting on a fake accent or voice – what else about you is fake and phony.

Imagine hearing a presentation done in an unnaturally high-pitched voice with a phony accent.  How much of that particular presentation would you actually hear and how much of what you have heard will you actually believe?

Research shows that people who converse in a ‘rich resonant voice, in the lower frequencies’, irrespective of whether they are male or female, are usually seen to be more sincere and credible.

So, if you have a problem with a voice that is high pitched or nasal sounding or monotonous and flat, perhaps it would be a good idea to invest in some professional assistance and advice – for the sake of your business.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.zaor www.viljoenconsulting.co.za