Have you ever been talking, and even though you know you’re saying the exact right words, your audience will not get you? But you know of someone who could be speaking the same words to the same audience and have a totally different reaction? The difference is Tonality. Tonality, simply put, is the way your voice sounds. That is the simplest definition of Tonality. However, Tonality is not that simple. It’s one of the most important things in sales and life.
Tonality affects how seriously your audience takes you, how your words are received, and how your audience reacts to your message. It’s an art that all the best minds must master to be successful. Thankfully, it’s an art that can be learned and subsequently mastered.
Exercise your voice
Yes. Exercising helps. However, we don’t mean the common physical workout we know. You’ve got to exercise your tone by taking deep breaths through your stomach, not just your chest. Also, it’s important to practice your tone and voice. Look at it like singing lessons; you have to learn and practice different tones to be perfect for singing on stage. Well, that’s exactly how it is with Tonality.
You have to practice continually, talk through your stomach, your throat, your chest, etc. Try out all tones continuously so you’ll be versatile and able to switch tones depending on the audience. That’s the key to it all.
You’ve seen actors with a different voice on-screen talk at an interview with a different tone and voice. YES. That is Tonality at its finest. And every public figure, from radio presenters to TV presenters, to talk show hosts, etc. They all use Tonality, but then again, they practice it a lot, even employing experts to teach them (at least in actors).
Be assertive
Everyone hears you when you speak. But unless you’re assertive, not many people will listen to you. Train yourself and your voice to be more powerful or more compelling. It should be able to make everyone that hears it stop and give you attention. Like was said before, Tonality is a learnable skill. Not everyone is born with a powerful voice.
But if you train yourself enough, you’ll eventually get it. It’s like sharpening a tool or lifting weights. The same principle applies. If you train yourself and try to speak authoritatively, you’ll get people’s attention. They don’t need to see the authority in you. They need to hear it.
It is basic human nature for people to listen to compelling, powerful, or authoritative voices. Train your voice to be assertive while not being forceful because that would certainly push people away. The goal is to get people’s attention. Constantly practicing is essential and cannot be overemphasized.
Speak slower
You have to learn to speak slower and use speech devices (a pause here, a sigh there) to keep your audience attentive and make sure they clearly understand what you’re saying. Sometimes, excitement or nerves can make you want to speak fast, but this is not a good practice when speaking to people. Their heads leave what you’re saying and switch to how fast you’re saying it, and automatically, your message will miss its mark. Also, there’s power in silence.
When speaking, a pause will make the audience hang onto your next words, unconsciously giving you their total attention. Words have power, and silence has power too. Tonality appropriates the two to give YOU the power of both.
Record your voice
When practicing, make sure you record your voice and listen to it. That way, you can measure your progress and know where you need to practice more. Record, listen, judge. Don’t give your practice records to others to listen to. They’d give a false assessment to assuage your ego.
If you need to know their opinion, practice on the without them knowing your practicing on them. But by recording and listening, you’ll get more practical info on what you need to improve. When you like your voice and how you sound, you’re on your way to mastering Tonality.
Know the difference between public speaking and intimate conversation
While Tonality has many different techniques, which apply to all forms of speech, knowing when to use them is paramount. When speaking in public spaces or events, it’s crucial to project your voice and be powerful and compelling.
This asserts your authority over everyone in the room and forces them to listen to you and makes sure you’re the center of attention. However, when talking to someone face to face or over the phone, projecting your voice can be too much and have an adverse effect.
Talking over a phone or face to face is intimate, and as such, you have to make sure you’re talking WITH the person, not just TO the person. You can use techniques like pauses in both kinds of situations, but using a tired sigh on stage might have a bad effect while it might get you the perfect response in a phone convo. Knowing when to use these techniques is incredibly important.
It’s important to note that Tonality is not just about the voice. Listening and body language plays a huge part in supporting your voice as part of your tone. Mastering this is a must if you want to be successful in the business scene, and thankfully, Tonality can be learned. Yes, it is an art. But here, you too can be an artist. That’s the beauty of Tonality.
