Amy, Author at The Vocalpreneur

IS YOUR VOICE LEAVING THE WRONG IMPRESSION?

by Amy | Jul 15, 2022 | Importance of Vocal Coaching, Speaking

Is your voice giving people the wrong impression about who you are and how you can help them? I want to show you 3 ways your voice may be turning people off from your content and what you can do about it going forward.

Not only do I hear this when I’m perusing social media and watching live videos, YouTube tutorials and reels, but also when I personally encounter professionals who know their content so well — they’ve prepared the speech, the visual aids, the presentation all the way down to hand gestures and what they’ll wear — but what they’ve seemingly forgotten is their most important asset: their voice and how it makes an impression and cuts through to the heart of what they’re saying.

It’s an epidemic, Y’all. Far too many times, people pay attention to the content of the message, the symmetry in their eyebrows, the angle of the camera, the filter, the timing of the clip with the music, the backdrop, the fonts, the colors and all the other things that make up a presentation, but they neglect the one thing that is going to draw us near and hook us in: they’ve forgotten to work on their voice.

Here at The Vocalpreneur, we believe that what you say is important, but how you say it is possibly even more vital to your message. Here are 3 examples of ways your voice may be turning people off with tips on what to do about it.

Ready?

Here goes:

Example #1

Your content is dynamic, it’s innovative and the words speak about energy and excitement, but your voice didn’t get the memo. Your voice is dull, monotone, emotionless and flat. Because of this, I’m getting mixed signals about what you are saying because how you are saying it doesn’t match up! What causes this? Who knows?! Maybe it’s nerves. Maybe it’s your camera/mic voice that you always seem to default to. Maybe you don’t even realize that your normal every day energy doesn’t quite translate to the camera and we’re not seeing your true personality shine through. Whatever the case is, we need to change this EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!

Here’s how:

The next time you prepare to speak about something on camera or audio, I want you to do a trial recording of yourself the way you normally would speak and emote. Don’t do anything different. Just carry on business as usual. You could even do it inside a private group that only consists of you and a couple friends or close business partners. (It would be a great idea to open a critique group of people who trust each other!) Now, after you have finished that recording, go back and do the video/audio again, but this time, overexaggerate EVERYTHING!! Don’t worry about how it sounds or feeling stupid (it will feel strange at first), but I want you to embrace the awkwardness of over-enunciating your words, over-emoting your feelings and over-gesturing to the point where it just feels weird and unnatural. After you’ve done that, now I want you to go back and listen to a minute or two of the first video and a minute or two of the second. Which one do you like more? Which one made you laugh? Which one made you feel just a tad embarrassed? That’s the one you need to go with. The presentation you feel the most vulnerable in is the presentation that others need to see. If you’re not feeling discomfort, it’s probably not going to be worth viewing for others.

Stay with me…

The Heart of the Matter

A flat, non-expressive tone tells us you aren’t interested and you have no energy to really deliver on your words.
When you speak too carefully or perfectly, we might immediately make assumptions that you are pretentious or snobby as opposed to down-to-earth and welcoming.
When we hear a monotone sound which is using just 1-2 pitches when we speak, it can come across robotic, cold and uninterested.
Uninterested and dull leads to zero engagement. Zero engagement leads to zero sales. Capiche?!

Example #2

The polar opposite of #1 is when someone is overly enthusiastic and a little too animated and happy about something that isn’t really that exciting or life-changing. We get the wrong message there, too, don’t we? We might immediately think: “Wow. That’s fake!” or “What’s wrong with her? It’s just life insurance!”

What causes this? Who knows?! Maybe it’s nerves. Maybe you’re this excited about everything in life. Maybe you don’t know how to match the message of what you are saying to how you are saying it and the fact that you’re even on camera is a HUGE FEAT FOR YOU! Whatever the case may be, congratulations that you are showing up and trying!! But…we have to get down to why you are overexpressing yourself and why you feel like you might have to prove something to your audience instead of just being you.

