Staying on point with face-to-face encounters there are ways outside of your body language to make an impression. As previously posted, 7 Face to Face Blunders, we all could identify as ourselves or people we have seen make these blunders. These blunders all have an effect on how people view you with that first impression. How do people view you when they meet you? We know that how you are dressed has an impact, but once you open your mouth to speak has an even bigger impact. One of the strongest or weakest impressions we can give is with our voice. Your voice is one of the most powerful “selling” tools. Selling not buy from me but more to engaging people.
5 Ways to Engage with your Voice
1. Volume. This be a bit of a challenge as if you do talk quietly or very loud it is not easy to change it but not impossible. Generally we know if we are too quiet as people as “what?” and if too loud they either take a step closer or back. Step back = I want to move on.
2. Speed. Fast talkers never get their real message across as the listener is a few words behind and trying to process it all. A slow talker encourages fidgeting as you have all the time in the world. A great way to combat this is reading out loud.
3. Articulate. Speed and volume are factors but pronounce with clarity. You want them to know something about you to further the conversation and speaking in ums or uhhs shows that you are unsure about what you are saying.
4. Tone. The tone of your voice is effected by your mood. Take a deep breath to relax your upper body and have a more pleasant voice.
5. Be Natural. Speak and listen to react. Being robotic with the same spiel shows no interest in the conversation. We all say certain words or expressions that make us, us. Be you at the first meeting.
Meeting new people is awkward at times as there is either too much to say or the dreaded dead silence. Hearing yourself is a great way to get a visual on how you present yourself and how they may view you. Walking into a room full of people where you do not know everyone is not easy but think about this, is going into a new grocery store and finding what you need easy the first time? No, but you still go back.
photo credit: MakingMoves (client)
