Branding Your Executive Voice

Posted on by Byron Darden

August is about how we show up for others and how that presentation of ourselves impacts those around us.

It is said that you have 7 seconds to make a first impression. Any time you stand in front of a new group of people to introduce yourself or make a sales pitch, you are being judged – how you hold your posture, your appearance, the grip of your handshake, and how you sound.

Your speaking voice can make the difference in whether someone takes you seriously or their attention wanders to the next meeting. Your voice is unique and authentic to you. It is how people perceive you – the most crucial part of your brand.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is running for president, and the first time people hear his voice, they are taken aback. He has a vocal impediment that makes him sound old due to the frequency of sudden involuntary pauses. For this reason, some take his candidacy less seriously as a result. They have limited faith in his ability to be authoritative enough to represent the United States on the world stage. He may or may not have the most suitable ideas or be the appropriate person for the job, and the way his voice sounds makes people pause – which can be an advantage when used strategically.

Some aspects of your voice cannot be controlled, and several others can. You can change the meaning of your words by changing the tempo, quality or pitch, volume, accent, or enunciation. How you speak can make a difference in whether you are taken seriously and whether your message is heard. Your speaking voice is also a vital part of your personal brand.

DISCOVER YOUR VOICE

Crafting Your Voice

Posted on by Byron Darden

Learning to convey compelling messages to your audience takes practice, and the benefits far outweigh the effort required to become an effective speaker.

Communication is an art form that is not only about what you say. It includes how you speak and express yourself, which, in turn, determines how others perceive you.

Aligning your intention with the desired impact is crucial, as how you are remembered when you are not present in the room determines your success. Using your voice, whether in person, virtually, or in print, is about shaping the perception of your character and the way you want to be thought of when your name is mentioned. It delves into the core question of who you want to be.

When your audience hears you speak for the first time, they automatically assess your social and economic status, intelligence level, and willingness to listen to what you have to say.

Perceptions are based on how you ACT:

  1. How authentic you are, the image you portray, and whether your audience can personally relate to you based on your likeness or resemblance to them.
  2. The content of your words, including word choice, phrases, and sentence structure, derived from your experiences, background, understanding, or wisdom that led you to your position.
  3. The timing of your message, including how you verbally deliver the message, derived from your training, education, knowledge, insight, observation, or judgment based on the topic.

Your challenge is bridging the gap between what you say and what your audience hears.

A speaker’s voice plays a significant role in triggering personal and aesthetic biases. Different aspects of the voice impact our perception of the speaker.

  1. The intensity of your voice, including volume and loudness, can evoke certain emotions or convey authority.
  2. The rate at which you speak – the speed and pace – can influence others’ perception of your intelligence and confidence.
  3. The frequency of your voice – encompassing pitch and quality – contributes to the overall impression of your personality and emotional state.
  4. The inflection, which relates to the voice’s emphasis, contrast, and energy, adds depth and nuance to your communication.
  5. The clarity of your enunciation and articulation affects how easily the audience can understand your message and determines their level of engagement with your words.
ACT NOW!

Incorporating the Speaking Voice into Your Brand

Posted on by Byron Darden

An integral aspect of The Executive VOICE is its relationship to personal brand and persona. When branding a product or service, we often think of fonts, colors, images, and logos. Each component is critical in crafting a distinct and impactful written message that resonates with the audience. We can extend our branding further by considering how we present our brand to others through our speaking voice.

While fonts determine the quality and style of the message, colors evoke specific emotions and set the overall mood, and images capture attention and convey powerful messages, your speaking voice does all this and more.

Earlier, we outlined several characteristics of the spoken voice that shape the speaker’s perception (clarity, inflection, intensity, inflection, and rate). Non-verbal communication is also important when people are speaking. Think about how you move your body and hands, your facial expressions, what you wear, and how you interact with your audience. Each of these can reinforce the intended message or cause a distraction.

The cohesive interplay of these factors forms a holistic representation of The Executive VOICE, ensuring a memorable and influential presence.

