Executive Voice- Practice or Magic?

Jacinda Ardern’s speech at the memorial of the Christchurch victims- Let us be the nation we believe ourselves to be. 

Margaret Thatcher’s speeches were full of wit, forcefulness and compassion. Look at the combination. In one speech the Iron Lady describes herself in an overtly feminine red chiffon gown and fair hair, and says “here stands before you the Iron Lady of the west”.

Oprah’s speech at the Power of Women- she talks about authentic power. It is when you align who you have come to be in the world to what you have begun to do in the world, it is when your personality serves your soul - that is authentic power. And that power nobody can take away from you. 

You know what got me when I was listening to all these amazing ladies? Their voice. I am not going to be brash enough to evaluate what they spoke, or their content- but let’s look at how a woman’s voice defines how powerful she is perceived to be. 

These are powerful women. They have made a difference to the world and made it a better place. They have done so through grit, determination, empathy, an attitude of not giving up and they have nurtured their voice throughout the process. I really mean nurture- they’ve taken extreme care to understand what they sound like. 

Listen to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie too. In her Ted Talk of the danger of a single story, her voice lets us imagine where she grew up, that she ate mangoes and had never seen snow. Again let’s not go into the content of the speech. Feel the flow of her voice, the pause, the tone, the voice modulation. 

The voice of the people who you listen to makes you go through a personal shift. Do you remember how you could anticipate being reprimanded just by the tone of how your mom or dad called out your name. That’s what voice is all about. As women with voice, what is it about voice that impacts the psychology of power?

As women with voice, what is it about voice that impacts the psychology of power? I say psychology of power and not of voice, because voice impacts the psyche of all those who perceive us to be powerful. We listen to someone and can feel electrified by what they say, because voice calibrates our minds and souls.

In the presidential elections of the USA in 2016, Hillary Clinton was one of the main competitors. She had many issues on her agenda, not limited to expanding racial, LGBT, and women's rights, raising wages and ensuring equal pay for women, and improving healthcare. They were all worthy issues, of deserving a national platform. But long before the election results came to be, many had expressed their concern over Mrs. Clinton’s high pitched voice. She had served in multiple public service roles already, but when it came to being elected the President and being pitched against a mostly male competition, the tenor of her voice came into question. We know what happened at those elections and I am not saying that Mrs. Clinton’s voice should take the fall for that, but it was a huge consideration. 

I believe that executive voice is a coachable concept. As part of my coaching programs, I actively teach and execute a voice module. The practice isn’t only on the how you speak but also the what. The idea is to develop and convey using appropriate voice as per the context and to whom you are speaking. 

It is also a larger awareness of the daily interactions that you have and your own communication style. My voice coach on her part has advised voice rest of a couple of waking hours a week. It has made me conscious of how much I use my voice and the fatigue that sets in. 

Focus on the large, not the little. [VISION]

When trying to convey a sense of power through your speech, be a visionary. You may be the subject matter expert, but look at the context before you look at your subject. Many times promoted candidates struggle in their new roles because they underestimate the context of the new role. You might have been able to rattle off the numbers at your fingertips, but now you need to be able to explain what they mean for the organisation. Once you have that in place, your voice automatically takes on an executive quality. 

Ardern, Thatcher, Adichie have been able to master their speech vibrate with the effect of what they are trying to convey. I have long since stopped telling women that they should keep a lid on their emotions. I believe they should leverage it to their fullest. 

These women have proven that they can be emotional and stick to the facts and make a point; and not need to talk like a man. 

Facilitate being listened to. [SKILL] 

I used to work with Jo very early in my career. She was one of the people who I looked up to. Immaculately dressed, fashion game on point, thorough with her work and had great relationships. But time and again she was sidelined when it came to promotions. Today when I look back it was probably her speech rate that was putting her off her game. 

She spoke too fast, almost as if she was afraid that she would lose the attention of the listeners and tried to cram in as much as she could in under a minute. The listeners lost her anyway. 

The best speakers pace their speech. I don’t mean having an optimum words per minute, but speaking only as much as you can assimilate yourself in that minute.

The final piece of the voice question is the practice. [MASTERY]

How will you focus on the large? How will you pace your speech? How will you get to a point where people will want to listen to what you have to say? 

PRACTICE. 

People who take the time to record their voice are better placed to add value to a discussion that needs ongoing conversation. You may think that you are emphasising certain words enough, but unless you actually listen to yourself speak, you can never be sure. Reading excerpts from a play and recording yourself and fine tuning your intonation and modulation can take you a long way in the business of executive voice. 

Speech techniques are far more than the tone and the pitch. What matters is also what you say and the context too. The point of all speech is to engage and to take control of your communication. 

This is the third in the series of executive voice. Altogether they should be able to help the reader generate credibility with their voice and improve their communication.

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About the author:

My passion is to create opportunities and catalyse relationships that help us thrive! I believe that personal, organisational and societal change is an interactive development process and through my interventions I seek to build awareness and action across all. I have had the privilege to have coached and trained leaders and management teams in 40 plus countries globally and on all continents.

Over the last two decades, I have engaged with leadership development, L&D and talent management across the entire spectrum from diagnosis to design to implementation. Currently I run my own niche Executive Coaching Practice to accelerate leader's path to success through my focus on #LeadershipBranding.

Drop me a message at [email protected] or to schedule a call with me please use : calendly.com/shivangi

Here are 2 initiatives I have founded : www.thrivewithmentoring.com, a non-profit that catalyses women to women mentoring (currently present in 5 countries) and www.xponential.cc (through which I bring award winning leadership trainings such as Crucial Conversations and Power of Habit).