Using my voice well in a presentation

Your voice is more important than you probably realise. It is unique. It will bring your presentation alive, or not! It may well make the difference between an ordinary presentation and an outstanding one.

Just think of the radio presenters that you listen to and how different their voices are. How easily you recognise them from their voices. How a good broadcaster can bring a programme alive. On the other hand, those that put you off by their voice or the way they speak.

Your voice will tell your audience almost immediately how confident you are; how excited you are; how passionate you are; or the reverse.

So how do you use your voice in a presentation? Unless you’ve been trained as an actor you will not be able to change your voice, except momentarily. If you ARE genuinely confident; if you ARE genuinely excited; if you ARE genuinely passionate, then you will show it. You will show it in your voice. You will show it in the way you stand. You will show it in the way you look at the audience.

So my suggestion is to become all of those things. Be genuinely excited and confident about your talk and it will come through in your voice.

You can make a difference in other ways. Most speakers could make more impact by speaking LOUDER, and by varying the loudness and quietness of their voice. They could make their presentation more interesting and engaging by putting more EXCITEMENT into their voices. They could put in more PAUSES which would make the audience listen more closely to what they’re saying.

Record yourself as you prepare your next presentation. Speak louder. Speak slower. Use more emphasis and listen back to the difference these things make. Remember the key to speaking success is to have a great presentation which you feel great about and it will show in your voice.