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Issue 2 > Voice tips for effective speaking.

Voice tips for effective speaking.

Nido Qubein outlines some important points for effective communication.

Most of the communicating sales professionals do is wordless. The moment you enter the presence of another person you start communicating. Your physique, your clothing, jewelry, voice qualities, facial expressions, posture and many other factors pass along important information. They give information or clues as to social, marital and financial status, your sex, and personal taste.

When you speak, your voice speaks in ways that go beyond words. Your accent may give away your national or regional origin. Your tone of voice will tell people whether you feel elated or sad, excited or bored.

Through verbal communication, people learn about your thoughts, ideas, products, and services. Through non-verbal communication, they learn about your feelings.

About 93% of your communication is non-verbal. Much of it is unconscious, but you can bring a great deal of your wordless communication under conscious control.

Often, how we say things conveys more meaning than what we say. In fact, voice quality is said to convey about 38% of your meaning.

When George Bush ran for president in 1988, he hired a voice coach to help him lower his voice an octave. Why? Because the candidate's high-pitched voice had helped saddle him with the 'wimp' image, even though Bush had proved his valor as a Navy combat pilot during World War II.

Fairly or unfairly, we impute strength and confidence to the person who speaks with a low-pitched, well-modulated voice. When the voice rises to a high pitch, we sense excitement, panic, and lack of control. That doesn't mean that we should all go around cultivating baritone voices. It simply means that each of us should use the lower end of the voice range when we want to communicate calmness, confidence and competence.

We convey feelings, moods and attitudes through a variety of voice qualities, which are sometimes called 'paralanguage'. Among these qualities are volume, pace, intonation, stress and juncture.

Volume and pace. Volume and pace should be used in a careful, controlled way. These qualities can work in unison to achieve powerful effects, especially when selling and persuading from the public platform. You can let your voice rise to a crescendo, the pace and volume quickening until you reach a peak of excitement… or you can drop to a dramatic whisper.

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