Why Your Speaking Voice Matters as an Entrepreneur or Influencer
You probably didn’t start a business or online brand to work on public speaking. Most entrepreneurs and influencers don’t. But running a business or cultivating your personal brand requires a whole set of skills, and you may not possess all of them. For some things, like bookkeeping, managing employees, or marketing, you can hire others to help you out. But you can’t outsource your speaking voice.
Your voice is your top tool
Your voice matters in business, it is the ultimate guide to navigating corporate communication. Whether you want the responsibility or not, your voice is the number-one advocate for your brand as you try and get your message out to the public.
Think about all the meetings you have to take when you’re launching a business — with investors, vendors, prospective employees, and others. You are constantly speaking with people about your company. If your voice makes you sound insecure, doubtful, or disinterested, you’ll have a hard time securing the contacts you need.
The same goes for online influencers. You may not have to make a sales pitch to an investor, but you’ll definitely have to meet with potential sponsors. As an influencer, the product or service you sell is yourself.
Whether you create videos, for corporate learning and development programs, host live streams, or even attend public speaking engagements, people have to buy into you to buy into your brand. The way you present yourself is therefore extremely important, and the strength of your voice plays a key role in that presentation.
Build confidence
In any new venture, your self-esteem can take a hit. It’s easy for doubt to creep in and make you question why you started in the first place, if you’re talented enough to succeed, or if people will like you. Having a weak, ineffective speaking voice can contribute to these fears.
By training your voice to sound engaging, you can fully express yourself and communicate more easily with your potential customers and followers. When you know that your voice is a reflection of the passion and commitment you have for your business, you can feel more confident when speaking to others about your venture.
Motivate others
The work of an entrepreneur or influencer is to persuade and motivate their target audience. It’s not always an easy task!
As a new business owner, you have to convince investors that your product is worth it, commercial landlords that you’ll be a good business tenant, and customers that you have solutions for them. Although you have data to back up your business model and visual assets like slideshows to help get your message through, much of this convincing relies on the power of your voice. You’re the business owner and people want to listen to you. Give them a voice they can’t resist.
Influencers rely almost solely on motivating their audience to be successful. Being an influencer requires building a community around your brand and to do that, you have to gain people’s trust. If you have a weak, nervous, or unengaging voice, you’ll have a hard time doing so.
Be more engaging
Most people don’t realize the power they carry with their voices. Your voice plays a crucial role in how others perceive you and when you are starting a business or building a brand, you want to leave a good impression.
Whether you are giving a public address in front of an audience or speaking to a potential brand sponsor one-on-one, it helps to have a voice that shows you are passionate, interested, and easy to talk to.
With voice training, you can ensure your voice holds the attention of your prospective audience and communicates emotions adequately. If you are an influencer that relies on making videos to build your audience, you have to learn to be engaging enough so that people keep watching and coming back for more.
Perfect your elevator pitch
Every good entrepreneur needs an elevator pitch, or a 30-second speech that tells exactly what your business does and the problems it solves. Being able to distill your brand into one or two sentences is also crucial for influencers trying to build their brand. You need to be able to succinctly tell your target audience who you are, what you do, and why they should buy in.
You can spend as much time writing an elevator pitch as you want, but if you can’t deliver it effectively because your voice is weak or too quiet, you’ll have wasted your time. To get the perfect elevator pitch, you need a clear voice that boldly states your purpose.
Build a community
Building a community around your brand is a crucial part of running any business. Tight communities are the bedrock of any influencer’s brand too. In order to foster connections with your target audience, you have to be relatable. People have to feel like they can trust you, and that there’s value to what you say. If your voice is unsure, weak, or difficult to listen to, people won’t find you as interesting or trustworthy. By training your voice, you can make yourself (and your business) irresistible.
Voice training for influencers and entrepreneurs
If your voice doesn’t sound how you’d like it to, or you think it doesn’t express your true passion for your business, you can train it to sound better. Voice training isn’t just for public speakers or singers, and there doesn’t have to be a huge audience in front of you for the need to speak clearly and confidently. Having a strong voice demonstrates your passion and purpose for the business or brand you’re building and training it is one of the best investments you can make.
