All of us have a professionally profitable voice. What does ours sound like? Authoritative? Dictatorial? Compassionate? Robotic? Human? Humane?
Each day, when working with colleagues and clients, we have infinite opportunities to leverage our defining voices. To create and engage clients in stories which showcase how our teams and resources create remarkable and enduring client outcomes.
Are we stereotyped or are we credible? Because our professional voices are not something that is “nice” to have. Rather, our professional voices are essential to have. They catalyze us. As a result, we become more collaborative, productive and profitable.
Do I have your full attention now?
What is your normal, day-to-day professionally profitable voice?
Many of us are completely unaware how we come across to colleagues and clients. To our own ears (and brains) we sound reasonable and realistic. After all, we are used to ourselves.
This professional perspective makes us self-focused instead of client-focused.
As a result, we do not “see” how we appear to others: our body language, gestures, facial expressions. Combined with our vocal tone, word choices, vocal inflections and nuances.
I see this behavior quite a bit when working with startup teams in the venture capital and university startup space. It is my job to make everyone aware of what they are usually completely unaware of. And, this phenomenon is not limited to new entrants into the professional workspace. Balancing hard and soft skills is difficult.
Without fine-tuning and continuous improvement, our ingrained habits simply get stuck and set. As our careers progress, these habits become even more difficult to dislodge.
It takes professional innovation, rather than copy-catting something we see on YouTube or reading yet another book. Have I got you thinking?
Are you natural or artificial-sounding when it comes to leveraging your professional voice?
STEM professionals (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) have the most stereotyped delivery, when it comes to speaking from our professional voice. Then again, so do sales and marketing professionals. In other words, the issue is ubiquitous.
Did I just conjure up a picture of The Big Bang Theory™ or Bones™ entertainment programs? See what I mean? These stereotypes become embedded in our memories and associations. As a result, they create expectations about “how it is” when working with these professionals.
Even when “how it is” actually “isn’t.”
Consequently, how many of us actually speak from a stereotyped professional voice when we work with clients and colleagues?
Our professional innovation starts by becoming more self-aware of not only what we do, but what others do, as a consequence of how we decide to “show up and deliver”. Even when we become overworked, tired, stressed or are going into one-too-many meetings.
Why not recalibrate? Make a productive and professionally profitable voice part of your professional DNA and your career trajectory. To find out more, send me an email and let’s get started.
Start moving one millimeter forward, away from professional stereotyping, today.
- Engage me to speak or conduct an interactive workshop at your next corporate or association event.
- Has what you read Today started you Thinking about tomorrow? Contact me. Let’s create a One Millimeter Mindset™ program that fits your needs.
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Babette Ten Haken delivers her One Millimeter Mindset™ keynotes, breakout sessions and workshops to help individuals, teams, organizations and associations leverage productive and profitable collaboration to catalyze professional innovation, workforce engagement and customer retention. Babette Ten Haken serves organizations as an inspiring speaker, strategist, coach and storyteller. She is a STEM-trained scientist, corporate catalyst and design thinker. Babette’s playbook of collaboration tools,Do YOU Mean Business?, is available on Amazon. She is a member of SME, ASQ, SHRM and the National Speakers Association.
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