Archive for January, 2006
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Have A Great Voice And Look Ten Years Younger
Sunday, January 29th, 2006
Would you like to look younger? Feel younger?
And with no monetary cost? It’s easier than you think.
All you need is ten minutes a day and the tenacity to make
these practices part of your health regime.
Looking and feeling younger is a big market for various
products and services that promise the “fountain of youth.”
They focus on wrinkles, gray hair, or sagging chins.
Yet there is one major tell-tale sign that is overlooked
and can make a major difference on your appearance. The
best part is that the cost is only ten minutes a day!
When you get in the habit of developing good posture,
you will not only look and feel younger but you will
gain other health benefits too-
Oh, and did I mention that your voice will be more
resonant and attractive.
The benefits of great posture include:
=> More youthful looking appearance (poor posture is often
a sign of aging.)
=> Allows for proper breathing and clearer thinking.
=> Supports voice production for fuller sound and projection.
=> Permits better digestion with more room for the organs
to function at maximum capacity.
=> A lighter and more energetic demeanor.
Poor posture inhibits the expansion of the ribs and back
and is often a symptom of weak abdominal muscles. Poor posture
problems tend to become habit and are often difficult
to spot on your own. Evaluate your posture by having
someone take a photo of you standing straight on
and one with a side view. Don’t cheat because you
want to look better. This will be your improvement guide.
Ask yourself:
> Is my head straight or do I tilt to one side?
> Is my head on top of my spine or is my chin hanging out?
> Are my shoulders square, back and down or do I slouch or
have rounded shoulders?
> Is my stomach held in or is it protruding?
> Is my pelvis tucked under or do I have a sway back
(hips tilting back)?
> Is my weight on the balls of both feet or is it on my heels?
> Is my weight on both legs or do I favor one leg?
Good posture means good balance of the entire body.
Here are some exercise you can do on a daily basis to improve
your posture. The goal is to have good posture all of
the time, and that it becomes second nature. But it is an
ongoing process due to stress and outside influences on our
physical and mental environment. Think of yourself as an
athlete.
#1. Clasp your hands behind your back, straighten your arms
and raise them while squeezing the shoulder blades together.
Feel how the chest is high. Now slowly release the hands
while maintaining the position. Notice how it feels on a
physical level. This is a yoga exercise called chest expansion.
#2. Stand against a wall with your head, back, shoulders,
and heels touching the wall, with the pelvis tucked under.
Now move forward as though being pulled from your solar plexus,
and keep your weight on the balls of your feet. Get in touch
with the way it feels. Practice so the body can mentally
memorize what it feels like when you are in good posture.
#3. Stand tall, not rigid, and feel space between your
vertebrae. Think of yourself as one inch taller.
#4. Do stomach and abdominal exercises to strengthen muscles
that support good posture.
#5. Walk twenty minutes a day, weight on balls of feet, expanding
ribcage breathing in and breathing out.
The posture robbers that can age you:
- Slouching at the steering wheel when driving. Remedy by putting
your head on the head rest and drive with a high chest.
- Allowing stomach and chest muscles to give in when sitting
at a desk for a long time.
- Shifting weight from one side to the other.
- Weakened abdominal muscles from lack of exercise.
- Not standing up straight and erect.
- Protruding stomach.
- Rounded shoulders.
- Chin jutting out.
Telephone Tip-Delivering Great Customer Service With Your Voice
Sunday, January 29th, 2006Telephone Tip- Delivering Great Customer Service With Your Voice
The sound of the voice is a physical experience for the listener and accounts for up to 97% of the impression we make when on the telephone. On top of that, 30% of our
voice energy is lost over the telephone equipment making us sound more impersonal.
We all have dealt with customer service, often with mixed feelings about receiving care with our best interest at heart. Much of our misgivings are directly correlated to how the customer service person “sounds” when taking care of us.
In audiences I have polled, attendees said the voices that turn them off when on the telephone sound: abrupt, in a hurry, indifferent, pushy, rude, insensitive, and
sometimes not professional in the words and language being used.
Sue, an audience member and an operator for a large telephone company, told us that her call goal was to make each person she talked to feel they were special. I asked the audience if they experienced this with calls they received and almost all said “No”. “How would you feel about having a conversation with Sue?” The response was, “It would be great.”, ” I would want to talk to her and do business with her.” Sue knows the key.
Our voice reflects our intentions and attitudes. What she was talking about was building a relationship with each client. She made them feel good about themselves and doing businesswith her.
We too can help others feel good about themselves and the choice they made to do business with us.
Here are ways for you to boost your energy and your intentions for building customer rapport over the telephone:
- Know what you want your voice to project
Enthusiasm, sincerity, caring, warmth? - Warm up your voice before speaking
(see warm up exercises on our web site)
http://www.myvoicespeakssuccess.com - Put a smile in your voice by smiling
- Sit erect at your desk
- Use your voice to guide them at a feeling level
- Listen-really listen for needs
- Use a moderate volume
- Demonstrate sincere interest
- Stand up or walk around to relieve stress
- Use a mirror and look at it before and during the call
- Be patient
- Respond not react
- Think before you think before you speak-make each word count
When you have a tone of voice that others love doing business with, you will making and receiving your calls with more personal satisfaction. Add a friendly and sincere tone to the following words and language and you will truly be appreciated by your customers and well remembered.