Here’s how:

The next time you go to record yourself, do a recording like you normally would inside of a private Facebook group where noone but you or a couple of close friends could see. Then, do another recording of you catching yourself using the same words like “I’m so excited!” and “This is AMAZING!!!” and instead, use words that fit the content. Maybe write out some words you don’t normally use because you can’t think of them in the middle of a video presentation. Have those words nearby. And then see how you can match the voice with the message. Now, like I had you do before, go back and listen to a snippet of each of these recordings. Which ones stands out as over the top? Which one feels more aligned with your content? You can also have a trusted friend listen and give you feedback or submit a request for a Speaker Audit and have someone from The Vocalpreneur do one for you as well! In any case, get eyes and ears on your content so you know what to work on and your message makes sense.

The Heart of the Matter

Overly enthusiastic speech has to match the actual excitement of the message or it will seem disingenuine.
Exaggerated speech patterns make the listener feel like you aren’t in tune with reality — or at least, their reality — and they will dismiss you as crazy, out of touch or even worse, stupid!

Example #3

You speak at ONE DYNAMIC LEVEL (loudness or softness) and ONE DYNAMIC LEVEL ONLY!!! Everything you say is super loud or super soft. You’re either yelling at us or barely audible. Regardless of which category you fall into, your vocal volume becomes predictable and it overstimulates and annoys us after the first couple minutes. When we are annoyed, we tune out and log off. We may need your message, but your message is delivered in way that is off-putting and hard to deal with. You need to pull from a wide range of tools when you speak like varying dynamic levels, pitches, tempos and vocal color, but ultimately, you need to start with one of these areas and work them in gradually until you have an interesting, varied way of delivering your message.

Here’s how:

Do like you have in the last two examples and record a version of yourself the way you normally speak and then record a version of yourself using soft tones and loud tones, whispering, shouting, laughing and exaggerating in order to utilize all the different dynamics of your voice. It might feel weird. You may forget what you wanted to say. Don’t worry. Just speak. And experiment. Now, go back and listen to those two recordings. Which one did YOU prefer listening to? Have a friend or a spouse listen. Which one did they prefer?

The Heart of the Matter

The content alone, not your natural bent toward speaking loudly or speaking softly, should dictate the dynamics (and other facets) of your speaking voice. Your voice needs to have varied dynamics so you are not predictable and therefore…annoying.
When you speak too loudly, we feel shouted at…or that you are mad at us. When you speak too softly, we feel like you are uninterested, timid and uncertain. Either way, we will be turned off and not want to hear your message — even if we may need it or it may be a very valuable message for us to hear.

These are just 3 out of many examples of things I hear from online speakers on a daily basis. And frankly, it’s costing your potential customers time and energy and it’s ultimately costing you your IMPACT and your hard-earned MONEY when you continue in this manner. Because ultimately, we don’t want people to tune us out! We want people to listen to what we have to say and DO BUSINESS WITH US!

What about your voice do you feel like you need to change in order to give people the correct impression of you and your brand? What may be causing people to get the wrong impression?

If you feel like you need help with this, book a call! I’d love to help you figure this out!

Until then…

Happy Speaking!

xo, Amy

Speaker Audit

5 Pillars of Your Voice

by Amy | Jul 10, 2022 | Speaking

When you don’t have to sing or speak for a living, you don’t really need to think about how your voice sounds or how it’s perceived by the people who listen to it day in and day out, do you? Well, most people don’t. But, if you do use your voice professionally, it is crucial that you learn the 5 Pillars of Your Voice and how these pillars come together to make your voice work for you rather than against you.

PITCH

The first pillar of your voice is pitch. Do you usually speak high or do you speak low? Do you speak using just a couple notes on the scale or do you use a wide variety of notes to express yourself? Most of us would agree that we’ve all heard a boring speaker only pull from a couple different pitches and put us to sleep, and on the contrary, we’ve heard an incredibly dynamic speaker utilize all the different pitches or tones he/she has available to him/her. How do you do this?

DYNAMICS

When we refer to dynamics, we are talking about how loud (ff) or how soft (pp) a person speaks/sings, and most of us have our volume set on a certain number most of the time. Ever hear a loud speaker in a restaurant or movie theater who forgot to turn off his “outside” voice while he’s talking on the phone or with the person he is with? Ever hear a soft speaker try and tell you something in a crowded room and for the life of you, you just can’t hear her? As speakers, we want to know how to turn up our sound when we want to say something important and we want to turn down our sound to draw people in and make them listen. The thing we never want to do is stay on one volume level and wear out the person listening to us.

