If you’re a mumbler, chances are you’re a man. I know; I know. While generalizing may not be politically correct, from my experience and background, I have found that mumbling is more common among men – especially tall men; whereas, women tend to get lockjaw.
Mike, my very first private client with whom I worked almost 30 years ago, was ‘volunteered’ to take my course. He resisted my help for the first 3 sessions. His biggest problem was that he mumbled. When I questioned him about this, he admitted that he did not like opening his mouth because of his teeth. Having a slight imperfection, which was more in his mind than in the beholder’s eye, I was able to reassure him that opening his mouth to talk would do more for his success than keeping it closed.
Somehow I got through to him because, upon his return the next week, I heard a truly remarkable change in his voice. Little had I known that this big, attractive man possessed a voice that was rich, resonant and very expressive. He spoke clearly, distinctly and his mumbling was gone.
What was more fascinating, however, was that over the next few weeks, he saw a steady increase in his sales. Why? For 2 reasons:
- he was opening his mouth and people could now hear and understand him; and,
- he felt more confident in his abilities. [He also confided to me that he like sounding better than his boss!]
A strong advocate of voice training, the late Zig Ziglar explained in his book, Secrets of Closing the Sale, that the least developed sales tool is the sales person’s voice. He stated that with training and the right voice inflection, you can not only overcome price objections but close more sales.
When you can take advantage of your ‘real’ voice, you will discover a powerful tool that you never knew you had. Zig Ziglar knew it and so does Mike!
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If you would like more information about mumbling and voice training, watch some video snippets from Voicing It, my video training on DVD in which you get me as your personal coach whenever you wish at no addition charge.