Kate'sVoice

Please welcome guest author Kathy Reiffenstein. Kathy is the author of Professionally Speaking, a blog on creating persuasive, confident speakers.  In this post, she addresses the issue of “voice” as a speaker’s style.

In presentation skills training classes, you’re usually given one of these two pieces of advice:

“Be yourself! Be authentic!”

OR

“Do it this way because this is the right [interpretation: only] way to deliver a presentation.”

They seem contradictory, don’t they? In fact, I think the best approach is a blend of both.

AUTHENTICITY

Audiences will spot insincerity or inauthenticity a mile away so it is certainly important to be yourself. But what do we mean by that?

• Be sure you know what your natural style looks like. If you’re not sure (or even if you think you are), videotape yourself speaking and then view that tape (perhaps with a speaking coach) multiple times. This will give you a sense of how you come across, how you sound and provide some insight into your strengths. This is the visual part of your authentic “voice.”

• Let your personality show through. This is also part of your “voice.” Your audience wants to connect with a human being, not just some robot who knows all the correct speaking techniques. So if you’re naturally humorous, let the audience see and hear that. If you’re typically enthusiastic, let the audience feel that. If you’re very organized, let the audience see that in the flow and structure of your presentation.  Similarly, in a recent interview, the great South African jazz pianist, Abdullah Ibrahim said that it is each musician’s unique style that makes their music special.   ” Because of the specific character of that person, he or she has found their own voice, and that is what makes their music so vibrant.”

• Speak in a “human” voice. Too frequently we think that to be professional, we need to exclude any emotion from our speaking. But that’s not very human. It’s OK, and in fact authentic, to show the audience when you’re passionate about an aspect of your topic or upset about a particular inequity.  A recent post on Six Minutes describes this as Pathos, a critical component of great speaking.

• Deliver your presentation from notes rather than from a prepared script.  Though you may have a writing “voice”, your conversational voice will be different and reading from a script will tend to make you sound wooden instead of authentic. Notes will allow you to speak more naturally and be more spontaneous.

PRESENTATION BEST PRACTICES

Being yourself doesn’t mean that you can’t improve your skills. There are certain techniques that are universally appealing to audiences. Take, for example, the “ums” and “ahs” that some people use in their daily speech. While this behavior may indeed be natural for a certain speaker, every audience on earth will appreciate a technique that eliminates these useless filler words.  Just beware of getting carried away with perfecting your technique at the expense of your authentic style.  As Speech Coach Lisa Braithwaite says in her blog, “Audiences don’t care about perfection. They don’t expect it. They want to relate to you, laugh, cry, be surprised, get goosebumps and feel something when you speak.”

Since, as a presenter, your major responsibility is to communicate your message effectively to your audience, you need to know how to be effective. Make yourself aware of the various effective presentation techniques. Adopt the ones that enhance your existing “voice” or style and be prepared to utilize others when appropriate for a particular audience.

As an example, let’s say your style is typically relaxed, even folksy, and that works fine with most of your audiences. But on the occasion of presenting to a group of foreign diplomats, a more formal style may be more comfortable for this audience.

Bottom line:

• Be yourself.
• Be aware of the impact that your “voice” has on others.
• Have the appropriate repertoire of presentation skills to draw from for the benefit of your audience.

Blend your personal style with good presentation techniques and you’ll be authentic to both yourself and your audience. And you will present a “voice” that is both unique and appropriate to the task at hand.

Kathy Reiffenstein is the founder and president of And…Now Presenting!, a Washington, D.C. business communications consulting and training firm, where she draws on her background in sales, marketing and customer service to create confident, persuasive speakers. She works with business executives, authors, non-profit leaders and the military to help them speak clearly, effectively and engagingly to their audiences. Visit www.andnowpresenting.us and Kathy’s blog for presentation tips, resources and insights.

Just as your physical appearance, your voice can represent you either effectively or ineffectively. The question is, how do you make the switch from creating your voice through reaction and imitation to creating your voice through thoughtful application of knowledge? The answer is: you start by listening objectively. Here are 10 ways to become more aware of what you have created so you can start to make changes:

1. Sing often, even if you don’t feel that you have a good voice. The act of singing will strengthen your vocal muscles.
2. Give talks. Join a public speaking class or club.  Toastmasters is such a place, of course.  Volunteer to be an advocate for your business or church.
3. Respond to what you hear. Express your thoughts when there is an opportunity. Jump in when you have a chance to share your perspective.
4. Practice saying hello to people in different ways. Try “Good morning,” “Hi, there,” “Hello. How are you today?” Pay attention to the different responses you get from others.
5. Practice a talk you are preparing using many different inflections and pitch variations in your delivery. Listen to yourself as you do this and then try something else.
6. Listen to yourself as you speak and analyze what you are doing. Record yourself talking to someone else or while speaking extemporaneously on a topic. Then listen to the recording and analyze how it sounds and what impression the delivery gives you.
7. Listen to the voices of others to compare your voice with theirs. Do you speak higher or lower? What expressions do others use that you don’t?
8. Work with a voice professional. If you want to improve or heal your voice, it’s always helpful to work with a vocal professional. Be sure that you feel comfortable with them and that they have solid credentials as a technician. Degrees in speech therapy or applied voice are such credentials.
9. Imitate your favorite actor, singer, politician, teacher, etc. Try to determine if your voice feels different from your normal vocal delivery and if so how.
10. Keep a voice journal daily.  Of course, I love Moleskines for this.  But you can use any journal (or my book   Write down your observations on how you use your voice.  This will help develop awareness. Awareness, in turn, will help you make changes that can last a lifetime. Without awareness, you will probably continue to make the same choices that you do today.

