Vocal Power

If you ask me what I came into this world to do, I will tell you that I came to live out loud.

—Emile Zola

A couple of years ago, I was hired by the upper management of an elegant hotel chain to coach Bob, one of their general managers. The edifice of the property that this particular gentleman supervised was grand, sophisticated, and overlooked a breathtaking vista. An employee had filed a harassment complaint against Bob for the less than sophisticated behavior of yelling and cursing to command his staff. Bob was threatened with the loss of his job. Before I could help him, however, I knew we would have to identify any deeper issues that were contributing to his belligerence. He also had to understand and take responsibility for his role in his predicament.

"Do you want to give your career away?" I asked him. "If so, then keep on doing what you're doing. If not, you're ready to begin the Vocal Power journey." From our initial conversation, I determined that Bob wasn't a "bad guy." He just had a short fuse. People around him weren't doing their jobs properly, the hotel was suffering, and he was responsible. Thus, his self-esteem had plummeted to an all-time low. Yet losing his cool and screaming only made things worse. He needed to transform his style of communication, and he had to find a better way to motivate the members of his staff.

Bob and I worked together for about a year. Early on we met a couple of times a month, then once a month, and finally we did only periodic check-ins. Throughout the process we also had intermittent phone lessons. Most importantly, he worked on his own at home and at work everyday, practicing and integrating the exact same vocal techniques that you are going to learn in this book. He practiced releasing his tongue, jaw, and neck tension; breathing more effectively; and slowing down his delivery, becoming conscious while doing so. These and other adjustments affected the pitch of his voice and made him sound warmer, more clearly conveying not just the message but also the messenger.

The Vocal Awareness method exercises are the core elements of my program. But the System, as a whole, does much more than improve the sound of your voice. It also improves the "sound" of your inner voice—your thoughts, feelings, and internal guidance. Thus, I also taught Bob how to walk through the hotel and take a few minutes to stop, shake hands, and interact with his employees genuinely, while maintaining eye contact and truly listening to them and to himself.

I told him what I tell all hotel employees with whom I've worked—from the phone operators, the front desk personnel—to the general manager: "Your grand edifice may bring guests in the first time, but it's not what brings them back—genuine, caring service does." In our second meeting, I had Bob spend 45 minutes on video learning how to say—and embody—just one paragraph of the service statement he'd memorized when he began working for the hotel, which basically was to be friendly, welcoming, and attentive to the needs of guests. Initially I heard the words, but I didn't believe what he said because there was no feeling behind them. Soon, however, he paid deeper attention and became conscious of the essence he communicated.

In later meetings, Bob and I set up role-playing sessions where we strategized new and more effective ways he could communicate with different department heads about common problems. He learned the difference between being a perfectionist and striving for excellence. The idea that perfection is possible is a psychological death trap. Excellence, on the other hand, means always doing your best and allowing your best to improve by degrees. He soon found appropriate ways to delegate responsibility to his staff members that prevented him from assuming their burdens. In the process, he defined a persona for himself as a leader and teacher of people. He wanted to be perceived as less brusque and "bossy" and as more of a whole human being, someone who was safe to approach for guidance in conducting the business at hand.

Although Bob was in a tough spot at the hotel, I had no doubt he would turn his career around. Frankly, the tools of Vocal Awareness are incredibly effective. Over the years, they have helped thousands of people learn to hear and see themselves more fully and objectively, and harness that heightened awareness and ability for the purpose of expression. In addition, Bob was diligent, willing, and had set a clear goal. He knew where he was beginning and he knew where he wanted to end up—there had to be a dramatic shift! Through Vocal Awareness, he had the means to get there.

Over the next few months, it was as though Bob became a new person. Of course, one of our goals was to bring out more of who he actually was rather than cover up or change his true identity. Authenticity is a major tenet of Vocal Awareness. His staff soon perceived him as a caring and tolerant authority figure, rather than an abusive authoritarian. As a result, people began to take more responsibility. They worked harder, fewer mistakes were made, money was saved, and business improved.

The president of the company paid the hotel a visit and was dumbfounded at the obvious changes. His response was to give Bob a promotion and an upgrade to a bigger hotel that needed a similar turnaround. Developing Vocal Power earned Bob an industry-wide reputation as a top hotelier. Instead of being forced out of his company, he became a rising star through the embodiment of the Vocal Awareness principles.

What Is Vocal Power?

Right now, you may be wondering why I shared all the details of Bob's story. This book is about the voice, isn't it? The sounds that people make. You may be asking, "What does the voice have to do with eye contact, shaking hands, and self-esteem?" A great deal, I assure you.

Research has shown that in any face-to-face spoken communication, only eight percent of the impact on the listener comes from the words used, 37 percent comes from the tone of voice, and the remaining 55 percent from body language. To have true Vocal Power, you must make a strong impact on your listener on all three of these levels simultaneously. In a telephone conversation, 92 percent of the impact comes from vocal tone and only eight percent from the words that are spoken. Body language is not as significant a factor on the phone, of course, because your listener cannot see you. Nonetheless, it does matter. Sitting slumped over or tensed up affects the sound of your voice. Among other things, it hinders your breathing and lowers your energy.

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