How to Introduce Yourself like a Leader - Laura sicola - Key point

If you want to be seen like a leader, you have to sound like one. You have to demonstrate vocal executive presence. Now part of vocal executive presence is the ability to read an audience and identify the kind of person from whom they would be most open to receiving your message. And then figure out what that kind of person would sound like. Margaret Thatcher is a great example thereof. She was the first woman in British parliament and she was overtly mocked by a lot of her opponents because when she was passionate in arguing certain points, her voice would go higher and become rather shrill. So when she decided to run for prime minister, she worked with a tutor from the national theater who helped her lower her pitch in order to sound more authoritative. When we listen to speech, we process it in what are called tone units, or chunks. And we start first by fixating on the intonation pattern and anchoring what we listen to to where those highest peaks are. This also reflects why effective speakers when they are speaking will emphasize the most important words with higher pitch. Now, tonality, if we use it strategically can have a good influence from the moment we meet somebody. So, if I want to know that I am introducing myself and helping the listener to really understand my name, I want to start by letting my voice go up. Go up like this on your first name as if to say I'm not finished yet. And then at the top, we'll have a little break. And then on our last name, we want to go down. Let the pitch fall, as if to say and now I'm done. Like you're putting a little vocal period at the end. I want to focus and help my listener to understand and so I'll do my best to say to them "Hi, my name is Laura Sicola" and you'll be amazed at the difference that strategic tonality can make, even in something this small. And the problem is that when we find someone who has a voice that we find unpleasant or somehow that seems to lack the characteristics of the kind of person we're looking for doesn't sound like that kind of person, we can tune them out. Now does that mean that vocal executive presence is about acting? No, on the contrary, it's the exact opposite. You have to be authentic. You have to be yourself. But the key is to recognize which parts of your personality need to shine through in a particular moment when the white light of your personality passes through the prism of some situational context, you need to look at all the colors that are available, all the different parts of your personality, and decide which one you need to highlight in the moment and how, in order to be most effective and appropriate for that moment. Thank you.