Are you giving your voice the attention is deserves? After all, your voice is your sole means of communication over the phone.
1) Articulate your consonants. A recent Gallup poll listed mumbling as the most annoying habit of speech. Consonants are what make speed intelligible, the bread and butter of our language.
2) Pronounce all the syllables in a word. Missing syllables make for sloppy, lazy speech. Avoid pronunciations such as “compable”, “comtuble”, “inneresing”, “reglar”, etc..
3) Keep your vocal energy flowing. Energy is the key to speaking effectively. Fading away or dropping ends of sentences will cause your listener to miss your point.
4) Breathe from the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic breathing gives your voice power and authority. “It increases your ability to project, helps maintain a lower pitch level and keeps the voice from rising in pitch.
5) Use inflection. The voice has a natural range of 5 to 7 tones that give the voice vitality. Lack of inflection caused Bob Dole’s and Al Gore’s speeches to sound dull and monotonous. Ronald Regan used inflection. One of the reasons President Obama is known as a gifted speaker is his use of inflection.
6) Develop a smooth flow to your sentences. Too many gaps between words, a la Al Gore, give the impression you’re not sure of what you’re saying.
7) When talking on the phone hold your head steady so your vocal tones will be transmitted in a steady + consistent manner.
