What is your tone of voice saying about you?
Do you want to be heard, have greater connection and admiration when speaking?
Do you have sweaty palms and your voice quivers when you need to speak in public?

The wrong tone of voice can affect the right message and you can create misunderstanding and misperception in communication. This leads to confusion and delay in getting your message heard and respected. We are mostly unconscious about our vocal tone because we have been speaking ever since we were babies. And even before that, our mother’s tone of voice was impacting us in the womb. Research tells us that babies have different accents at birth.

Your tone of voice is the most critical aspect about your communication. The way you communicate in your relationships and careers affects how you connect and engage. When it comes to careers, managers talk about the importance of “Soft Skills” at work. These skills are becoming even more important in life and are crucial to how we communicate. Yet there is so little training and awareness in voice intelligence.

Research suggests that women’s voices are judged more harshly than men’s voices.  As women’s voices are an octave higher than men’s, a woman’s voice starts off with a disadvantage.  The natural higher pitch in a woman’s voice and natural breathiness can make a woman sound less certain in hostile business and personal environments.

On the other hand when it comes to how a higher pitched voice can help in some situations, The Journal of Evolutionary Psychology in 2011 reported that women with higher, squeaky voices are found to be more attractive to men. Because a higher pitched voice is associated with femininity it is therefore more sexually attractive to the opposite sex.

Over the past 20 years, as a voice coach for both singers and speakers in business, I have listened to voice patterns and seen how these patterns have played out in relationships and careers. I have used voice technique and mindset strategies to help create successful powerful communication. I have helped change softer and higher pitched voices to become powerful, influential and louder and deeper pitched voices become friendly, less intimidating and energetic.

• A higher pitched and squeaky voice that wobbles and cracks and goes even higher when under stress.
• Breathiness making the voice sound weak, causing vocal fatigue, and having to repeat words to be heard.
• An upwards inflection at the end of sentences making speaking sound like a constant questioning tonality.

Your voice is a choice you make. You can learn to harness your voice and create the outcome you want in communication. You are not stuck with your vocal tonality and there are physical and psychological changes you can make to have the voice that serves you best.

Your voice is emotional and reveals aspects of your character making you transparent, especially under stress. It becomes higher pitched and shaky. Statics say that 75% of woman suffer from speech anxiety.

When coaching female clients, after a few sessions, they say that they now have more confidence and assertiveness and as a result they get more respect and attention when communicating. Voice coaching can help you have a deeper tone of voice and help you harness your voice to speak with influence and power.

Margaret Thatcher was an example of how her leadership became stronger after taking vocal lessons to improve her tone. Click here to see the before and after effects of a changed tone of voice which suddenly matches the message she delivers.

A woman with a deeper tone of voice will be preferred over someone who has a higher pitch. When a deeper voice is heard, it is associated with having more authority, strength and trust. A commanding tone is a leadership skill, and women who have high-pitched voices naturally struggle to create this quality. Research conducted on men with deeper voices being paid more indicates that a lower pitch is associated with authority and certainty. See research here.

When I work with women’s voices I tend to spend most of my time improving their deeper voice. This helps them connect, balance and blend their chest voice (deeper voice) with their head voice (higher voice).

The way we hear our voice in our head is what we end up behaving like. If you feel like your voice is deep and strong, you will carry yourself this way. You will feel powerful and certain, leading your life with authority. If you feel that it’s soft and high, you will feel like a follower and will do the opposite by holding back and waiting to be led by others. Your voice tonality is a very strong aspect of delivering powerful communication and you can choose the quality of voice when you know how to harness your voice to speak with influence and power. Check out the video on  “Women’s voices for leadership.” 

Thank you for reading this blog and I look forward to getting some comments and feedback.

You can contact me here for a complimentary half hour chat about how I can help you improve your tone of voice for speaking with power and influence.   Click here to book me.