No, I’m not wondering if you are a used car salesperson or someone trying to hoodwink a gullible person. Literally, I’m asking if you speak fast. It’s not the worst thing if you do, but it often leaves your listener puzzled and frustrated because they don’t understand you. Talking fast isn’t effective communication if your words race to the end of your thought without carrying any meaning to your listener.   You might not even realize you are a fast talker and not understand why people often don’t grasp what you are saying. Maybe you are just a “situational” fast talker; for instance, at times when you’re nervous. Whether fast talking is a habit or a sometimes thing, talking too fast often has unwanted consequences. Rushing your words to the finish line of your thought can lead the listener to a lack of understanding of what you just said, or maybe worse, a costly misunderstanding.   Take heart, there are clues that will help you know if you are not accurately communicating to your listener due to talking too fast. Here are some:    -A listener gives you a weird response, such as: a slightly off reply or a completely unrelated response to what you’ve just said; or they may abruptly change the topic; or they keep saying, “what?”    -You can check the listener’s facial expression for a clue or clues, such as: their eyes are squinted, their head tilts, their eyebrows are knitted together, or they press their lips together tightly, or they give off a look of disinterest, or frustration, or irritation.    -And then there are the no-longer-a-listener clues: The most obvious, closed eyes, totally asleep in their chair, snoring. If not that far gone, you might notice a blank stare that tells you they are no longer mentally in the room with you; instead, they’re inside their own heads, thinking of their next meal, or what they’re going to do tonight, or how they’re planning their strategy as to how they’re going to make their exit from your presence.   So now you might ask, how do I slow down so I can keep my listener’s attention and get my point across? Here’s some actions that you can take to help you slow down and better articulate your words:    -Focus on saying your words clearly, crisply, and distinctly, so your listener will hear each word, instead of a slur of words that slam into each other and carry no meaning. This will slow you down and allow you to sound more articulate. At first, it might help to exaggerate the slowness and then gradually increase you pace to a moderate stride.   -  Insert pauses, now and then. Doing this will help control the pace of your delivery. Furthermore, pausing before an important point has a way of grabbing your audience’s attention, making them anticipate your next words.   -Monitor yourself. Pay attention to how fast you are speaking. If it’s too fast, stop, take a breath and start back up, slowing your words.   -If nerves are getting the best of you before a public speaking engagement or a stressful situation where you’re likely to talk too fast, practice deep breathing and/or other calming techniques that work for you before you begin, then engage the practices of pausing and clearly articulating your words.   -   Get hints by listening closely to dynamic speakers such as, orators, lecturers, storytellers, spokespersons. Tune into speakers who command attention, like Presidents Obama and recordings of Ronald Reagan and Mia Angelo.     -For practice, record yourself and playback until you get your speech where it’s easily understood, and you like your presentation. You will be a more effective communicator by bringing your listener to the finish line with you by practicing these helpful steps!

Speak up, don’t upspeak! The bad news, male or female, if you upspeak it may be hurting your career. Upspeak is a speech pattern in which phrases and sentences routinely end with a rising sound. The inflexion sounds as though a statement is a question, the intonation rising at the end. For example, try this: First read each sentence, out loud, as a statement of fact, then again as if it were a question. 1. I’m done with this report. (? ) 2. I have the answer to that problem. (?) 3. It’s time for me to go to lunch. (?) In each of these sentences, if the speaker uses the questioning upspeak intonation instead of a statement of fact, it makes he or she sound insecure, not confident of what they’ve just said, and that the subject is up for debate: “I’m done with this report?” This sounds like you are not certain and, if talking to your boss, may cause the boss to question whether or not you should go back and work on it some more. “I have the answer to that problem?” You say to a group of your peers, but it sounds like a question. So, how convinced do you think they are?  “It’s time for me to go to lunch?” You say this to your boss. Your boss is probably thinking: The way you sounded about your report being done, I think you’d better use your lunch hour and get it up to my standards—and he hasn’t even read it yet! Though there are some situations where making a statement sound like a question, for an effect, is useful, for the most part, speaking in Upspeak will make you sound insecure, unsure, and lacking authority. The good news: Here is a way you can get rid of your ineffective Upspeak: 1. First you must become aware of the times you use Upspeak. You could do this by recording yourself speaking. 2. Then write down the sentences you spoke that were done in Upspeak. 3. Mark the second to last syllable with an up arrow. 4. Make a down arrow over the last syllable. 5. Read your sentences out loud, recording yourself while you read, consciously speak louder over the up arrow, and then pronounce the last syllable much lower and short in duration—this will lower your intonation at the end of the sentence. Keep practicing and soon you can tell your peers, in a confident tone, that you do have an answer to the problem—and they won’t roll their eyes; and you’ll sound self-assured, so your boss won’t have a second thought about the report’s quality, as you hand it in to the boss and head off to grab some lunch. A Bon Appetit!

