Triple Take #1: Voice | Presence | Confidence

Voice Confident's Triple Take - your fortnightly trio of tips!

VOICE: tone

When presenting, think about the tone of voice you are using. For example, if you have a lot of breath through you tone the audience reads this as excitement (unless you are visibly nervous, in which case they read it as anxiety), whereas a full, resonant tone indicates confidence and self-assurance. So use more breath through the voice when you want the audience to get excited about what you are telling them, and a rich, resonant tone when you want to come across as a trustworthy expert.

PRESENCE: preparing to listen

Listening is a complex cognitive activity, involving many areas of the brain. If your reptilian (basic needs) brain and your limbic (emotional) brain aren’t happy, your neocortex (language and logic) brain can’t function effectively. So if you have any serious listening to do – if you’re on a panel, or being interviewed, or running an appraisal, for example – make sure you aren't hungry or thirsty, and that you are emotionally able to focus on the task in hand, or your ability to listen will be impaired.

CONFIDENCE: a breathing exercise for anxiety

If you ever feel anxious (experiencing a ‘fight or flight’ response), focus on your breathing. Take a breath in through your nose to 6 counts, and out through your lips, as if blowing out candles, for 8 counts. Do this at least five times. This is called ‘exhale-emphasised breathing’. It stimulates your vagus nerve (a huge nerve that transmits information between your brain and your other vital organs), which then moves you away from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’ status – heart rate slows, digestive processes resume, decision-making improves. Practise doing this when you aren’t stressed, and then break out this superskill when you need it!