Acceptable words and language that build relationships:
- This: “Hello, Good morning…”, “Good afternoon…”
* Not: “Hi there”, “Hey…”, “What’s up?” - This:”My pleasure…”, “I’m glad we could help.”,
“Happy to do so.”
* Not: “No problem.” - This:”May I put you on hold?”
* Not:”Can you hold please?”(and you don’t wait for a reply),
“Hold on.”, “Just a sec.” - This: “Yes. Certainly.”
* Not:”OK.”, “Sure.”, “Uh huh.”, “Yep”, “Yeah.” - This: Listening to complete sentences from customer
* Not: Interrupting while someone is already talking - This: Getting clarity by rephrasing back, “What I hear you
saying is…”
* Not:Being defensive, rehearsing your answer, making
assumptions. - This: “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
* Not:(hanging up first) - This: Proper grammar
* Not:Ain’t, got none
Always listen for ways to respond that serves your customer. As a professional communicator it is your job to maintain a positive win-win attitude. Say “Today my customers will hear a warm voice that will let them know we have a warm heart.”
Build your communication muscle every day.Practice talking out loud before you get to work to warm up the voice, body, and mind. Or you can talk to the other drivers
if you don’t already do that!
My Dad’s Voice
Sunday, January 29th, 2006My father was an amazing man and in the next few days it will be the one year anniversary of his passing. He had more talents than he even knew himself. He was a great dancer. I remember going to weddings when I was a child and women would get in line to dance with him. My mother was generous and her only demand was that she have the first and last dance. My dance lessons began when I was four and dad would have me put my feet on top of his shoes as he would count out the dance steps. He would smile and have a gentle and reassuring voice as he taught me the Polka, foxtrot, rumba, waltz to name a few.
Dad was great at telling stories too. His voice would take on each character and color an audio picture of the events on such a feeling level that you were there. I loved listening to him tell the story of my grandmother the bootlegger, using his voice to portray the judge we scolded the neighbor who turned her in for being insensitive to a woman trying to take care of her family.
His other talents included singing, playing the harmonica, building ice shanties, making things look always new, loved making baked beans and baking ham, making wine, and polish sausage from scratch. Best of all, being a father who treated me like one of the boys when my three brothers and I were together. His passion was fishing and boating and being on the water. And he loved Dolly, his german shephard, who he taught to say “I love you”-Really!
But his greatest talent was that of making others feel special and good about themselves when they were with him. As they would walk into the room Dad’s eyes would twinkle and his voice would greet them as though he were a child opening a fantastic Christmas present. His vocal tone would be warm and honest and he would as ask them in all earnest how they were doing and tell them how great it was to see them. He would listen and then respond with pleasure when things were going well, or sympathize and assure them in a low and intimate voice tone that things were sure to work out. I would observe him with others who would all of a sudden be smiling and sharing his wine with him. His voice and presence would transformed them to be in the moment and to enjoy it. I was that “someone” when I was with him too. His energy, voice, smiling face, and warmth are the traits that I hope to have inherited. What a gift to have others feel good when they are around you. To be with someone who truly cares allows others to be who they are and reciprocate mutal admiration.
Thank you Dad for all the blessings you have shared and endowed. Through your example I endevor to help others learn how to have a voice and presence that inspires and moves others at a deep personal level. Wouldn’t it be great if we all could be that connected. What a difference we could make in each others personal and business relationships. We have the opportunity to build relationships that could truly help generate a sense of world community.
Learning How To Toot Your Own Horn
Saturday, January 21st, 2006Learning How To Toot Your Own Horn:
When it comes to marketing yourself you can always find the advice ”It is important to toot your own horn.” But for most people there is that gnawing feeling that it just isn’t right. The comments of why one shouldn’t be tooting are: “I don’t want people to think I am bragging.”, “Others will think I am self centered.”, or most commonly, “I want to be humble.” Here is what I think. Tooting your own horn is about you sharing yourself with others. If you do not let people know your strengths and talents you are hiding. The crime in hiding is that what you have can make a difference to others in making their lives better and therefore making the world better.
For myself, tooting my own horn does not come natural and I find that I resist doing it because i believe it will turn others off not endear them to me. But then that makes it about me. This is not about me. It is about using my talents and skills which I have spent years and thousands of dollars to develop, on a topic that I am passionate about and can influence others in a significant way.
So here is my commitment to you. I will toot my own horn with passion and commitment in that it is my taking responsibility for the world to be a better place. Even if it with one person for ten minutes, it alters the universe.
Ask yourself these questions:
What are my strengths?
