What is tone of voice?

As a child, you may have had the unpleasant experience of being told "not to use that tone of voice."  You intuitively knew what your mother meant when she said that, but it's worth reviewing the elements that make up tone of voice here. 

• Inflection:  the emphasis you place on different words
• Delivery:  the pauses used to indicate punctuation
• Sound:  high-pitch or low-pitch, nasal, slurred
• Energy:  speed & volume

The combination of these four elements can show your customer that you are confident, strong, and self-assured, or it can point out that you are afraid, bored, or immature. 

If you are unsure how you are coming across on the phone, try using a tape recorder to practice.  By listening to yourself speak, you will be able to identify those areas which need work.

Inflection

The emphasis placed on various words can change the entire meaning of the sentence.  For example, consider the phrase, "What would you like us to do about it?"  If you are sincerely asking a client how you can correct a mistake, you might say it like this:  "What would you LIKE us to do about it?"  On the other hand, if you are defending your position as a helpless middleman, you might say, "What would you like US to do about it?"  There is a world of difference between these two statements.

Delivery

Pauses between words can also change the meaning of a sentence.  For example, say these two phrases out loud:

            "No!    Don't!   Stop!"

            "No!    Don't stop!"

Although the exact same words were used in both cases, the meaning was totally opposite.

Whether your voice is high or low depends a great deal on genetics and age, but you can modulate your voice if your tape recorder practice indicates that your voice has any annoying qualities.  Have you ever seen Will and Grace or The Nanny on television?  Actresses Megan Mullally and Fran Drescher both had extremely annoying nasal voices as the characters they played on these two comedies.  However, in real life, both actresses have warm, "normal" voices.  They built their characters' personas, in part, by changing the pitch of their speech. 

If they can change their pitch from normal to annoying, then with practice, you can change your pitch from annoying to well-modulated.  You may be able to accomplish it just by listening to yourself on the tape recorder and practicing.  If that doesn't seem to be working for you, try a speech coach.  A coach may be able to show you how to form sounds differently by holding your mouth or your throat in a different posture as you speak.

Your clients may use your pitch to form their opinion of you.  If you have a very high-pitched voice, you may be seen as young and inexperienced, while people with deeper voices are generally seen as more credible and believable. 

To make your voice sound deeper, start off with your normal pitch, then force your voice to go lower, as if you were singing a scale.  Practice this for a few minutes each day; not long enough to make your throat hurt, but long enough to begin stretching your vocal chords.  As your chords get more conditioned, you will be able to sustain the deeper voice for longer periods of time.

Check back on Wednesday, when we'll cover the fourth element of tone of voice:  energy.