I am proud to see my blog on 6-Minutes’ Definitive List of public speaking blogs, and I am also proud to be addressing the use and care of one of the most important assets to a speaker (or anyone, for that matter!), the human voice.  So, I’m starting the New Year off with a bit of a rant about the importance of training your voice.

Many CEO’s, public statesmen, and great conversationalists have learned the value of training their voices.  When it comes to public speaking, having the latest technology is not a good substitute for a poor voice.  I know many people will tell you that, but here is my take on it: People are always more interesting to other people than  slides.  Along these lines, I love the post by Olivia Mitchell that tells you how to use the beam of your projector like a spotlight…well that’s not exactly what she said, but as an actor, I’ve always believed that was a much over-looked opportunity! Anyway, Mitchell is someone who gives great advice on the appropriate use of technology in your talks, while also talking about finding your strengths as a speaker with human skills such as eye contact and gesturing.

Yet even with all the human elements of eye contact and gestures,  there really is a direct correlation between “voice” and being a speaker.   Since people come to “hear” you, they expect to hear something they want to listen to. I know that I am a voice teacher, but  your voice is your most valuable asset and the way it sounds may be much more important than you think. In fact,  the remarkable Julian Treasure affirms this when he says, “The human voice is the most powerful sound on the planet.”   To find out why, I encourage you to visit his website, Sound Business.

How studying voice will improve your impact as a speaker

The truth is that you are already making an impact on others with your voice, but the impact you are making with your voice may not be the one you want to make.  In order to create the sound you want, and make sure it is a healthy sound that will optimize your most valuable asset, you must

1. be aware of how you sound and what you like and don’t like about your voice
2. become aware of the sound you are creating and the effect it has on others
3. know how to make a sound that brings out the best in your voice, but also one that won’t hurt you

To accomplish this, you have to listen to yourself and others, but you really need someone else to listen to you and give you feedback, too, and preferably someone who knows what they are doing.

Aligning your voice with your intentions
One of my clients, who is a Fortune 100 CEO, was finding himself hoarse at the end of the day even on days when he was presenting at a conference.   He talked all day long and  found that when he got home, he had to stay quiet in order to save his voice for his work.  This then took a toll on his communication with his wife and kids.  In addition, he started to have difficulty being understood when he got up in front of people, and his publicist started complaining that his image wasn’t as strong as it used to be.  His voice problems were effecting his personal life as well as his business communicatiion by the time he started working with me.  We made some changes that helped tremendously, but the truth is that he could have avoided those issues altogether if he had had training earlier.

You can choose to have your voice more fully support your sense of who you are and what you want to do with your life, and you can have a healthy, vibrant sound. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune.  It doesn’t have to take years to accomplish.  But think of it this way.  Your voice is part of your body and it is the only one you get.  If you depend on it in your job, it’s a good idea to understand it and take care of it so that you don’t abuse it or even lose it.

It’s like having a great tool in your tool kit and the more you know about it the better you can utilize its strengths.  People who train their voices  have learn that aligning their sound and vocal image with their sense of purpose and intention often results in impact beyond their expectations.

According to the Daily World Buzz, the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 are listed below.  I am not sure where they get their list, but I can’t argue that these things are probably on many lists, and if you Google  New Year’s Resolutions, most of these come up year after year!

The Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 are:

Get into shape, Save money, Lose weight, Give up smoking, Assess work/life balance,  Learn a new skill, Be kinder to myself, Give up/ cut alcohol intake, Give up / eat less chocolate,  and Clean out closets.

All of these resolutions are about making changes for the better.  Now, wouldn’t it be great if you could make just one commitment, make one change, or take on one new activity in the new year that would satisfy of all of them?  Well, I humbly submit that you can.  Studying voice will do all this and more.  How?  Let’s take a look at the resolutions and see how.

1 Get into shape. Singing is a very physical activity.  Breathing for singing alone can be very demanding if done correctly.  Little known fact: It’s quite possible to get a “six-pack” from practicing proper breathing!  (My partner will validate mine   Plus, most teachers will require that you stand in front of a mirror during lessons or to practice, and there is nothing quite like mirror-time to convince you to get in shape!!

2 Save money. Well, I can’t help you here because you usually have to pay for lessons.  But I suppose your desire to improve yourself may be motivation to sock away the dollars needed for the lessons, and if you can save for one desire, perhaps you can save money for other things too.

