DOES YOUR VOICE MAKE SELLING HARDER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE?

Despite impeccable qualifications, Margaret Thatcher failed to become head of her political party in England, until a friend made an unexpected suggestion.

“Maggie, it’s your voice!”

Could her voice be the sole reason Margaret Thatcher’s party would not consider her for the head of their party?

The answer might surprise you.

Frustrated that nothing else was working, she hired voice coach Gordon Reece, who taught her to lower and deepen her voice, advised her on what clothing to wear, and accompanied her to television and radio interviews, where he made sure she avoided combative interviewers who caused her voice to appear loud and grating in her responses.

The result?

Thatcher soon became head of her political party, and ultimately, Prime Minister of Britain, where she served for more than a decade during the Reagan era.

Understanding this got me considering my own voice, and whether it was helping or hurting my ability to influence, persuade and sell people.

MY OWN EXPERIENCE – GETTING THE STRESS OUT OF MY VOICE

I came from a family of such opinionated people, you had to fight your way in just to be heard. As a result, I became a better listener than speaker – which helped tremendously as a consultant.

But the experience also made my voice periodically raise with stress when I talked, sounding like I was straining to get my opinion heard.

To most people it might have been subtle, but to me, it was a blaring problem I was struggling with, especially early in my career.

To counter this vocal disadvantage, I worked hard to be the most educated person in the room as often as I could. But the vocal disadvantage wore on me, especially as I developed as a behavioral management specialist.

HOW A MOVIE GAVE ME THE GUIDANCE I NEEDED

A breakthrough came when I watched the movie The Godfather.

Did Marlon Brandon’s character ever raise his voice? Did he ever struggle to get heard?

In fact, he did the opposite. He whispered, and people strained to listen to him.

Could that be the answer? Do powerful people almost NEVER raise their voices?

I started to recognize how many of the world’s most powerful people almost never strain to be heard. Their voices remain calm and relaxed, even in the most stressful of situations.

On my way to becoming one of America’s leading behavioral management specialists, I slowed and calmed my voice, and almost miraculously, people went out of their way to listen.

I discovered the answer to greater persuasiveness was not trying harder. No. The answer was NOT trying so hard in the first place. If someone was trying to talk over me, I needed to shut up rather than fight them.

It took a while to become proficient at this, but the results were more incredible than I could ever have imagined.

One of the exercises I learned was to touch my stomach whenever I spoke, and feel if it was getting tense. If it was, this became a signal for me to calm down.

Of course, hard work, intense learning and extensive personal experience have been the main reasons I've earned the status I have.

But the calm in my voice and my demeanor have also helped tremendously in moving my career forward, as it can for you.

IS YOUR VOICE HURTING YOUR ABILITY TO PERSUADE

So, how about you?

Is your voice calm or stressed when you are trying to make your point?

Does it signal that you need to fight to be heard?

Or does it let your listener know that you hold a dominant status, where people go out of their way to listen, even when you whisper?

Like Margaret Thatcher, me and so many of the top execs I’ve worked with over several decades, slight changes to your voice could have a significant impact on your success, in ways you may never have expected.

BTW Try recording yourself when you are chatting with others. Like me, you may be surprised at how your voice may not be as effective as you’d like.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James I. Bond is the inventor of BRAIN GLUE? – the secret to making your pitches and ideas “sticky,” so they stick in your prospect’s brain like glue.

As one of Americas leading behavioral management specialists, he has been a popular speaker and workshop presenter for the resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more than 13 years he ran one of Southern California’s leading behavioral management firms, working with a Who’s Who of American business.

Early in his career, he founded and ran a regional advertising agency in Montreal, working with such major firms as Seagram’s Distillers, Avon Cosmetics, Timex Watches, and Abbott Laboratories.

He is also the founder of The Father-Daughter Project? and author of The Secret Life of Fathers, with a commitment to helping strengthen the relationships between fathers and daughters worldwide.