Leaders Know How to Use Their Voices

A growing body of research shows that when it comes to qualities like authority, leadership and charisma, voices matter. For example, researchers from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business analyzed the voices of 792 chief executives at major publicly held companies and found that male leaders with low voices made significantly more money, managed larger companies, and lasted significantly longer as heads of their respective firms.

When it comes to leadership, it pays to think about the voice. Most of us treat the voice as something unalterable, like eye color or height. But the voice is an instrument in its own right, one that packs a powerful emotional punch. The business professionals I coach discover that learning to use the voice is no different from training for a 5K race. You can train your voice just like you can train your body. To bring your vocal game up to speed, here are three things to try:

1. If you’re a man, explore the low range. Sociologists from Kent State University studied interviews on The Larry King Show and found that lower status people tend to match the low frequencies of higher status people. Larry King himself matched the low frequencies of his higher status guests, while guests of lower status than King aligned their low frequency sounds with him. Former Vice President Dan Quayle had the record for matching King most quickly. What’s more, acoustic scientist Rosario Signorello from UCLA studied vocal leadership in three languages and found that male speakers with lower voices were generally perceived as big and dominant, while higher speakers were perceived as small and submissive.
2. Use pauses. Master the power of not talking. If you’re delivering a message that could shake things up, pauses deliver intensity, exude confidence, and give people time to digest your words. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deployed a dramatic nine-second pause, while Barack Obama’s longest pause was six seconds, and George W. Bush’s was three. Next time you have the floor, try it out. When it makes sense, hit pause, make eye contact with your audience for two seconds, and then pick up where you left off.
3. In high-stakes presentations, use your full vocal range. That means going for the low pitches and reaching for the high. It’s easy to tune out a monotonous voice, without any peaks or valleys. The ear loves variety and effective speakers deliver the full expressive range. This holds true for both women and men and brings any public speaker closer to the virtuoso performance that can hold an audience spellbound.

The next time you're preparing for a big pitch or a key presentation, begin a new habit: practice it with a focus on the most personal and persuasive tool you have--your voice. Effective voice work requires practice and consistency, but with time, the control you have over your voice will grow alongside your ability to bring out its best qualities in situations when every nuance matters.

Veronica Rueckert is the Peabody Award-winning co-host of the public radio show, "Central Time," and the owner of Veronica Rueckert Coaching.