3 Lose weight. The increased activity from learning to stand and breath properly will help you drop pounds and inches, especially if you also eat less (not most singer’s strong suit, but….), and since you have to fit lessons into your life, you will probably have less time to eat than you did before.  And then of course, you will have to stand up in front of your fans to show them your progress, so you will need to look good in your rock star outfit!

4 Give up smoking. Smoking makes your vocal folds dry and irritated, and compromises the process of singing or even speaking well.  Progress is very slow and can be frustrating.  You will probably have to quit smoking in order to study voice  or it may be a waste of your time and money.  Besides, no voice teacher worth her salt will work with someone who is a smoker.  It just doesn’t make sense.

5 Assess work/life balance. Although studying voice may add another activity to your already-busy life, the thought of taking it on can force you to assess your work/life balance.  And humming at work is a great way to keep things in perspective.

5 Learn a new skill. If you have never studied voice before, you will obviously be learning a new skill.  But if you  already sing or are a public speaker, you will still learn new skills.  In fact, when it comes to voices, even professionals need trained ears to hear them from time to time and advise them on their technique and improve their skill. In addition, learning to use your voice more effectively will help all of your communication.

7 Be kinder to myself. Singing is very enjoyable.  Often, when I tell people what I do, they tell me that they have always wanted to be able to sing.  Certainly, doing something that is fun and that you have always wanted to do is being kind to yourself, even if you think your singing in public is not kind to anyone else!  So what?!  Take the lessons for yourself.  By the way, less than 1% of the population is actually tone deaf.  Everyone else can sing to one degree or another.

8 Give up/ cut alcohol intake. With all of your practicing and lesson time, you will have less time to drink.  In fact you may want to drink less because you will be happier.  Research by Dr. Alfred Tomatis tells us that singing massages the brain and calms us down.  Very cool!  This being the case, there is much less need to drink if you already feel good.

9 Give up / eat less chocolate. OK.  This is one resolution to which I take exception.  Since we all know chocolate is good for you, let’s not be stupid!  In fact, I think you should take a piece of dark chocolate with you to each lesson and share it with your voice coach!

10 Clean out closets. The motivation to do this last one can easily be derived from learning to sing.  First of all, you need to have a place to practice where no one else will interfere.  Closets are good for that, so you will need to clean out your closet in order to find that space.  Secondly, because creative activity makes you feel more energized, you will find that after a lesson you are pumped up and it will be easy to take on your closet.

In short,  New Year’s resolutions require goal setting, dedication, and patience to see through.  If you wish to make changes and are looking for a way to make them stick, there is nothing like a new discipline to help you.  Studying voice requires dedication, patience, and a willingness to do things differently; in other words, it’s  just the kind of activity that can change your life for the better.

When we arrived in France, we rented a car and made sure that it had a navigation system in it.  It was an adventure, and we eventually called the female voice of our navigation system “our consort.”  We became quite close and trusted her implicitly as she knew all the streets, even the little back alleys,  and rarely steered us wrong.

Nonetheless, about halfway through the trip,  I realized that her public speaking style was starting to wear on me.  She had a very cultivated public speaking voice and I was yearning for something a bit more down to earth, casual or even just plain American!  We only had one choice in English, and it was a disturbingly articulate and precise female.  Her public speaking skills were obvious, and it was clear that she had taken classes on the art of public speaking that included diction, tone and pacing.

She was polite and tolerant of most of our little wrong turns or slow moves. However, she fell down on the job when either she or we made a big mistake.  Then suddenly, she threw all of her public speaking and self-confidence training right out the window; she completely forgot about  the art of public speaking and, when we needed her most, she became silent.

For example, neither her public speaking skills nor her conviction to the art of public speaking were evident when we turned, as directed, “half left” and found ourselves on steps leading to the street below.  Seeing no way to back to retrace our steps (no pun intended) we forged on ahead and bumped one step at a time down the “street.”  Her silence seemed to indicate that she was upset with us, but , I wonder if instead she had missed the lesson on  public speaking tips for nervouness.  I know I could have used some help with my nerves at that time!

And on another occasion, perhaps all of her tips on public speaking were forgotten completely when we did NOT follow her directions and instead turned onto a tiny alley way that got more and more narrow as we followed it.  For me, at that time, the importance of public speaking was huge!  We really needed someone to speak up!  Particularly someone who knew how to get us out of that mess.  However, our consort was strangely silent until we reached the end where there was a blessed exit onto another street.

Ultimately, I came away with three tips on public speaking based on the experience with our “consort.” I will share them with you now, and if you ever hear a lovely, British-accented female voice on a navigation system in your rental car in the South of France, please say hello for me.

1.  When you know you’ve lost your audience, think of something to say to get them back on the right track with you. Don’t leave them hanging!

2.  There is no need for public speaking anxiety when you have something to say that others need to hear.

3.  If you make a mistake, correct yourself and move on.  No one is perfect.