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Voice Dynamic Newsletter Did You Breathe Today? February 23, 2007 Greetings, In working with a client, a group, a corporation, & yes, in my Voicing It! DVD, once I show you how to breathe, I recommend that you take a conscious breath when you answer the phone. Become like Pavlov's Dog...phone rings, take a breath as you pick up the receiver or open your cell. Once you have found the optimum pitch of your speaking voice, the next step is to answer with that new sound. Thus, phone rings, breathe, respond in new voice. This week I was working with customer service trainers in Livingston, NJ and I taught them what not to do when they answer a telephone. SMILE! They responded, "But everyone teaches us to smile when we answer the phone." Wrong! If you really want a more mature-sounding, a warm, rich resonant speaking voice, then smiling is not the answer when you answer the phone because smiling results in a higher-pitched, younger-sounding, possibly whiny, nasal voice. Why are trainers teaching their customer service reps to smile? Because they were taught that their reps will sound more pleasant. I beg to differ. Most trainers know nothing about the speaking voice aside from the need to be pleasant. Trust me, if you take a conscious breath and respond in your optimum voice, you will not only sound pleasant, but you will also sound mature, authoritative and welcoming. Now that's an image I would want for my firm! |
With Every Breath You Take When I changed my own voice years ago, I had no idea that that change would effect my career goals. My plans were to write musicals for Broadway (I really wanted to partner with Stephen Sondheim). In any event, I used my 'new' voice every time I picked up the telephone at G. Schirmer, my first job in the Big Apple. And that is how my 'new' voice became a habit. Incidentally, that voice got me my job because I sounded more mature than I was: I sounded like I knew what I was talking about.
Many of my newsletter subscribers are customers, people who have already purchased Voicing It! and who are in the process --right now -- of improving the sound of their voices. Remember the mirror that was included in your DVD kit? That strip has a purpose...upon completion of the DVDs, I want you to stick that mirror on your refrigerator orsomewhere on your desk as a reminder to take a breath.
While you have discovered or are discovering how simple it really is to breathe with support and find your optimum speaking voice, the difficulty is remembering to do it...to make it a habit so that you don't have to think about it. Therefore, everytime you see that mirror, take a breath! |
So, Wake Up, Smell the Coffee & Start Breathing!  |