Don’t I need to speak in a deeper voice to sound serious and credible?
The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”. Consistently, the worst advice speakers and presenters get, comes from everyone who is NOT your audience. The following gives examples of some of the WORST advice people are often given. It is followed by the advice of your audience. Listen to them. They are your true judge and jury.
Don’t I need to speak in a deeper voice to sound serious and credible?
Your Corporate Psychologist: “Studies show that the lower the pitch of the speaker, the more authoritative and credible the speaker will be to the audience.”
Your Image Coach (Female for Female): “You need to lower the pitch of your voice to seem credible to men. It’s a man’s world.”
Your Image Coach (Male for Male): “You don’t want to sound feminine do you? It’s better to keep our voice in the lower ranges to sound serious and credible.”
You (male or female): “Ugh!!! I hate my voice! It’s too high, thin, and whiny. I’d better lower it to make it sound more credible and authoritative.”
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Your Audience: “We can always spot phony baloney and bad actors a mile away. Be real! If you try to sound like a 1970s network news anchor, you’re going to sound like a fool. Worse, you are most likely going to sound monotone, which is very effective for one thing: no, not sounding authoritative, but putting us to sleep. If you want to sound credible, then you need to sound real. And in real conversation, your voice goes high and low, loud and soft, fast and slow. Sounding real is the ultimate credibility builder.”