Communication skills are some of the most sought after skills in business. They are equally essential in the classroom, in the pageant interview or at home.

Follow these eight tips and you’ll be quick to outclass your competition!

1. Stop what you are doing and listen. Nothing says, “I care and am interested in you,” more than active listening. Don’t look around the room for better action, don’t continue working and whatever you do, don’t read or send texts when someone is trying to have a conversation with you. As a mother, I find myself picking up, cooking or otherwise flitting around the house when my daughters are trying to talk to me. It’s rude and communicates to them that what I am doing is more important than what they want to tell me. I’m working on it! Stop and listen. You’ll be richer for it.

2. Articulate. There is a time in young people’s lives – I think middle school – when whatever is coming out of their mouths is impossible to understand. You don’t want to sound like a middle-schooler, having to repeat everything you say because no one can understand you. Speak slowly and articulate your words. You’ll sound intelligent, be understood and the receiver of your message will thank you.

3. Look the person in the eye. Avoid eye contact and you are communicating your insincerity, boredom or general lack of interest. Connect and good things could happen!

4. Use proper grammar. Poor grammar is a dead give away that you are not a top candidate in your class, for a job, for a pageant title or for a spokesperson’s spot. Don’t ask, “where’s it at?” Ask, “where is it?” If you are excited, say, “I’m eager.” Not, “I’m anxious.” You do things well; something tastes or feels good. Use the right word the right way.

5. More on grammar. Why do some people add an “s” to names and titles? For example, you hear, “J. C. Pennys.” But the store is J. C. Penny. Some will say “anyways,” when they really mean, “anyway.” Don’t ask, “do you want to go to Barnes and Nobles?” It’s Barnes and Noble. Be careful!

6. Speak actively and definitively. I don’t know why, but it is easier to write passively. And it seems to be working its way into verbal communication. When working with clients on interviewing, I will ask something like, “what do you want to do in the future?” And my client will answer, “I think, I probably would like to…” How about, “I want to…I will…I plan to…” Just say what it is.

7. Avoid, um, using, um, like, um, UMS! Just say no. Do you need an explanation?

8. Don’t be distracting. Don’t pop your knuckles, play with your hair or crack your gum. You shouldn’t be chewing gum in public anyway! Keep nervous habits locked up. Or better yet, break them.

Speak well, be taken seriously and land the job, promotion or title.

© 2009 Springboard

An energetic body and a positive outlook are partners in achieving a dynamic sounding voice. There are some days when both of these qualities seem to be the farthest things that you could muster up; and you feel like a limp dish cloth. Many of my clients have expressed their tiredness some days as an excuse to not doing well with their vocal results. So, I have passed onto them a really quick warm-up tip to regain their energy. There is a way to move forward without sounding tired, bored, or uninterested. With a few quick tips to apply for about a minute each day you can not only sound alive and energetic, but you will also feel it.

The following ten quick tips will “jazz up” your voice for you to use at any low point in your day:

1. Stand tall and confident; imagine you have just won the Olympic gold medal in your favourite sport.
2. Shake your entire body.
3. Take a big yawn to feel the air hit the back of your throat.
4. Scrunch your face and stick out your tongue.
5. Sing or say the opening line to your favourite song.
6. Say the words “Oh, yes!” using 4 different tones with 4 different meanings to add variety.
7. Repeat: “I can do this!” as 4 different people or characters: a child, a teen, a senior, and an Olympian.
8. Stretch your body in all directions.
9. Repeat with positive forcefulness: “I have energy and passion in my voice.”
10. Smile, then greet everyone you meet today with energy and a positive compliment.

Practice your energetic voice and image for the rest of the day. This becomes contagious that you will find yourself getting things done and enjoying the experience.

Remember that to jazz-up your voice it only takes a minute of mental and physical focus utilizing these exercises to boost your energy. Try it out for a test drive today, and listen to how jazzy you can be!
Written by Brenda C. Smith

Whether you are speaking with a prospect or client, on the phone or in person, networking, speaking in public, or giving a seminar, you need to be aware of your voice. How you use your voice is one nonverbal behavior that can make or break you… as well as what you want to communicate. Just like eye contact and body positions it can say if you are confident, interested, sincere, and enthusiastic… or not.

Irrespective of your words, your voice reflects your belief in yourself, your attitudes, your feelings, and your desire to connect with the listener. If you believe in and are interested and enthusiastic about sharing your subject, your listener will hear it and follow your lead. If you are not, your listener will hear that too and their eyes will glaze over.

There are a number of important voice factors of which you need to be be aware.

First is inflection. Voices which do not vary with respect to the content and emphasis are like drones. They boringly play one note and can put your listener to sleep. You need to employ a range of notes, a little higher and a little lower, to give your voice and topic interest. All words in a sentence do not have the same value so you need to emphasize words which are important. You need to do this no matter how many times you have said these same words before.

Second is pitch. In general, pitching your voice a little lower makes it more melodious, authoritative, and relaxed. In a stressful environment your body responds by tightening. Your vocal cords and voice are no different. When your throat muscles tighten, your voice rises and sounds thinner and reedier. When you feel yourself tightening, do a couple of abdominal breaths… then hum.

Humming is one way to distract yourself as well as find a comfortable vocal register for yourself. The level at which you hum is usually a good place to pitch your voice because it is natural to you. By recording yourself humming you can learn to speak at this new level.

Third is speaking length. To hold the listener’s attention in a conversation, it is better to talk in short spurts. With today’s TV 30-second sound bite attention span you should consider not exceeding two minutes at a clip, with each clip being as significant as possible. This momentary stopping is also useful for listener’s to restart their attention engine.

Fourth is pausing. All good speakers have mastered the pause. Pausing right before the point you want to make is important for regaining attention and emphasizing key words or ideas.

Fifth is changing volume. Changing volume can create attention as well. It can arouse listeners. Speaking more loudly on certain words can cement them in your listener’s memory. Speaking more softly at a key point forces listeners to pay close attention and strain to hear you.

While your voice conveys words and feelings, it also create an strong impression of you. Know what impression you want to make and make your voice embrace and support it.