Expert advice on branding, naming, positioning, differentiating. Speaker, author, image consultant. Everything that has to do with presenting yourself with clarity, confidence, consistency, command.
You don't say what it is about your voice that you'd like to improve. So the first thing to think about is -- what don't you like? If you want better projection ground yourself before you speak. Make sure you are standing solidly on both feet and draw your breath up from the ground and out your mouth. Think of your body as a bellows.The greater/deeper the breath, the more powerful the sound. If you are concerned with sounding monotone, take a song you know well, and speak-sing it. It's not about hitting the notes, but putting "musicality" into your voice by using a varying your pitch and speed. Speak more slowly than you would conversationally, to give people time what you're saying. Pause. Finally, if you have an unusual voice, consider the possibility that it could be a great differentiator. Arnold Schwarzenegger's accent...Victoria Jackson's high pitch...Danny DeVito's Brooklynese all give them a kind of memorability they wouldn't have if they sounded like everyone else. I teach Public Speaking skills. I'd be happy to discuss this with you further. Good luck!
ditto me in with the others. The tempo which you feel is "too slow" is likely "just right" for comprehension.
Saying something more quickly doesn't make it interesting.
If you feel you're being "boring" think about other ways to involve your audience. Ask them questions. Use visual aids, props...anything to drive home your point.
But speaking faster? No way! Be grateful that you have a natural slow tempo. It's much harder (and more important) to slow down!
I worked with Susan to differentiate my business and refine my brand between January and March 2009. Although I had some understanding of what I wanted my business to look like when we started, Susan helped me clarify further, gave me the confidence to stand behind the brand I wanted to create and started me on the process to communicating my message more effectively and consistently. She also brought valuable expertise to the process, often providing alternative ways to think about situations and ideas. Throughout, she was very supportive and insightful. I highly recommend her!
Susan has a real gift for helping people to discover and articulate their own unique qualities and strengths. After working with her I was able to present myself with more confidence, with more clarity and with a more powerful message . She made me understand that if you have something special to say, you need to make sure you say it in a special way.
Susan has a wonderful ability to help you get clear on what your core message is, and then how to communicate that message consistently. She was instrumental in helping me find my 'clear voice'.
Marketing is an area that most small businesses tend to not pay enough attention to, and I would highly recommend Susan to anyone looking to create a more consistent and effective marketing plan for their business.
Susan is a detailed oriented and creative branding strategist. Through her discovery process, she developed a clear, concise and congruent message for my business.
I hired Susan to help with my marketing/branding strategy. She came highly recommended and although I am on the East Coast and Susan is on the West Coast, I thought she would be the best fit for my needs. As a small business owner I was a little bit hesitant whether or not I should make this type of an investment, but decided to go for it. I am glad I did, because Susan's expertise, guidance and direction by far exceeded my expectations. Not only did she help me develop and communicate a clear brand message, but she functioned more broadly as my marketing expert, strategist, sounding board and business consultant, which led to 2 new profitable projects before we even finished! I already hired Susan to provide additional support beyond the initial scope and certainly will keep reaching out to her in the future as needed.
Susan is by far the most creative and outside the box thinker I know when it comes to branding and marketing. She has an intuitive grasp of how to get to the bottom of who YOU are, and convey that to your target audience in a compelling way. She crafted a brochure for Alive! Whole Life Fitness Studio that people really respond to. She also created a marketing card for my Seasons of Life Coaching program that has received rave reviews from prospects, and lead to closed business. You will be thrilled you've hired her when you experience the results you receive from her work with you.
She is also an amazing speaker who captivates her audiences and holds them in thrall throughout her presentation. And, Susan teaches other how to be effective presenters in her Speaking classes. Take one; you'll be so glad you did!
Susan is the rare individual who magically dissolved the "fog bank" and allowed me to acknowledge my "light that's hidden under the bushel". I've thoroughly enjoyed the my time with her, from the first phone call to our continuing meetings. I cannot recommend her highly enough. Incredibly helpful! You should be so lucky!
Susan is a smart and creative image consultant. She quickly saw beyond my own sense of my personal style (which was pretty blah) and guided me to a far more attractive and fun look. Very confidence building! Also, Susan, you were great fun to shop with.
Susan did what I thought could not be done: She took my varied interests and turned them into one coherent, unique, marketable package. I came into our sessions with doubts and left a complete believer. Susan is professional, but at the same time, warm and engaging in a way that draws out the passion for your life work. My experience with her was nothing short of magical. I cannot recommend Susan highly enough!
If you want to look at the unique brand Susan created for me, go to http://www.bobbiemel.com.
“Susan spoke at the CSIX Peninsula meeting on September 7th. She gave an outstanding presentation in working with each attendee and showing the importance of having oneself with their own special brand, this a most important factor to set each them apart in their job searches. This was a most challenging presentation with folks of so many diverse work backgrounds present, but she got the points across and people enjoyed it. Great presentation and I highly recommend her!” September 24, 2010
Top qualities: Expert , Creative
Susan spoke at the Career Transition Center at Roche Pharmaceuticals on Personal Branding. She not only has the depth of knowledge to get her points across but also the ability to show how branding works for individuals and sets them apart in a job search. This was a difficult presentation to a non sales/marketing audience but she got it across and people enjoyed it. Great presentation and I highly recommend her!