Is the quality of your voice holding you back in business? Having a quality pitch to your voice is a big plus and frankly, a must for getting your point across, selling your product, or moving up the ladder of your profession. We’ve all experienced voices that are not aesthetically pleasing or lack authority, distracting from the message that the speaker is trying to deliver. The speaker comes off as not confident, unsure, and insecure. When the voice pitch doesn’t push forward the message, the message is in danger of being lost, not convincing, and not taken seriously. Research by Duke University and University of California studied the speeches of male CEOs of close to 800 public companies. The study by the research teams showed that CEOs that had deeper voices managed bigger companies and made more money. It was found that a decrease of 25% in voice pitch was related to an increase of salaries and longer tenures. An optimal pitch range is vibrant and has a resonant tone that is preferred for professional speaking. Even if you don’t think that you voice is a problem, or holding you back, and frankly and no one has complained—maybe they’re just being polite, you can always improve on its quality, give it a stronger and richer tone by speaking from your Optimal Voice. First, let’s talk about the difference between your Habitual Voice and an Optimal Voice: A Habitual Voice pitch is your routine and consistent tone of voice, which is automatic for speaking, but often is not your best vocal quality. An Optimal Voice is lower than the Habitual Voice and has a more commanding sound and richer tone.   Most likely you have a substantial gap between your Habitual vocal pitch and your Optimal vocal pitch. It is likely that you find it easier and more comfortable when speaking in your habitual tone, most people do without thinking about it. However, Habitual pitch ranges produce a higher, thinner, and a nasal tone that makes you sound less confident, unsure of yourself. When a person is judged on her/his voice, s/he is usually assessed by the quality of the pitch. So, if you want to have strong, rich, and pure vibrant tones to your voice, producing and ideal quality voice with natural projection that is pleasing to your listener, you need to speak in your Optimal Voice pitch. So, how can you find your Optimal pitch? Okay, let’s try it by saying, “Uh-Huh.” Make the “Uh” come from the mid-range of your speaking voice and the “Huh” at your voice’s lower range. If you do this, three or four times, you’ll hear your voice range, then, from there, determine where your Optimal Voice mid-range is located. It will be half way between the “Uh” and “Huh.” The “Uh” will be the upper limit of your Optimal voice range, and the “Huh” will be at the lower limit of your Optimal voice range. This Optimal pitch is where you should start your speaking voice but, of course, it will fluctuate within your Optimal voice range, (between the “Uh” and “Huh”) otherwise, you would be always be speaking in a monotone. A fast way to remind yourself as to where your optimal voice pitch is to use your voice to make the sound “ummm-hummm” to get you back on track. In order to produce the most resonant and vibrant tone, you will need to practice speaking from your Optimal voice range. It will make you sound more confident and surer of yourself to those you are speaking to. You definitely will be presenting yourself in a more authoritative manner.

So much of the world of business has changed, along with it, the area of communications. Virtual communication has become the norm, such as Zoom meetings and virtual calls. When seeking a new a position, such as moving up the ladder for a position in a new location and/or a new industry, you are more likely, as not, to be initially interviewed virtually instead of in person. Still, it’s important to remember that the same best practices for interviewing in person apply to virtual interviews as well. In order to be successful, it’s important to connect with the interviewer and be able to communicate your value to the organization. Before going into the added things to address in the virtual interview, it’s important to address the basics of any interview, virtual or in person. Before the interview, do research in order to familiarize yourself with the company as well as the industry in which it operates. Be able to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry and its trends. Along with knowledge, show your enthusiasm for the field. Be authentic. Be sure to use the interview to show why you are the best candidate for the position. During the interview, make sure you don’t tell them what they already read on your resume. Instead, give them some examples of how you have solved problems in the past in other work situations. Come prepared with some questions for the interviewer, make sure the ones you choose haven’t already been answered in the interview. The questions should be about the culture of the organization, duties of the position, and the people you would be working with. Asking questions about the organization shows you are a truly interested candidate. Now, let’s address some added details that need to go into the virtual interview situation: Find a quiet place where your surrounding are clean and uncluttered for the background of the interview. This will keep the interviewer focused on you and not distracted by your surroundings. Do a test run with your technology. Check the visual and audio. Dress as though you were doing the interview in person—at least the top half of you! Be sure to look into the camera and not the screen when talking. Looking into the interviewer’s eyes on the screen makes you appear as though you are looking down, not directly at them. Practice this beforehand so that you will get comfortable and will easily remember to look into the camera when speaking. And finally, if you still want the position after the interview, be sure to let the interviewer know that!