TEMPO

Are you a fast talker or a slow talker? Do you take a lot of pauses or do you jump right into the next thought without a break? When we are listening to you speak, it is important that you pay attention to how fast or slow you are speaking, because, like all the other pillars, only talking in one tempo can make us feel like we can predict what you are saying, and it can put us to sleep or make us antsy or nervous. Remember, when we speak, we have the power to make people feel a certain way. They pick up on our cues and unconsciously react to us. Big responsibility, right? You bet! So, we need to understand how this works. If you speak with the same tempo, you will lose even the most supportive people who are really interested in your content. But, if you speak with varied tempo and pace yourself wisely, you will keep people engaged and interested in what you have to say.

TONE

Is your voice nurturing in nature or does it have an icy, cut-to-the-chase vibe? Is it pingy and brassy or is it velvety and warm? Easy to listen to or annoying AF? While a lot of our vocal tone is genetics, we can alter our vocal tone and pull from the colors we have available to us — if, and only if, we know they are there. Once we understand where our voice lies naturally, we can utilize facial expression and the inside of our mouths to make our sound more appealing to the ear. We can unlearn nasal habits and embrace a higher soft palate to convey sounds that are “like buttah” to the ear!

RESONANCE

Much like tone, resonance has to do with the acoustic qualities of your voice, but this time, we are more concerned with how your voice carries within a room. Please do not confuse resonance with dynamics (loud or soft). I like to think of resonance in terms of how clear and forward a sound is versus how muffled and far back it is. Resonance has more to do with sound penetration and how well you are heard over a crowd rather than how your voice is drowned out by other sounds. When we think of resonance, we have to always think of vocal placement. Is your voice far back in your throat and hollow or is it forward and clear? Our resonating chambers, mouth, nose, head, chest, all play a vital part in how our sound resonates, and the good news is, regardless of where your voice currently is, it can be altered for optimal resonance.

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list of all the areas of the voice we build upon when we work together, but this gives you a mental picture of the areas we will focus on the most. While it may seem daunting to read a list of things you’ve perhaps never even thought of in terms of your speaking voice, rest assured that you can and will learn these fundamentals as if they are second nature to you and master the art of speaking!

THE TOP 5 AREAS MOST SPEAKERS NEED HELP WITH

by Amy | Jun 28, 2022 | Importance of Vocal Coaching

Throughout the course of a typical week, I talk to entrepreneurs who need help with their speaking in some way. The help we give at The Vocalpreneur ranges from help with vocal projection, vocal stamina, pacing, expression and general vocal hygiene. However, there tends to be 5 main areas where we help specifically online speakers the most:

