Help -- I'm 35 But I Sound Like A 12-Year-Old!

Have you ever considered the sound of your speaking voice and what it says about you? Have you given any thought to the fact that your speaking voice could be holding you back from landing a particular job or getting that promotion?

Take this scenario for example. There are two candidates for a job. Both have an excellent education; both have the same work experience. One of the candidates has a dynamic speaking voice, exuding confidence and personality. Candidate #2, on the other hand, has a whiny nasal voice or possibly he/she is soft-spoken, thus hard to hear, or maybe the person sounds like a 12-year-old. Who gets the job?

Now let’s look at the picture differently. Again, there are two candidates for a job. Candidate #1 has a very good education; however, candidate #2 went to a better school. Candidate #1 does not have as much experience as candidate #2. Candidate #1 has that great speaking voice and confident delivery; candidate #2 has neither. Who gets the job?

Unless you’re looking for an employee who will have no communication with the outside world, chances are good that you will select candidate #1.

Before attending graduate school, I worked for ‘Your Man Tours’ in the Philadelphia area. They specialized in prearranged tours to Hawaii, Mexico, and California. After seeing the advertising for these vacations, people would call in; and, it was my job to try to sell them on one of these trips. I lasted 3 months in that particular vocation: my boss, Harry, however, was a different story. A former priest who had taught English at a Catholic seminary, Harry had a voice that was captivating – deep, rich, warm – his voice made you listen. Harry sold tours right and left. I sold nothing.

After that demoralizing job, I went to graduate school to pursue music composition with the goal of writing Broadway musicals. During my studies, however, one of my professors pointed out my ‘real’ voice. Whereas my habitual voice sounded young, thin, and high-pitched, the professor showed me that my ‘real’ voice was lower, richer, warmer, resonant.

After graduate school, I moved to New York City (still planning on meeting Stephen Sondheim!) but I needed a job and I thought music publishing would be a logical step since I had studied composition. What I didn’t realize during those early years in New York was that my speaking voice was my greatest asset. Not only did I sound more mature than I was, but it was getting me the jobs I wanted.

There are many beautiful, dynamic speaking voices and you may possess one of them. Until you learn to place your sound properly, however, you will never know just how fantastic your voice may be.

Is the sound of your speaking voice an asset or is it a liability?