The Importance of Vocal Tone

Have you ever had your feelings hurt by someone? They may have used words that weren’t so bad, but their tone was biting. While you may not think a great deal about the tone of your voice, it is something you should consider paying attention to. As I have said in the e-course, Ace Your Interview, it takes only 17 seconds to make a first impression and takes 27 interactions to overcome that impression if it’s bad. Why does this matter? Because we live in a fast paced, competitive world and in order to get ahead, we need to make sure we nail that first impression. As a result, vocal tone is one of those things that can lead to an impression.

Two aspects of vocal tone:

• Our natural voice
• The tone of our words

First, our natural voice is one that we are born with. It can be influenced by our demographics, culture and family. An example I speak about in the video is Edith Bunker. Her voice alone creates a characterization in the listeners’ mind. She comes across as ditzy and whiny. Do we want our listeners to think this about us? I don’t believe we do. Vocal training can easily change the tone.

Next, a most important part of our vocal tone is how we use it to convey underlying opinions or feelings. We have all experienced people who can cut you to the core with their tones. They can use the right words, but their tone conveys a very different message. In the video, I use the phrase, “You are going to wear that?”. That phrase can be said joyfully and be encouraging or it can be said condescendingly and cut to the core.

Furthermore, I hope that you understand how important tone is in communicating. Since we find it so imperative,we have more information on nonverbal communication in the video Interview Do’s and Don’ts.

Finally, I love meeting new people and am so grateful for you! Please keep in touch on social media; I am Kelly Archibald there.

Let’s talk soon!

Kelly

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