“Executive Presence” is the most talked about concept in books, conferences, workshops and so on when it comes to leadership communication. The Center for Talent & Innovation identifies three main pillars of executive presence as listed below
Appearance
Communication Skills
Gravitas
However, the most important missing link is the concept of vocal executive presence which speaks about how one uses various components of one’s voice to establish leadership. Content, which comprises choice of words, slides and data, is related to delivery and works in tandem to convey a powerful message. For instance, one of the studies claims that 38% of audiences decide the effectiveness of a speaker based on speaker’s voice tone, while 55% base their decisions on non-verbal cues. This leaves one with just 7% emphasis on content. Surprisingly, most speakers focus on the 7% content and lose out on delivery rendering the speech highly ineffective.
In order to demonstrate vocal executive presence, it is essential to read the audience, understand the audience’s needs and expectations, identify the kind of personality that would fit the expectations and deliver them using one’s voice. For instance, a situation requiring compassion will require a different voice tone than a situation requiring command or respect. The tone required to speak to a child is different from the tone required to speak to a professional audience setting.
It is essential to understand that voice has both cognitive and emotional effects on the listener. With respect to the cognitive effect, when a person listens to a speech, it is broken down into tonal units or chunks that represents the highs and lows of a person’s voice. Strategic use of voice tonality enables faster processing of the content by the listener, thereby, ensuring focus on the right parts of the message. The listener tends to focus on voice tones and anchors the speech based on where the highest peaks are. This concept can be leveraged to ensure the listener does not forget your name. For instance, the first word should usually go in an increasing tone suggesting the name has not ended yet, followed by a pause that signifies word boundary followed by a downward tone that suggests that your name is complete. Using this approach while introducing yourself helps to demonstrate vocal executive presence that can ensure that your name sticks with the listener.
Another most important concept is the use of filler words or upspeak words such as ‘okay’, ‘you know’ and so on that seeks validation at unnecessary points. Use of such words distracts the listener from focusing on the main message that has to be emphasized on.
While tonality of voice is an essential aspect to focus on, the speaker should also ensure that the tone fits the context of the discussion. The concept of ‘prismatic voice’ is very helpful here. A prism receives white light, splits them into 7 colours while it passes through and ensures that the colors that come out of the prism fits the external environment. Similarly, a speaker should look at all different aspects of his personality and use the voice that fits the context and the needs of the audience.
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