We live in a world of noise. Now that everyone can be their own media company, it feels like everyone is doing it. Video, podcasts, radio, streaming music. Your car and Alexa talk to you. Even banks have gotten into the act. Bank of America just announced Erica, a virtual assistant on its mobile app. And noise isn’t limited to what you hear. There’s also the noise inside people’s heads. All the things that distract them. And now you start to talk.
Will anyone hear you above the noise?
Studies have shown that 93% of communication is not what you say, but rather HOW you say it. The words matter. But unless someone likes how you say it, they won’t listen to what you say. You have about 15 seconds to convince them to listen to you. 15 seconds before they decide whether you are music to their ears….or just more noise.
What do you have to say that’s important to you? Could it be something like
- I have a dream
- We can reduce this project’s timeline by 6 months if we make this change
- #metoo
You are a gift to the world. And the way your gift is most often communicated is with your voice.
Think about it. You wouldn’t need a voice if you just wanted to talk to yourself. You could just think it. You use your voice to communicate with another person. As you speak, the vibrations coming from your voice go toward that person. If they like what they hear and feel, they will listen. If they don’t, they will tune you out.
No matter how important your message, no one will hear it if they don’t know, like, and trust you. People are looking for connection, not competence. No matter how sophisticated we become, we’re still driven by stories. Stories told in way that captures our imagination. Give us hope. Express the full range of human experience.
Is your voice music to others’ ears – at least to those who matter to you? If you’re not sure, what about this: do you like the sound of your own voice? Because other people are hearing that same voice. And most of us don’t even think about how we sound to others. We’ve been talking since we were two, and it’s as natural to us as breathing. We just open our mouths and sound comes out. And often it’s not the voice we need to be heard above the noise.
That’s the bad news. The good news is this: you can learn to use your voice to connect. To move people. To call them to act. It’s not magic or talent. It’s a skill.
Think of it this way. You don’t have the voice you were born with. When you were born, you screamed and gurgled. You did what was natural. And then quickly you heard others talking and singing. You began to imitate them. Your voice became a blend of those who you spent the most time with. And it continues to change as you surround yourself with people even now.
I saw this in my own life at work. I spent so much time in meetings with the same group of people that my voice began to sound more like them. I lost some of the natural melody and expressiveness as I was surrounded by people who spoke in a monotone and low in their register. It got to the point where I was hoarse, even with all the vocal training I had. I wasn’t doing my daily exercises, and picked up their cadence.
If you can unintentionally pick up the vocal habits of those around us by simple hearing and unconscious imitation, imagine how much more you can change your voice through intentional study and practice? Then imagine how much more of a range of expression you’d have with more tools in your vocal toolbox? It’s like the difference between typing a smiley-face and having a whole catalog of GIFs.
Empathy, confidence, hope, gratitude. All you need are the tools to help your voice become like music. With changing melody and rhythm. Soaring to the stratosphere, and descending to the depths. As you speak, your vibrations connect with your audience in a deeper way.
It’s not manipulation. It’s sounding like you. Expressing what’s in your heart. Your mind. In a way that others understand and respond to. Human to human.
Your message matters. How you feel about your message matters. And how you speak your message matters even more.
I believe in you. I believe that what you do and say can change the world. If you’d like to be heard above the noise, please join my VoicePlus coaching program. I will help you find your own voice. Learn how to bring the real you to every encounter. In the ballroom, the board room, or the living room.
Here’s what you do:
- Click the button to check it out.
- Schedule a free 20-minute chat to discuss what we could do together.
- Start finding your voice.
Whether you sign up for coaching or not, you’ll leave with a voice tip you can put to use right away.
