If you’re like many people, (me included), you’re working remotely and communicating virtually with colleagues, clients, students, teachers, and customers, via a wide variety of virtual meeting apps. What’s more, you’ve been doing it since this past March, so you’ve become accustomed to the drill: you sit down at your desk, place a few books under your laptop to raise the height of the camera, make sure the lighting is “just right” for illuminating your face but not the pile of papers on the filing cabinet behind you, and then you fire up your virtual platform of preference and begin your workday. Like it or not, we’re now a workforce where “zooming,” “facetiming,” and “skyping” have become the newly minted verbs of our everyday vernacular. And honestly, rather than complaining and finding fault with them, we’re all very lucky to have such options.
However, as with any new means of communication (just think about how foreign it must have felt when people first used a telephone!) this one comes with its challenges. Virtual communication is similar to in-person communication, except that you have to “pump up the volume” on some of your skills in order to sound credible and knowledgeable. Why? Because in person, you have the advantage of being seen—all of you, from your head to your toes. And there’s a lot of “communication” that takes place through your posture, hand gestures, repositioning while seated (yes, “wiggling”), and even how you carry yourself as you make your way down the hallway and into a meeting room. Access to these subtle communication delivery forms are nonexistent when we appear as a two-dimensional talking head on a computer screen.
So, have you been thinking about how you come across to others via video conferencing? Want to make some improvements? Well, you’re certainly in good company. All sorts of people, from politicians to salespeople to teachers must present themselves with a reasonable amount of confidence if they expect to be believed and trusted. And happily, there are some very simple steps we can all take to come across more powerfully and professionally—with immediate and lasting benefits.
In this two-part series, we’ll examine five ways to sound more powerful, and in a future article, I’ll share some tips on how to look more powerful. Let’s begin:
1. Find your virtual gurus and study them. First of all, just sit back, relax, and think about the people you currently communicate with in virtual settings. Go ahead and call to mind anyone you wish—your co-workers, bosses, teachers, friends, your mom, or your former college roommates. Next, think about how these people convey their thoughts and ideas. Who sounds strong and knowledgeable? Who, not so much? What are these people doing (or not doing) with their voices, facial expressions, sentence structure, or verbal content that makes them good (or not-so-good) at putting their points across?
The people in your life are immediately accessible learning resources, so observe, analyze, and replicate what works. You did exactly that when you were a child, and it’s how you learned to walk, talk, express your emotions, articulate your dislike of creamed spinach, declare your love for your first preschool sweetheart, negotiate for a later bedtime, and practically everything that followed. We humans, like many mammals, are creatures who can learn by observation—a very adaptive biological shortcut that allows us not to have to figure out every last little life-detail on our own—we make far fewer mistakes that way. So, give it some thought, and you’re sure to find a few excellent virtual communication teachers right in your midst. You have role models all around you—examples of what works and what doesn’t—so use them!
2. Lower your voice pitch. No matter whether you’re young or “seasoned,” a senior exec or a new hire, it’s important to use the lower registers of your voice. Almost anyone can benefit from this tip—even people who are in professional speaking positions. When you “go high,” as in that voice you use when you’re excited or surprised (“Look at all the cute puppies!”), you lose all your power. You don’t sound as if you’re in control. Most people’s authentic, “natural” voices are a full half-octave lower than the voice they’re currently using. And if you’re not sure what I mean (or if you’re not sure how to get down there without sounding like an amateur Shakespearian actor), I recommend contacting a voice coach. In one short lesson, you can learn how to modulate your voice into a lower register without sounding forced or fake.
I also like to encourage people to study newscasters. They’re professionally trained to “stay low.” If you think about it, you never hear a newscaster screech out a story, even if it’s an exciting one. They sound powerful, knowledgeable, and self-assured. Again, use them as models, and emulate their style.
One more reason to lower your pitch: not only are people with lower-pitched voices seen as more knowledgeable and followable, but researchers have found that we simply tend to prefer listening to people with lower voices. They’re more soothing and less irritating, especially over a speaker or microphone.
That’s it for today. Stay tuned for Part II on November 25th, when we’ll discuss three more important professional virtual communication strategies to have in your armamentarium. Stay safe and positive, and I’ll see you soon!