New on the Job? Make Your Voice a Welcome Addition

Will you be starting a new job this year? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, chances are good that you, or the person working next to you, will be.

(PRWEB) November 4, 2005 -- It is estimated that a whopping 45% of Americans will change jobs in 2005. In addition, the economic disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will result in hundreds of thousands of more Americans who will be looking for new jobs.

When you’re new on the job, you have only one chance to make a first impression – and you want it to be a good one. Hair. Clothes. Posture. Mannerisms. Eye contact. These are all important. But one of your most vital attributes is something you may have overlooked – your voice.

“Let’s face it. You will be spending many of your waking hours in the presence of these people so it is important to establish your place in the pecking order from the very beginning,” says Renee Grant-Williams, a leading voice coach and communication-skills expert. “The very day you walk into your new workplace, people will make judgments about you, in part based on your voice. You can command respect – or lose it – all because of how you say what you say.”

“When speaking, your overriding goal is to make people listen,” says Grant-Williams. “If you talk too fast, too slow, too loud, or too soft, people don’t listen to you and don’t remember what you have said. A shrill voice puts others on edge and drives them away as surely as one that is set on permanent whine. On the other hand, if your voice is measured, clear, strong, and confident, then people will respect and listen to you.”

Grant-Williams provides voice tips on how to be a welcome addition at your new job:

Breathe low and use abdominal support to help your voice stay steady and calm.

Make good use of variation and inflection when you speak, tailoring the delivery of

your words to suit each situation.

Think before you speak, especially because you are the new person. It is better to say

too little before you say too much. Fly below the office radar.

Listening is often more productive than talking. When you do speak, say what you

mean and stop talking. Don’t keep on selling after the point has been sold.

Don’t gossip and don’t involve yourself in the conflicts and affairs of co-workers.

Grant-Williams says to make sure your voice fits in with the style and pace of your new workplace.

“Just as you might dress differently for a managerial position with a blue-chip company like IBM than you would for a position with a more freewheeling and laid-back company like Apple, you must be sensitive to your new environment and the way people communicate. Your voice must reflect that you fit in,” says Grant-Williams.

Grant-Williams offers more tips in her book, “Voice Power: Using Your Voice to Captivate, Persuade, and Command Attention” published by AMACOM Books, New York. This book is endorsed by Paul Harvey and was selected by “Soundview Executive Book Summaries” as one of the best business books of 2002.

Grant-Williams coaches business executives, sales professionals and celebrities including Faith Hill, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, Linda Ronstadt, Randy Travis and Huey Lewis. She presents communication programs to business organizations and has been quoted by Business Week, Cosmopolitan, AP, UPI, TV Guide, Southern Living, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle. She has appeared on numerous broadcast outlets including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, Bravo, USA, MTV, GAC, NPR. Grant-Williams is a former instructor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as the former director of the Division of Vocal Music at the University of California, Berkeley.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Renee Grant-Williams, call 615-259-4900 or visit www.MoreVoicePower.com.

###