DETERMINE YOUR BRAND

Finding Your Speaking Voice

Posted on by Byron Darden

Our audible voice is a powerful tool that allows us to convey our thoughts, emotions, and intentions. However, sometimes we feel the need to improve certain aspects of our voice to make a greater impact on our audience. Whether you are a public speaker, an actor, or simply someone who wants to communicate more clearly and effectively, these transformations will guide you on your journey to finding your voice.

Move Away fromTowards
High PitchLow Pitch
Fast SpeedSlower Speed
High IntensityLower Intensity
MonotoneVoice Variation
RaspyClarity

In the next section, I’ll provide an exercise to help you explore these transitions.

FIND YOUR VOICE

A Lesson from the Coach’s Corner

Posted on by Byron Darden

At the height of my career as an Olympic coach, I also coached business executives worldwide. The father of one of my students was a partner in one of the seventeen global consulting firms with which I worked. As a leadership consultant, I coached their junior and senior consultants on how to climb the ladder into management and principal roles.

One day my skater’s head coach approached me, lamenting, “Some of my parents don’t take me seriously when I offer advice on how best to support their skaters.” I listen attentively as the coach shares their frustration with the parents.

When my fellow skating coach finishes sharing their challenging relationship with their clientele, I suggest bringing the pitch down in the voice when speaking. My advice isn’t taken well.

That was when I learned a valuable lesson. It isn’t what you say, it’s how you say it. I didn’t heed that warning and missed the opportunity for my advice to be heard. As a result, my coaching partner changed nothing and continued to struggle to be taken seriously.

REACH OUT

The Ideal Pitch

Posted on by Byron Darden

The ideal voice pitch varies from person to person. For men, a lower to middle-range pitch can exude confidence, authority, and masculinity. For women, an ideal pitch is perceived as feminine, expressive, and engaging. While some women tend to lower their voices to fit cultural norms, your job is to find out what works for you and your audience.

Let’s revisit our example about RFK, Jr. and his voice. A survey by the American Scientist found that pitch matters to voters when choosing a leader. Candidates with a lower voice (male or female) were 13% more likely to win office than those with other voice pitches. This bias might be enough to switch favor from one candidate to another in a close election. It would be prudent to choose a candidate based on their message rather than the tone of their voice.

The same rationale can be applied to a CEO, a high-level executive, or an entry-level employee pitching an idea to their boss. When we determine what we need to say, how the message is conveyed can make a huge difference in its impact. Speak with confidence and authority and see how people respond to you.

DISCOVER WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

Action Steps

Posted on by Byron Darden

It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it” – Mae West.

Your voice is an integral part of your personal brand. Recruiters looking to fill a position often eliminate candidates based solely on how they sound over the phone. It’s worth the time and effort to put your best voice forward.

Did you listen to my Founder’s Corner at the beginning of this article series? Would you believe I grew up in the heart of Texas with a strong southern drawl? Once I joined the world of coaching and professional speaking and relocated to the east coast, I found it advantageous to spend time with a voice coach and retrain my voice to reflect my personal brand.

Whether you embark on formal voice training or make a few adjustments, there are steps you can take to hone your voice.

One last example – James Earl Jones has a distinctive voice. Few people know he grew up with a stutter and sharpened his voice onstage. James Earl Jones went from struggling to talk to becoming an icon known for his voice.

My 50+ years of acting and coaching have taught me the importance of a strong voice. Schedule time on my calendar to discuss how your voice is helping or hindering your success (or another leadership topic on your mind).

TAKE ACTION!

Founder’s Corner

Posted on by Byron Darden

What it means to be engaging and what it takes to heighten employee engagement boils down to Four crucial considerations.

  1. A leader’s ability to be present enough to notice when engagement exists and when it may fall short.
  2. A focus on how best to approach engagement whether it be through tools such as personal check-Ins with their team, The ART of storytelling, through feedback loops that are; specific, authentic and supportive, and through strategic conversations about what is and is not working.
  3. Addressing early and often what might need to be resolved that is getting in the way. Rather than figuring it out all on your own, instead, include your team in finding answers to what at times, might be tough questions.
  4. Helping your teams release the tension from the loss of engagement with the promise that it can be restored.

