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What Creates a Charismatic Voice?
When we talk about charisma anecdotally, it’s often to say something like, “I couldn’t take my eyes off him/her.” Charisma comes up first for us as a visual experience. Something is compelling about an actor, or a politician, or a CEO, that draws our eyes to the person.
But charisma is also an auditory phenomenon. There are certain voices that we hear that immediately draw us in. We are captivated and want to hear more. And of course there are the opposite voices — like fingernails on a blackboard, as the old saying has it — that we cringe from and hope will stop quickly.
What’s the difference? And how can you make your own voice charismatic rather than annoying?
It’s a complex subject, and there are many moving parts to the human voice — literally. The entire body gets involved in producing a great voice, and a bad voice often emanates from one part of the body while another is frozen or seized up in some way. But here are three ways to think about getting started on developing your own charismatic voice. These are just initial steps, to be clear!
First, ground your voice in your emotion. Never start to speak unless you are clear how you feel about what you are saying. The voice should be prompted by the unconscious emotion or attitude. If you see someone walking into traffic in front of you while walking…