Understanding What They Want to Be Known For. This is a big one. Before we even utter a word online, we want to decide what it is we specifically want to be known for. Why is it a really good idea to think this through? Because it isn’t all that uncommon for brands to think they are wanting to be known for one thing, but they end up posting and talking more about something else online. A really good example of this is when someone wants to be known as an expert on home buying in order to build up their client base, but they end up posting political rants and cute videos of their cat. Is there something wrong with either of these topics? Absolutely not! However, when they produce such random, irrelevant-to-their-brand posts, it does absolutely nothing to aid them in building their reputation and expertise in home buying. With that in mind, it’s really a good idea to take an audit of your social media account and decide what you will be addressing and sharing at least 80% of the time. Once you have firmly established your reputation by consistently showing up and talking about the ins and outs of home buying, what to look for in a kitchen, how to choose the right neighborhood for your family and all other related topics related to home buying, you can throw in a cute video of your cat. But not beforehand.
Knowing What To Talk About. Do you see how smoothly we segued into the topic of what you should be talking about? Here’s the fun part: Get out a piece of paper and brainstorm at least 100 topics you could speak about that are either directly or indirectly related to your BBSP (brand|business|service|product) you offer. Now flip that piece of paper over and decide what you will talk about over the next 4 weeks, 8 weeks and then 12 weeks. Give your topic a day of the week and a time you will never ever miss. This will become the framework for your content calendar for the next 3 months. No matter what you do, don’t stray from that calendar and change your mind. Just stick with it. You will switch gears once the 3 months is over if you need to. But your consistency in talking about these topics that are related to your BBSP will begin to formulate in people’s minds the title of “expert”.
Feeling Insecure About Going Live. If you feel insecure doing LIVE VIDEO on social media, you aren’t alone. In fact, when asked what they are most terrified of – dying or public speaking – most people choose public speaking! I’m serious! The fear and the struggle is real. But here’s the thing that always makes me show up: Do I have something I could offer that will help someone? If the answer is “yes”, than I am doing a disservice by not showing up and talking. If the answer is “no”, then we need to go back to #1. If you struggle with going live or doing face-to-camera work, congratulations! You are a normal human. But, I do want to let you know that the #1 way to grow your business and reach more people with what you have is LIVE VIDEO, so don’t ignore it or avoid it just because it causes your knees to knock. Simply, learn how to do it and learn how to do it well.
Emoting on Video or Audio Recordings. When I refer to the word “emote” I am most definitely talking about the deep meaning of the Latin origin emovere which simply, means “to stir up, move out or agitate”. And, at the risk of saying the obvious, this is where the word “emotion” comes from. This is difficult for some who are more reserved or intimidated by openly sharing their emotions on camera with an audience, but it is absolutely necessary for those who want to connect with and impact their audience. It has been said that we lose roughly 50% of facial expression from stage to audience and around 55% of our in-person communication is non-verbal! This means that, if we are ON CAMERA we need to amplify or exaggerate our expression so it’s not lost between our computer and whereever our viewers are sitting and we need to be even more theatrical and dramatic with our speech if we are using an audio-only method of communicating with our audience — like podcasting, for instance.
Vocal Fatigue. It’s true. Now more than ever, we are using our voices on camera and behind a microphone either broadcasting our expertise, training, doing live video, podcasting or speaking to our clients over Zoom. If you’re like some of my clients, you’re also narrating books you’ve written, guest training inside of people’s groups and even preparing TedTalks. If you don’t know how to employ good vocal hygiene and have never taken speech training or done speech therapy, you might be surprised to find that your voice isn’t too happy with you after all this strenuous, athletic activity. And usually, when clients reach out to me about these issues, it can be borderline too late. This is why it is crucial for entrepreneurs to learn how to speak efficiently, effectively and healthy right from the gate. If you have neglected your voice, your most valuable asset, you’re not alone. But don’t delay in getting the help you need. Take proper care of that amazing voice now!

Certainly, this is not an exhaustive list of all the areas where we help speakers diagnose and correct challenges in their speaking, but I do believe most people I talk to struggle in one or more of these areas the most. Because of this, we have specific training modules and group coaching inside of our academy specifically designed to help you become a pro at any of these areas and give you the tools you need to crush your speaking assignments going forward. If you haven’t worked with me or know who I am, just simply click here and we can book a complimentary call to help you get this figured out. Your time is now to become the best speaker you can be! Your BBSP is waiting for you to show up!

10 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A VOCAL COACH TO EXPEDITE YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH

by Amy | Jun 23, 2022 | Importance of Vocal Coaching

The world of online marketing is constantly growing and expanding. Unless we have been living under a rock, we realize the importance of utilizing online marketing and the power of social media outlets to leverage and scale our businesses beyond our wildest imaginations. Even so, if businesses stand even a smidgen of a chance of getting eyes in front of their products and services, they must know how to engage in the masses by way of video and face to camera conversation. Video formats range from precorded downloads to reels to live video, and amongst all these entities, live video is king in terms of algorithms and views.

With that said, it only leads to the appropriate conclusion that, in order for brands to stay on the cutting edge of marketing, they must get really really good at video and communication.

