Onjobinterviewswhenfirstconversingwithanindividualandwhenaddressingsmallorlargegroups,thefirstfewsecondsarecriticalinsettingthetoneforhowyou’llbeperceived.Ifshehasanannoyingregionalaccent,usesincorrectgrammar,hasalimitedvocabulary,andifshehasanirritatinglysharppiercingvoice,soundswhinyorbossyordoesn’tarticulateherwordsclearly,it’sanimmediateturn-off.Thisisn’tsomeonewhoyouwouldhireorproudlyintroducetoyourfriendsandbusinessassociates.Thisdoesn’tmeanthateveryoneshouldtrytosoundlikeaprofessionalactororbroadcaster.Allofushavequalitiesuniquetoourownwayofspeaking,ourindividualvoiceprintasdistinctiveasourfingerprints.Ourvoiceisverypersonalandanimportantpartofouridentity.Somenaturalcharacteristicsofourvoicemaybeveryappealing.
Theideaistotakethevoicewithwhichyou’vebeengiftedandgiveittheverybestsoundthatyoucan.Withtherighttypeofpractice,bypayingattentiontothequalityofyourvoiceandbyknowinghowtoproperlyexpressyourself,you’llalmostimmediatelyimproveyouropportunitiesinjobinterviews,socialsituations,inselling,andinrunningameetingoraddressinggroupsofpeople.
Let’ssayitagain,itallbeginswiththeinstrument,yourvoice.Ifitssoundandqualityisflawedandneedsimprovement,that’swhereyoustart.that’swhateveryonehearswhetherincasualconversationorinmakingamajorspeechtoalargeaudience.Purevowelsounds,articulation,properbreathing,expressivespeakingpatterns,apleasingvocalrange,naturalness,allthesewillmakeyougettwicetheresultwithhalftheeffort.
