Colossal statue of Claudius seated and depicted in the act of speaking
Naples National Archaeological Museum, photo by Carole Radotto
My clients come to me for a variety of reasons: big presentations coming up; interviews; sermons. But I also have clients who want to become more effective in internal meetings--better able to make their point across the conference room table.
Many of these clients send me recordings of their meetings to review and give feedback. Often these are audio only, so I can't see what they are doing. But I can ALWAYS hear when they are losing focus, becoming a little too relaxed on their business calls. When they aren't presenting with presence.
You might think that sitting at home, Zooming into a call with colleagues isn't an occasion that calls for your public speaking presence but you'd be wrong. What I hear from my clients is often an unsupported, flat tone that all frequently travels back in their throats and results in the dread "gravelly voice" or "vocal fry." Definitely not a professional sound--and certainly not one that signals confidence or elicits respect. Because unless you have amazing technique, you have not developed the muscles to support your sound when you deviate from a "sitting up straight" posture. Some of my clients intuit this and stand while speaking as much as possible.
Here's what's even more surprising: when my clients are speaking in this "relaxed" way, their language becomes cluttered with filler words. Not only that, I hear their thoughts becoming jumbled, their arguments less clear. Often I need to rewind the tape to try to sort out what point they are making. I can actually pinpoint the moment when they lose their thread; it is often signaled by that flattened or gravelly tone, which comes from lack of breath support. In short, physical presence and clarity of communication go together.
Long story short: if you're speaking and find you are getting too much into the weeds, or that your train of thought jumps the track, take a breath, sit up straight, and reclaim your presence. Your listeners will get back on board. Clear communication will be resumed.
And I'll breath a sigh of relief!
