Incorporating the Speaking Voice into Your Brand

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.

Finding Your Speaking Voice

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.

A Lesson from the Coach’s Corner

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.

The Ideal Pitch

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.

Action Steps

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).

Founder’s Corner

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

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.

Are You Engaged?

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.

Bring Your BEST Forward

When someone is engaged in an activity, they exhibit these characteristics, or what I like to call Being Your BEST Forward:

  • Being absorbed in what you are doing.
  • Energized to initiate, continue or exchange one behavior for another.
  • Signals passion and dedication to one’s work.
  • Thoroughness in exhibiting ownership and accountability.

Being your Best Forward means being authentic, professional, and continuously striving for growth and improvement. By embodying these principles, you can make a lasting positive impression and create opportunities for success.

Connect with me to learn how you can implement these principles to become more engaged in your work and with your team.

Impacts of Leadership Engagement

Leadership engagement creates a ripple effect on your team that radiates throughout your organization.

Without engagement, leadership fails at accomplishing one of its principal responsibilities of motivating its followers to perform well. Leadership engagement can be transformative to an organization. There are several ways where your engagement makes a significant difference:

  • Employee Engagement and Well-Being – There is a direct correlation between leadership engagement and your employees’ engagement levels. Leadership engagement creates a ripple effect on your team that radiates throughout your organization. Demonstrating enthusiasm, passion, and dedication to your work creates a positive environment that motivates your team to do the same, creating satisfied employees who feel supported and valued.
  • Cultural Impact – Engaged leaders ensure that everyone in the organization is aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives. They communicate the vision and mission and create unity within the team. This creates a culture of innovation, learning, and continuous improvement, resulting in an empowering workplace where everyone feels they have a role in the team’s success.
  • Performance and Productivity –Through leading by example, engaged leaders tend to create a positive work environment, which leads to increased motivation and higher levels of job satisfaction. By providing clear direction, setting challenging goals, and providing the necessary resources and support for success, engaged leaders inspire their teams to perform at their best and produce results.
  • Leadership Development – Engaged leaders recognize the strengths of their employees. You can set up your employees for future success by engaging in mentoring, coaching, and providing growth opportunities. You can ensure a pipeline of skilled and engaged leaders who can drive the organization forward.
  • Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty – Engaged leaders and employees go the extra mile to understand customer needs, provide personalized solutions, and build stronger relationships. The result is increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.