Over the years a number of clients have come to me because their voice was tired, strained, scratchy, unreliable, or generally thin-sounding. For some of these people, the only thing we needed to address was their posture.
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What is “presence” and how do you get it?
Presence is the ability to project composure, grace, confidence, poise, and self assurance, especially in high-pressure situations. People with presence tend to be open and appear to assume everyone is their friend. They are good listeners (click here to check out my blog post on upping your listening skills), and they connect with people and engage with them in an authentic manner that leaves people feeling included and equal.
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Claim your right to speak. Now.
We all hide. Even the most brazen of us sometimes don’t want to be fully seen (or, as the case may be, heard). So let’s just acknowledge that normal occurrence.
It’s natural to “pull your punches”, or commit less than 100% to what you are saying, if there is any modicum of doubt around your content, or how you think it will be perceived.
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Calm your body and mind in two minutes
Inhale for 4 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds. Do this for two minutes.
That’s it.
Now let’s talk about why that works.
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Your “tone” might be making you look bad at work
“Don’t use that tone with me!”
“Your performance is good, but there is an issue with your tone.”
“Did you hear that tone in his voice?!”
We communicate tons of information with the tone of our voice. It’s so powerful that if there is incongruence between the tone we use and the words we say, people will believe the tone over the words. Imagine all the ways someone might say, “I’m fine” in a tone that makes it clear they are not, in fact, fine.
A lot of people find their way to me as a coach because they have gotten feedback about their tone being a problem. Let’s look at what that means and how you might choose to adjust it.
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