How to Improve Communication With Your Voice
Communication involves so much more than merely speaking. No matter what you say, your voice makes the difference in how others perceive and interpret your words. For this reason, strong voice communication is important. The inflections you use, your pitch, your tone and even something as simple as an appropriate pause can communicate more to your listeners than all of the carefully crafted dialogue in the world.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Speak up. Do not raise your voice to the point of irritation, but simply speak loudly, clearly and confidently to make a good impression. A soft-spoken voice can often suggest timidness or uncertainty, so project your voice when you speak.
-
2
Lower your pitch slightly to command respect. While this holds true for men slightly more than women, even a woman can generate more attention and respect by speaking in a slightly lower pitch. Whereas raising your voice requires you to raise your volume, lowering your pitch simply requires you to speak more from your diaphragm. To visualize, imagine that the words emerge from your chest and not from your throat. Try humming a simple tune to find your best pitch. The pitch at which you hum typically reflects your best speaking voice. Whether fair or unfair, people tend not to take high-pitched voices as seriously, and lowering your pitch can project authority, according to Speech Club.
-
-
3
Adjust the speed of your voice according to your message. You can energize people by speaking more quickly, and build suspense by speaking more slowly. In essence, the speed at which you speak has the power to impact the mood of the conversation and ultimately guide the emotional responses of those listening.
-
4
Take a brief pause from time to time. If you say something that needs time to sink in, or if you want to allow time for response, do not hesitate to pause. By doing so, you can indicate that you have just said something deserving of reflection, or that you're inviting input from your listener, or even that you simply have the confidence to carry a conversation without needing to fill every moment of silence. You might say, "I've been thinking a lot about life after death," and by pausing afterward, you will cause your listener to begin reflecting on the same topic, becoming engrossed in the subject matter as you prepare to follow up. Pauses also build anticipation. For instance, if you were to say, "I saw the most amazing thing yesterday," a brief pause will make your listener eager to hear more. If you were to continue without pausing, your story would have far less impact because your listener would have less time to process your initial statement and become genuinely curious.
-
5
Watch your inflections. Emphasize the words most pertinent to your message and vary your inflections from sentence to sentence. This lets people know that you have something interesting and meaningful to say, as opposed to the monotone speaker who bores listeners to death with his robotic speech.
-
1