After all, no leader is perfect. In fact, a leader’s lack of perfection makes them more human in the eyes of their teams. And having a leader who can admit to their own shortcomings can build a much stronger and sustainable connection to the people who do the work in an organization.

Hi, I’m Byron Darden and I want to welcome you to this edition of Leading with Purpose on Purpose. In this installment, we are focusing on the E in our series of The Executive VOICE, Engagement. I thought it appropriate to use the setting of Harvard Business School here in Boston where I began my journey 20 years ago in Leadership Development and where I started learning and coaching on the importance of engagement.

The days of dangling a paycheck in front of a team member followed by, here, move forward with this next project. Hoping that the idea of getting paid to do a job is inspiration enough, no longer serves as a leading factor for employees to get work done and done well.

Research has uncovered concerning statistics that point to the need for more focused and consciences effort around engaging those in the workplace. By doing so, leaders find that they can:

  • More effectively keep employee turnover down to a minimum
  • Develop the talent you already have, you also keep employees interested and enthusiastic about their roles
  • Work to promote from within rather than from outside, you provide employees reasons to stay and grow in your organizations.

I trust you will enjoy this edition of The Executive VOICE as we round out our series with Engagement.

Enjoy!

Value of Engagement in Leadership

Posted on by Byron Darden

When a person decides to leave their position at a company, it is often not because the work is overwhelming or unfulfilling. The main reason is that they experience a disconnect with their leader or the work. They may feel they are not heard or understood, their contributions are not valued, or they may have lost faith in the organization’s leadership. Employees who are not free to express their ideas or concerns can become disengaged or unmotivated. They begin to seek opportunities to feel like they are making an impact.

Recognizing when you do not have the full commitment of your employees is a critical skill of a leader, and you can do this by practicing the art of engagement. Ideally, you’ll want to engage before the situation becomes critical; however, increasing engagement is helpful at any time. Managers can promote employee engagement in various ways – from asking for input to hands-on involvement in projects while fostering a sense of ownership and accountability. The value of engagement is apparent when employees are motivated to contribute to the team and company goals.

In this fifth installment of the Executive VOICE, we explore leadership engagement – what it is, why it is critical for the success of any organization, and what you can do to engage yourself and your team.

MAKE AN IMPACT

Are You Engaged?

Posted on by Byron Darden

Leadership engagement is critical for the success of any organization, from the CEO to the entry level of management. A leader is involved in various aspects of the organization’s operations, including its strategy, culture, and people. Leadership behavior facilitates, strengthens, connects, and inspires employees to increase engagement. Engagement can be achieved through various behaviors and measured with a reliable and valid self-report scale.

Here are some traits that will contribute to your effectiveness as an engaged leader:

  • Active Listening – Give your full attention, maintain eye contact, and genuinely seek to understand your team members’ perspectives, ideas, and concerns. Encourage open and honest communication, refraining from judgment.
  • Clarify your Vision – Before engaging with your team, define your role, team, and expectations. Articulate expectations, goals, and objectives, ensuring everyone understands their role and how it aligns with the organization’s goals. Provide timely feedback, recognition, and constructive criticism. Keep your team apprised of important information and encourage open dialogue.
  • Resilience and Adaptability – Remain positive and calm in the face of challenges and change, providing stability and support to your team.
  • Continuous Learning and Growth – Commit to your own learning and growth as well as your team members. Provide opportunities for development and support professional growth, that will inspire and engage your team to continuously improve and strive for excellence.
  • Accountability – Set clear expectations and follow through on commitments creating a culture of ownership and responsibility.
  • Empathy and Understanding – Put yourself in your team members’ shoes, considering their emotions, challenges, and experiences. Show compassion and support and be willing to offer help when needed.
  • Collaboration and Inclusion – Create opportunities for teamwork and brainstorming, encouraging all employees to contribute their unique skills and knowledge.

These traits create trust, honesty, ownership, and engagement, where individuals can thrive and reach their full potential.

DISCOVER YOUR TRAITS