51吃瓜

Click play to hear more about the benefits of increasing your volume.

For more than 10 years as a public-speaking coach, I鈥檝e run the same simple exercise and gotten the same results. I ask each of my workshop students to say their name, their title and a single point, in a very loud voice.

Not just louder than usual, I say. I want you to speak uncomfortably, embarrassingly, inappropriately loud, without yelling. After each student performs the exercise鈥攐r tries to鈥擨 ask the group two questions:

1. Would you consider the speaker 鈥渢oo loud鈥� if you heard him or her at that volume during a meeting?
2. What changed in your perception of the speaker as a result of the loudness?

The answer to Question No. 1 is almost always a hard 鈥渘o.鈥� Most speakers simply can鈥檛 bring themselves to speak too loudly, even if I were to beg them. At best, they鈥檙e a little louder than usual, and only for the first few words. Few speakers can speak in an inappropriately loud voice鈥攁nd keep it up. By the fifth or sixth word, they鈥檙e generally either at a perfect volume or still too soft. Because of that, the first big takeaway is this: There鈥檚 no such thing as being too loud. Even if there were, our internal self-control systems would never allow it.

The answer to Question No. 2 is where things get interesting. When I ask the group how their impression of the speaker changed as a result of the increased volume, they describe a marked increase in the perception of assertiveness, competence, expertise and leadership.

Indeed鈥攆or the quiet speakers in particular鈥攁 simple increase in volume makes an intern sound like a manager, and a manager sound like a vice president, even though no one鈥檚 actual job titles took the same leap.

A Simple Adjustment

Training yourself to seem 鈥渕ore authoritative,鈥� or to sound more 鈥渓ike a leader,鈥� or to 鈥渆xude confidence鈥� is nearly impossible because there are no clear tactics to create those results. They鈥檙e vague and mean different things to different people.

Raising your volume, on the other hand, is clear and actionable. Anyone can do that. And when communicators make their point with strong volume, they do seem more authoritative, sound more like leaders and exude confidence. Yes, it鈥檚 that simple.

Benefits of Volume

Even if you鈥檙e not sold on the idea that increasing your volume enhances your presence, there are other clear benefits to speaking more loudly.

• It keeps you from mumbling. There鈥檚 no such thing as a loud mumble鈥攙olume forces you to articulate.
• It keeps you on an even pace. It鈥檚 nearly impossible to speak both loudly and quickly. You just don鈥檛 have enough breath.
• It invites more pauses. Because you have less breath to work with, you鈥檙e more likely to pause, which drives attention, slows you down and gives audiences time to digest your points.
• It helps you end sentences with periods instead of question marks. When speaking in a loud voice, it鈥檚 easy to end in a lower pitch, which sounds confident. It鈥檚 much harder to end with a question mark or engage in uptalk, which sounds unsure.

Gender Perceptions

The benefits of volume apply to both genders equally, but female students occasionally share a fear that if they increase their volume, they鈥檒l be perceived as 鈥渁ggressive鈥� or 鈥渟hrill,鈥� which could turn an audience against them.

I don鈥檛 pretend to be a scholar on gender bias, but when this happens, I survey the room.

鈥淒id she sound aggressive to you?鈥� I ask the other students. The typical response: a unanimous 鈥渘o.鈥� Are her fellow participants just being nice? Perhaps, so I ask another question: 鈥淗ow did she sound?鈥�

The adjectives they offer up reinforce the benefits of increased volume: 鈥渟trong,鈥� 鈥渃onfident,鈥� 鈥渁uthoritative,鈥� 鈥渁ssertive鈥濃�攁ll indicators of a polished speaker.

That doesn鈥檛 mean gender bias doesn鈥檛 exist or that you鈥檒l never run into it. It does exist, and you may experience it. But my suggestion to those who fear being perceived negatively is to ignore that fear. Your job is to step up and to speak up, even when your audience鈥檚 job is to grow up.

Always remember: Being louder is not just about being heard, it鈥檚 about making an impact. When you turn up the volume, everything else rises as well.