Here, I’ve listed 10 Reasons Why You Need a Vocal Coach to Expedite Your Business Growth:

Posture. When we don’t speak or sing for a living, we rarely have to think about our posture unless we have been told by a chiropractor not to slouch because it puts strain on our back and neck. But when we speak for a living, posture is KING and it is so important to understand how it not only affects how you look but how your voice sounds. A vocal coach will help you understand and implement correct posture in order to optimize the audience’s perception of you, your physical health and your breath management system that supports your voice as it speaks.
Placement & Resonance. Again, when we don’t speak or sing for a living, we have no real need to actively or intentionally cause our voices to carry and be projected over large crowded rooms with ease. However, when you speak for a living, the need for your voice to resonate or carry without the use of a microphone is vital to your vocal stamina on any given speaking engagement or training. Not only is placement of tone and resonance an integral part of healthy speaking, but it is also important to note how bright or dark our voices tend to be and make adjustments for any given space we’re speaking in. A vocal coach will help you understand your own vocal resonance and help you build upon that so your voice is heard and pleasantly received by your audience.
Breath Management. Once more, managing our breath is something we never have to think of unless we are professional speakers or singers, but it is crucial if we are! The idea of managing your breath goes as far back as the Italian Bel Canto style of singing and is just as relevant to our voice’s support today. The best analogy I can give is the picture of a swan on a lake. All we see is that swan gliding effortlessly across the water, but underneath the water, those feet are paddling like crazy. As speakers/singers, our breath management must be similar to a swan’s webbed feet: it must be doing all the work while our voices are above the water speaking effortlessly and effectively. A vocal coach will help you understand this breath mechanism and learn how to effectively use your breath as an engine that supports your vocal tract rather than making your vocal cords do all the work.
Awareness. Most people use their voices all day to communicate with their potential clients and customers, but in order to be an effective communicator, you need to know how you sound and how you are perceived. A vocal coach will give you that vital feedback and help you build your strengths and zone in on areas that need improvement.
Confident Communication. When is the last time you spoke with unwaivering authority and knew that what you were saying and how you were saying it was effective? A vocal coach will give you tips and tools to not only give your audience the information they need, but to deliver that message in a way that is well-received, gives them value and spurs them into action.
Speech Variety. This may come as a shocker, but most speakers are snooze-worthy and lack the necessary dynamic nuances that keep an audience engaged. A vocal coach can help you understand all the tools (vocal color, tone, pitch, dynamics, tempo, expression, emotion) you have available to you when you speak.
Vocal Health. You may have the information down and know the talk you’re about to give, but if you are not in the know or in the practice of vocal hygiene and ways to keep your voice healthy and happy, your speaking engagements may be impeded by some serious vocal issues — either now or in the future. A vocal coach will help you understand general practices for taking care of your most valuable instrument and making vocal warm-ups a built-in part of your everyday method of operation.
Enunciation. If you speak to your audience like you speak to your friends and family, your message may easily get lost in translation or muffled. The challenge we often see is that most people don’t have a “stage” or “online” voice that differs from the way they speak on a daily basis, and they need one in order for people to understand their message and be moved to action. A vocal coach helps speakers learn how to enunciate by using beginning and ending consonants 10x more than they usually do, and helps them not only speak with more clarity, but also be understood more easily. “Diction is probably one of the most missed practices in vocal coaching. If your words aren’t heard, the story is completely lost by your audience, and they will miss the message.” – Tracy Reina
Conviction. We have officially reached an exhausting era where so many people are talking, but so few people actually have something to say. A vocal coach can help you/your brand discover your mission, vision and values by helping you speak with true conviction and purpose. After all, isn’t that the whole point?
Vocal Growth. As your message gets clearer and your business scales, your vocal delivery must reflect your message and brand’s growth. Speaking like the person you were when you first started out will not only fall flat, but it will deliver a confusing message to your audience. A vocal coach will help you understand how your voice, speaking patterns and behavior need to change as your brand evolves and scales.

So there you have it! This is not an exhaustive list of all the reasons why a vocal coach is not only important to your business/brand, but why it is paramount over all the other things you may be speaking $$$ on to stand out in your space.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this. Did you know vocal coaches help you with all these things and more? Have you ever worked with a vocal coach before? If so, what was your experience? If not, does this show you how important it is?

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