Speaking with the voice of authority

In another recording, the same speaker describes the same weekend in almost exactly the same words. But this time the experience sounds exciting and a listener can picture the corporate financier having to bail out frantically from a leaky old boat.

The difference in the recordings is not a sudden passion for boating, but a spell of voice coaching.

A good voice can work wonders. According to voice expert Ewan Pearson, voice coaching not only made the individual in the recording sound more confident, but contributed to a rapid job promotion.

Pearson says: "The human voice encodes a speaker's personality, attitudes, style and emotions. People whose voices have been coached can become much more effective in their work."

Financial services firms seem to think so: Pearson and his employer, GPB Consulting, work with such firms as Citigroup, Bank of America, ING Barings, and UBS Global Asset Management.

Voice coaching traditionally meant enunciating vowels and practising scales with jobbing actors or retired opera singers. Not any more. GPB Consulting, for example, has developed a scientific approach thanks to computers and a Swiss university professor. It is this, perhaps, that explains its appeal to financial services clients.

The process begins with a digital recording of the offending tones. The recording is sent electronically to a laboratory in Switzerland, which measures variables such as pitch, loudness, fluency, intonation and delivery rate. A computer programme - designed by a doctor of psychology and linguistics at the University of Geneva and a scientist at the CERN particle accelerator - then translates these variables into such measures as dynamism, competence, clarity, credibility and persuasiveness.

About 20% of people have a problem with their voice, says Pearson. Most are unaware of it. The most common faults involve pitch, pace, volume and clarity.

Pitch-related problems usually mean that a voice is too high. Low voices are considered preferable. They resonate further, imply authority and competence, and are more persuasive, says Pearson. With this in mind, Margaret Thatcher is said to have lowered her voice by eight semi-tones during her time as UK prime minister.

Problems with pace mean talking too quickly or too slowly. Slow voices lack dynamism, but convey credibility. Fast voices can be dynamic, but not credible. The happy medium is apparently a combination of the two: quick talking when a sense of excitement is in order, ponderous speech when credibility is being established.

Some accents are inherently dynamic. Pearson says that New Yorkers generally speak at a rate of 180 words per minute. This can make them difficult to understand: most people utter between 130 and 140 words per minute. The typical New Yorker needs to slow down.

Appropriate volume means talking neither too quietly nor too loudly. Quiet talkers lack clarity and can appear to lack competence. They can, however, appear more credible than someone who speaks very loudly, says Pearson.

GPB's high-tech approach to voice coaching may reassure its customers that they are getting value for money when they pay 200 to 400 (€320 to €640) to have their voices analysed.

But not everyone believes that a scientific approach is necessary. Marion Gillie, a coach specialising in presentation, says improving one's voice is a partly just a question of breathing deeply and sitting up straight.

Gillie says that a straight back and neck make for a deeper voice; when the neck and back are bent, vocal chords are under pressure and are liable to squeak.

Similarly, breathing deeply lowers the vocal pitch and lessens anxiety, which can cause people to talk too fast.

Gillie has worked with many investment banks. She says voice coaching is used most frequently when an individual is being promoted into a role that brings more contact with clients.

Most people are referred to her not because they have a problem with their voice as such, but because they have an indefinable problem with "presence".

To improve their clients' voices, Gillie and Pearson recommend vocal exercises. Voice is dependent on vocal chords; these are muscles and can be stretched. The corporate financier in Pearson's recording succeeded in lowering her voice after practising talking at a lower pitch.

Gillie recommends toning exercises: clients start on a low note, which they hold for as long as possible, before starting again on a slightly higher note.

A voice that is low and resonant may not be enough to ensure success, however. Pearson says that to maximise advantages and avoid monotony, the pitch should vary.

Tricks of the trade dictate precisely how. A "high drop", in which a sentence or phrase begins in a high pitch and gets lower, suggests competence and imparts a feeling of calm in listeners - it is used by airline pilots.

A "low rise", in which the pitch of a sentence rises towards the end, is a natural device for asking questions, says Pearson, though it can become irritating if overused.

So making the right sounds with your voice is crucial - whether you are describing a sailing weekend or pushing for promotion.