Find your unique voice. Why do I keep saying this?
We live in a great, great time for Speakers. All that advice you ever heard from old- fashioned speaking courses, trainers, you name it. Forget it! There are speakers who operate in a square and there are speakers who defy the square.
You are not everybody else. Your voice, style and content is unique. You’re not looking for a “middle of the road” performance. So why go to a speaking course with fifty other people and get 1/50th of the attention?
You can do better than that. That’s why working with a Speaking Coach works!
All you have to be is be yourself. Don’t ever forget that listeners are attracted to the unique you, your unique story and your unique voice. You can be yourself. However. You can't be your "normal" self. Why?
Whenever you are not talking to yourself, you are speaking in public. Which means:
1. Your voice needs to carry across to someone else. The more people listening, the more it needs to carry. Even if you are using a microphone, you need to convey your words away from yourself to the listener.
2. Not only that, but you have to: stay with your words and see if they connect with your listeners. Did they get it? If not – you need to check with them. Did they get it? No use going further if they are still puzzled. So, connect with them. Ask them the question. Don’t die wondering.
3. You need to be aware of your gestures and your body language. Don’t worry too much about speaking with your hands, or a few “umms” here and there. This is not a speaking club that collects 20 cents for each “umm” uttered by a speaker. It’s only when you repeat, many times, the gesture or the “arrr” or “umm” – that it gets to be such a distraction it detracts from the message you are trying to convey.
4. You need to use your unique voice – and aim to enhance it progressively. Exercises for voice can be found in my blog: Enhance your Voice
5. What we are looking for is light and shade in your voice. Think of a piece of music – it doesn’t come across as one, homogenous band of sound. It has a pleasant and varied tone, pace and rhythm. Fast, for when you’re listing items, or conveying conventional, known terms. Slow, for when you want to emphasise or give special meaning.
So, yes, find your unique voice – but when you start to speak and present to audiences, however small or large, think of your unique voice as an instrument and develop, enhance and polish your voice and the messages you are delivering.
Find your unique voice.
Find your Speaking Coach.
sofia@speak2us.com.au
