Teri Burgos-Gutierrez, Corporate Trainer

Teri, a wife to a dentist, and mother to 3 adolescent sons, trains professionals and writes textbooks in Speech. She can be reached at gutierrez_teri@yahoo.com

Acquiring an Effective Vocal Tone at Work
Teri Burgos-Gutierrez

“If the tone of your voice and your body language are inconsistent with the content of your message, your listener will miss the point.”     -J. Westerfield

Our communication with our co-workers is done by means of our voice. They can act and react to our tone and our attitude. How does our voice “appear” when we communicate? Do we speak clearly and distinctly? Are we logical in expressing our thoughts? Are we tactful? Do we have a “voice with a smile?”

Cultivating a personal-interest tone that is cordial, pleasant, and helpful is an important step toward acquiring an effective vocal tone at work. We need to be conscious of our voice every time.

In producing speech sounds, four operations are involved namely:

1. Respiration – this is when the air is inhaled into the lungs and exhales out during breathing control.
2. Phonation – this is the production of sounds by the vocal cords.
3. Resonation – this is when the sounds produced by the vocal cords are picked up and amplified and enriched by the mouth.
4. Articulation – this refers to the modification of the vocal tone by the tongue, lips, jaw, and soft palate in order to produce speech sounds.

The voice has three inherent tone characteristics namely:

1. Pitch – this is the highness or lowness of one’s tone. Lack of pitch variation results in a monotonous and boring tone.
2. Volume – refers to the power or the average loudness of the voice and depends upon breath control.
3. Quality – is the property of a tone which may distinguish it from another tone having the same pitch and loudness. It is the color, warmth, and meaning given to the voice.

In communicating, it is not the words we utter that tell what me mean, but it is also the way we utter them. A smile, a frown, or a lifted eyebrow will change the quality of the voice. Here are a few speech habits to remember to acquire an effective tonal color:

1. Every sound, syllable, or word must be given its proper form and value.
2. Think of the mouth chamber as a mold in which the correct form must be give to every sound.
3. Move your lips noticeably.
4. Your teeth should never be kept closed while talking.
5. Use the voice to its fullest advantage.
6. Make an effort to make your meaning clear to your listeners.
7. Learn to speak more rapidly but clearly through practice.
8. Good speech is within the reach of everyone who practices it.
9. The courtesy of a smile apparent in face-to-face conversations can be done through a smiling voice.
10. The sound of the voice gives an impression of one’s personality.

In conclusion, with constant practice, one can train the voice to be more effective, enabling one to communicate efficiently at work. Remember, how one says it counts as much as, or more than, what one says. It will gently walk you through all you need to communicate as work!