do you use your voice?

Madeleine Albright:
“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to lose it.”

You have a voice. Are you actually using it?

The senior women and men I work with often obsess over what to say, but almost never think about how it is said.

How does it land? What is the impact and outcome are you striving for?

Linguistic style – your default way of speaking – is the way that shapes how people experience you:

Do you speak with clarity or do you hedge?
Do you pause with intention or ramble to fill space?
Do you choose words that land… or words that dilute or confuse?
Do you use humour, metaphor, story – or do you use corporate-bingo speak?

Your voice is already telling people who you are – whether you meant it to or not. So how are you going to use it?

Because your voice determines:
Whether people trust you
Whether they follow you
Whether they feel safe speaking up around you
Whether your ideas light a spark or chuck a bucket of cold water

So if you’ve worked hard to develop your voice, don’t just “use” it.
Use it boldly.
Use it with intention and purpose.
Use it in a way that makes people sit up and take notice.

Otherwise, what was the point of finding it?
How are you using your voice – really?