Finding Your Executive Voice

The role of women in business has changed over the past two centuries. I have always been curious whether the male or female voice carries more authority when making business recommendations. Consider gender bias against women for a moment. A woman's competence is often judged based on physical characteristics such as hair color, body shape, size, weight, and physical attractiveness. Lack of business clothing can also be an area that creates negative judgment. Contemplate the business clothing of our Vice President, Kamala Harris. She could influence the fashions in today's business world but continues to model historic male business suits from the '70s. Designers would jump at the chance to create a new look for women in the workplace. However, Ms. Harris lacks the self-confidence to drive a positive change for women.?

Consider the tenor of Ms. Harris's voice and laugh. Additionally, Ms. Harris is always seen several steps back and to the right of the President. Her body language makes her appear acquiescent and weak. The public has told the VP what they think, and their response has been negative. Polls have criticized Ms. Harris's voice and demeanor as well. It is fair to say that an adverse judgment has been made about her emotional intelligence based on her voice and appearance.?

Ms. Harris needs an executive coach who will identify these and other areas of opportunity for her organizational growth. In addition, the coach would work closely with her to gain a positive public perception of her leadership skills.?

Consider how you would feel about Ms. Harris if you were blind. You would not care about her clothes or where she stands. Instead, you would understand her capabilities from her voice and what she says. A person's voice is one of the empowerments of their leadership. Women must find a seat at the table instead of standing behind the executive they support. They should feel they can speak as freely as their leaders. A woman needs to build power in her voice, speech, demeanor, and stance. To accomplish these changes, women need an influential and honest mentor or executive coach who will help them identify their opportunity areas and make positive changes. Are you ready to make changes to change others' perceptions of you? If so, contact me at https://lnkd.in/eSzNVCDP. I specialize in coaching women executives.

Part Two - Strengthen Your Voice

Compare the voice to a sound production company. We often think the vocal cords make our sound. However, three organs are responsible for our voice quality. If we exercise these parts of our body just like we do when we go to the gym, we will improve the quality of our voice. First, the lungs are needed to provide airflow and air pressure. The articulators, including the larynx, tongue, and cheeks, help us make and filter the sound arising from the larynx and can interact with the laryngeal airflow to strengthen or weaken it as a sound source. Unfortunately, many of us depend solely on the vocal cords when using our voice, which undermines the vocal cords and makes our voice high pitched, crackly, or soft. Women are especially prone to dependence on their vocal cords rather than their lungs. As a result, people under stress or pressure, especially women, will often lose their breath halfway through the conversation and begin to murmur. Has this ever happened to you? If so, here are some suggestions to help you build the power of your voice.

The first step to improving the power of your voice is to practice your lung power every day. If you like to sing, begin with a song with short phrases. Take a deep breath all the way down to your abdomen and sing the first stanza as loud as you can at one consistent volume. Then, stop, take another deep breath and go on to the next stanza. If you do not like to sing, you can do the same using a rhyming children's book. The second step is to warm up your voice every morning. Take a deep breath to your abdomen and say the word AH……. in a loud but comfortable voice while keeping track of the time you hold the AH. You should set a goal to improve a second or two every day. Normal will be 15 seconds but don't be frustrated if you start at 7-8 seconds.

A sound meter can be purchased on Amazon for about $20 to measure the loudness or volume of your voice. The average conversation volume should be between 72-75 decibels. Presentation or a meeting voice should be around 85-95 decibels. Make sure you measure the decibels and practice maintaining your volume at these levels. Exercising the muscles that support your voice is as critical as exercising your physique. If you are a person who has other difficulties such as pronunciation and clarity of speech, consider attending speech therapy with a Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist.?

Part Three - Make Your Message Count?

On occasion, during business meetings, I would find I did not always agree with the facilitator. I wanted to speak up, but I did not want to hurt the leader's feelings or appear disagreeable. I could easily say I cannot entirely agree with your approach, but the next time I facilitated a meeting, I would probably receive a similar response. Now that holding meetings as ZOOM? conference calls is the most common way to keep brainstorm solutions is via ZOOM? times have become even more difficult to grab that seat at the table and make your message heard.

As a leader, it is critically important that you find a seat at the table (or desk), Sit up straight so others on the call know you are paying attention, dress appropriately (not PJ's or T-shirts with slang sayings), pay attention, and take notes. If the time comes when you disagree with the suggested solutions, you must share your concerns but do so that it does not offend others on the call. First, ask yourself the question? Have I earned the right to disagree with this person? Do I have more experience than they do on this topic? Have we ever tried what they are suggesting? What are the consequences if we do try it? Once you have quickly answered all those questions in your mind, you may say to the speaker, John, I agree with what you said about offshoring. You are correct in saying that moving work offshore would save us time and money. Recently, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said 80% of the service that has been moved offshore is unsatisfactory to our customers due to poor customer service. Therefore, I believe we also must consider customer service. Since we are known for our customer service, we should explore what kind of service we will receive if we move this activity offshore.

When faced with a needed response in a meeting, participants often babble on and on, offering opinions on topics about which they know nothing. In this case, I considered the prospect that I had the right to speak on the subject. I took my time responding and then commended the speaker for the parts of their response on which I could agree. I provided an alternative way of thinking, and everyone saved face.?

We often respond without considering our answer and are sorry we spoke up. Responding requires a three-step process.?

Step 1?– Repeat what you just heard

John, I agree with what you said about offshoring. You are correct in saying that moving work offshore would save us time and money. However, I also believe we also must consider customer service. Since we are known for our customer service, we should explore what kind of service we will receive if we move this activity offshore and consider the cost of lost customer satisfaction vs. gains.

Step 2:?Find a point of agreement.

You are correct in saying that moving work offshore would save us time and money.?

Step 3:?State your opposing view and provide evidence.

Recently, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said 80% of the service that moved offshore is unsatisfactory to customers due to poor language challenges. Therefore, I believe we also must consider customer service. Since we are known for our customer service, we should explore what kind of service we will receive if we move this activity offshore.

#womeninleadership, #executivegoldy, #goldenexecutivecoaching.com