Cliched but true: People listen to HOW you speak way more than they listen to WHAT you say.
And especially as so much of your work is on video these days, you’ll be needing to speak with a palatable palette…
With that in mind, you’d better work on these 7 elements of a great or grating voice:
Register – We vote for politicians with lower voices – (applies especially to women)
Timbre – Rich is better. Think Anthony Hopkins vs Russell Brand
Prosody – Horrible end of the sentence going up?
Pace – Slow down – you babble, you lose.
Silence – Can be very powerful
Pitch – The higher you go, the angrier you sound!
Volume – Shouting all the time = Sodcasting. Speak softly but make a big noise.
Pick up your mobile right now and talk to the voice recorder for 30 seconds on your favourite subject.
Play it back.
How did you sound?