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Voices carry - Buzz - verbal communication - Brief Article

Date Posted: 2005-10-26

Elizabeth J. Goodgold
If you're like most entrepreneurs, the telephone is your lifeline to your customers. According to Susan Berkley, CEO of The Great Voice Company in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, we have just seven seconds to make an impression.

The voice is divided into two components: verbal and vocal. Verbal is what we say; vocal is how we say it. To improve your vocal skills, Berkley recommends these tips:

* Improve your elocution. In other words, speak clearly and succinctly. Pronounce every consonant and vowel. If you're not speaking clearly, you're not retaining your listener's attention.

* Slow down. If you're speaking too fast, you're losing your chance to connect. Don't be afraid to pause and let your message sink in.

* Find your perfect pitch. When you're speaking in your optimal pitch, your voice is at the height of its resonance. To find your perfect pitch, hum a few bars of a favorite song. That pitch is probably where your voice is at its healthiest.

* Use a tape recorder. Hearing yourself can help you identify the "ums" and "uhs" in your speech as well as unnatural pitches, tones and pronunciation mistakes.

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