Recently, the 31st anniversary of the famous TV series, Seinfeld, was celebrated. I still watch reruns and still laugh at all of the jokes. There are many memorable episodes that involve speech and voice. Here are just a few of the most memorable episodes that involve communication and what we can learn from them.
Ever heard the phrase “It’s not you, it’s me?” Frequently, it is an excuse that is used by someone in a relationship who is breaking up with the other person.
But the same can be said for the listener who is struggling to understand people speaking with foreign accent…”It’s not you, it’s me!” The listener has ownership in the problem, too.
Continue Reading No CommentsAre you trying to persuade someone (or a group) to see your point of view but your
message seems to allude them? Working with many clients over the year, there are speaking habits that are detractors and ultimately (but unintentionally) affect the speaker’s credibility. The speaker may be totally oblivious to the distraction, too, unless they have sought out the feedback or someone has boldly spoken up. Most people don’t give their opinion though as they feel unqualified to do so or they are afraid of offending the person needing the feedback. Since a lot of distractions occur without knowledge that they exist in the first place, here’s a crash course to help you identify potential issues. This checklist of common distractions are easy to fix with self-awareness and self-monitoring. Remember that any behavior that causes your audience to think about something else (and not you, the speaker) will take away from your message. As soon as that happens, your credibility suffers.
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As business leaders, you use your vocal tone to build credibility, connect with your audiences, display confidence and establish authority. Part of being a great leader is having a voice that people want to listen to, a voice that inspires trust and a voice that can motivate people to action. Below are four strategies that can make your voice the best it can be.
Among the many aspects of learning a language, non-native English speakers learn how to pronounce English sounds to become easier to understand. There are a few “rules” around the way sounds are pronounced.
Hands down, vowels are more difficult to learn in American English than consonants. Why? Because in American English, most consonants have one sound associated with them whereas, there are five letters in English that represent our vowels system but there are about 22 pronunciations of those vowels.
The business world has recently reinvented the way people are communicating with clients, team members and other businesses. What do you do if you are constantly being misunderstood? How can you identify and overcome your foreign accent trouble spots?
I wrote a blog a while back entitled “Posture Yourself for Success” It is about the positive aspects of good posture on your voice. I decided to look around for other articles on posture and here are a few to help you with achieving great posture:
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When you think about all the characteristics of a great leader, does the ability to ask empowering questions come to mind? Believe it or not there is a way to ask empowering questions and show that you are respectful, listening and caring.
Do you remember your English class teacher repeating over and over about the importance of writing and speaking without using filler words? 
And reminding you to take the time to collect your thoughts and articulate your point of view? And emphasizing the importance of inference or reading between the lines? For some of us, our younger selves failed to realize the importance of these great communication skills as the pillars of great leaders. Here are a few important communication skills to master so that you, too, are perceived as a great leader and communicator.
