The Art of Business Seduction: A 30-Day Plan to Get Noticed, Get Promoted and Get Ahead

Chapter 6. Voice—Tone, Melody, Control, and the Words You Speak

The more comfortable we become doing our jobs, the less likely we are to admit, or even see, our own shortcomings. Self-awareness can and does decline over time. Many of us are unaware or have simply turned a blind eye to faults and weaknesses, adopting a "Why fix what's not broken?" approach to life. As noted earlier, there is nothing wrong with a healthy dose of inner confidence, as self-assuredness is a key characteristic to being successful. Occasionally, though, like a finely tuned piece of machinery, you need to conduct a self-diagnostic test. To experience lasting success, you should perform an honest self-audit and then take time to evaluate the findings.

As the United States army is fond of saying, you should always strive to be the best you can be. A catchy mantra for sure, but it does somewhat state the obvious. Yet it is that very thing that often lies right before our eyes that goes unnoticed. The very thing many people overlook when evaluating their own performance is their voice. After all, how often do you hear yourself speak? And if customers or clients, or those with whom you work in the home office, find your vocal presentation boring, grating, or less than convincing, the chances of you raising your game in business are slim. The value you have to offer others will be muffled and hidden by your poor verbal skills; and no matter how refined your L-WAR skills are, if you can't get your point across, ...