Getting to Know the Sound of Your Voice

To listen to the blog posting in Audio, please click here —- Getting to Know The Sound of Your Voice

Do you want to know the impression you make by the way you speak?

I can help you do it in a way that won’t cost you a dime.

But, do I believe you will actually do this? No. So prove me wrong!

What to do:

Create a time for you and few (same sex) friends to get together around a good recording device, sit equidistant from the microphone, hit ‘record’….now talk to each other. Let’s say you chat about this or that for 20 minutes. Turn it off, rewind, take a lunch break, then sit down and listen.

What you might listen for:

• Who is doing the most talking?
• Who does the most interrupting?
• Who talks too softly to be heard?
• How low or high is your voice relative to the other people in the group?
• Can you understand yourself as easily as you do others?
• Do you like the sound of your laughter or are you embarrassed to hear that you sound like a Canadian goose?
• Do you hear something in your speech that you don’t like, like ‘like’?
• Does your voice sound flat as a board or should you consider opera?

And so on. Don’t worry; you’ll find much to notice. This may be a painful experience, OR you may well find much that you are pleased with.

I encourage your courage. This exercise allows you to know how you really interact with other people, more than I could possibly predict from a private interview. Consider how valuable this could be for you.

My offer: Do this exercise and write a short report on your communication behavior as you observed it on the recording. Send your report to me. (I can’t wait to read it!) I will write a blog about your findings. You can stay anonymous in the blog posting, should that be your choice. And I will send you a copy of my book, It’s the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken and Clear. Deal? I look forward to hearing from you.