When we are telling our stories in interviews, relating our relevant career history in ways that we have practised and polished, how do we keep them fresh so that we always sound authentic? Repetition of anything helps us to build in a smoothness of delivery and refinement of key information that gives us confidence. A polished performance can however be accompanied by a loss of connectivity to the message and sound as if it is delivered by rote. We have all heard the burnt out tour guide with a rhythmic whine and uplift in the voice which reveals how bored they are with their material. We are interested in our clients finding the skills that allow them to maintain authenticity in delivery – whether it is for an interview or when they are faced with senior management or external stakeholders. We need to be authentic in order to build trust and rapport in our relationships. The voice is a great provider of clues. An authentic voice is connected to the body of the speaker. When someone releases vocally we see a different person to someone who is holding back or constricted. They are quite fundamentally completed. It is akin to a black and white photograph being flooded with colour. In a recent workshop we had a man who came in with a voice like a 250 cc Honda but left having discovered his Harley Davidson. His voice grew to match his physicality. Breath is vital to this process. If a voice is breathy it is you who is diminished; if it is too quiet again it is you who is diminished and if you are unclear or rushed it is again you who is diminished by it. Your voice at it’s most open and free can only be authentic. Assisted by an open body and stance you both sound and look secure. You do have to practise to ensure this becomes a default attitude. So do not fail to rehearse your stories but remember this, that to keep them sounding fresh you have to punctuate them. You need to pause in order to breathe. Think of having one breath to a thought. Breathing your thoughts allows you to speak as if you were finding new ideas and speaking them out for the very first time.
