Page 49 - How To Sell Yourself

48 How to Sell Yourself
Gesture is a natural communication tool in our culture. Don’t
throw it away because you’re uncomfortable with your hands.
Nothing will turn the audience to looking out the window and daydreaming as the combination of the neutral face and the fig leaf will.
Using your voice
Unless you’re heading for a career in the performing arts, you probably don’t need voice training. But if the phone rings and you pick up the receiver and say, “Hello,” and the voice on the other end says, “Is your mother home?” then you need voice training. Get yourself to a voice coach who’ll help you make a more mature sound. Don’t waste another minute. But in normal situations, your voice will do what your face tells it to do.
Try this:
• Close your face. Frown hard. Draw your brows tightly to- gether. Narrow those eye slits until your eyes are barely open. Now say the words, “Good morning.” Hold the po- sition and say it again. “Good morning.” It sounds as though your saying, “I hope you’re having as bad a day as I am.” That’s your face telling your voice what to do.
• Neutralize your face. Don’t energize any of the facial muscles. Don’t move anything but your lips and say it again. “Good morning.” Nothing. No one can believe you’re do- ing anything but forcing yourself to say two words. You might as well just nod your head or grunt a sound.
• Open your face. Get those brows way up. Let the eyes widen and glow. Now say it. “Good morning.” Listen to the music. What a change. This not only brightens the day of the person you’re greeting, but it has a golden effect on your own well-being. You make other people feel better and you feel better.
It’s personality therapy!
You went from angry-sounding to boring to enthusiastic, en- ergetic, and happy. We go out of our way to show the open face to the child and the pet, but we’re ashamed to use it with adults. The voice takes on its warmest tone when the open face is the signal- sender.