A reviewer of mine recently told a colleague of mine that Adam Eason (meaning me) “likes the sound of his own voice.” Damn, I do!
So I want to tell you how and why I say that answer.
If I were about to take you into hypnosis, and then yelled at you “Okay, relax, go into hypnosis” in a shrill voice in a way that was hard to understand, do you think you would respond by relaxing and walking out? in hypnosis? I guess it’s unlikely that my voice is like that to help the hypnotic process.
Our voice is a tool that can be used in many aspects of our lives; at work, at home, with friends, family and colleagues and more. The way we use our voice influences how people react to us and behave towards us.
To be a good hypnotist, it is important that you practice your hypnotic voice before working with a subject. Some hypnotists use a soft, monotone tone that bores me, others use a singsong voice, and others use a natural but slower, lower tone of voice to induce a hypnotic trance. We hypnotists even suggest when talking to our hypnotic subjects that “My voice is very calming and relaxing for you.” We don’t always really say those words; rather we hint at that with the way we use our voice.
The way you use your voice creates a reaction in everyone you communicate with and you can use it to your advantage with amazing results. Imagine if you had a hypnotic voice, how would that affect the different circumstances and events you find yourself in?
Before writing about how to develop that voice, I recommend that you be congruent. It is good to model a hypnotist or other successful hypnotists and listen to good quality hypnotists and how they use their voice, however it is important that you keep the essence of who you are. You must be true to who you are. It can be relaxing and calming, too, in its own way. You’re not Paul McKenna, you’re not Adam Eason, so don’t try to be them. Learn from how we use our voices, but stay true to your own style.
Tune in to the shade that you feel comfortable with and that will give you the best results. This often means speaking in a relaxed and reassuring way: slowly, with pauses, in a low, soft voice. You don’t have to be Barry White, but you know what I mean here, right? Barry White wasn’t exactly magazine cover material, however, you know he was extremely sensual, attractive and seductive thanks to the way he used his voice.
Not only was it deep and rich, but it was often slow, considered, and deliberate. It was helpful and easy to listen to. Former James Bond actor Roger Moore had a voice with very similar qualities. We can see how the actors, announcers and singers use his voices and we can use our own voices accordingly. These people speak from the stomach, they speak from the abdomen, not from the throat, nose or chest.
I remember once being shown an exercise in a hypnosis training course with Richard Bandler and pointing to our noses, then throats, chests and abdomens as we spoke from each of those places: The difference was amazing and how everyone reacted to the sounds. fact was even more surprising.
In previous articles, I have been writing about how to use language to communicate with another person’s unconscious mind. Using a good vocal tonality is of great importance when you are communicating with the unconscious part of someone’s mind. Good hypnotists will often have the same quality of voice control as good actors and public speakers. It is important that you are able to extract as much meaning and feeling from your words as possible. Even think about making words sound like what they mean.
A great way to improve your tone is to do this fairly simple exercise:
First, position your body with your back straight and your crown pointing up. Take a deep breath from that area just below your navel and push that area in as you inhale.
Second, as you look at the words I’m going to ask you to say shortly, consider what each of the words really means to you and what feelings you associate with each word. Think about which sound best represents that feeling.
Third, say each of these words out loud with a feeling attached to them, extract as much meaning as possible from these words, and say them hypnotically as if you want them to resonate with a deep meaning within another person:
Love, relax, peace, joy, harmony, calm, wonderful, soften.
Then practice reading books aloud and getting the right tone and words, and get each word to convey a message of meaning and feeling. Think of how this would work wonders when speaking in front of others, in meetings, on a date, or whenever you want others to buy into your idea or message.
A good communicator will have clear distinctions in their tonalities of voice to communicate with other people on different levels. To master hypnotic communication, you must develop at least two distinct tones or “voices” for your interactions.
His first “voice” is his usual everyday voice. This will keep people wide awake when you talk like this. So use it only when he is awake and alert. The moment you start to be influential, start changing your voice to your hypnotic voice.
By consistently using only his waking voice while his subject is alert, and his hypnotic voice when he is being influential or persuasive, both of his voices naturally anchor themselves to those states. Then when he’s really grounded, he can start using a voice to create that state.
Your posture affects your voice:
Posture and movement are an integral part of any use of the voice. Part of being able to use your voice well includes being aware of your body, identifying and correcting problems that arise from incorrect posture.
This does not mean that your posture has to be perfect! Standing naturally and making sure your head, neck and shoulders are relaxed is the correct posture to use your voice to maximum effect.
While most people do this automatically, there are others whose posture has become sluggish or who have developed bad habits that can inhibit their voice.
Here are some posture dos and don’ts to help you with the way you use your voice:
Do…..
– Be relaxed and natural.
– Keep your movements fluid
– Keep your chin level
– Keep your knees loose
– Keep your head up
– Keep your shoulders hunched and relaxed
– Keep your toes pointed forward with your weight on your heels and soles
– Keep the front of your neck loose – don’t stretch it
– Keep abdominal muscles relaxed
– Keep your back muscles relaxed
– Smile!
Whose…..
– Drop or slouch your shoulders
– Move stiffly or jerky.
– Drop or tuck your chin in when trying to sing low notes
– Stretch your head up when trying to sing high notes
– Stretch or push the abdominal muscles
Try this exercise to improve your posture and make your voice work for you:
Put a mirror in a position at the end of the hallway or room where you can see the whole (or at least the top half) of your body.
Stand at the end of the walking space and walk naturally towards the mirror, observing your movements and posture as you walk.
Compare with the do’s and don’ts above and make adjustments to your posture if necessary.
When walking, your weight should be primarily on the balls of your feet, so that your heels lightly touch the ground, with most of the movement in your hips and legs. The upper body should remain straight, relaxed and not ‘rock’ from side to side.
Breathing life into your voice:
One of the pillars to learn to use the voice is knowing how to breathe correctly and learning to control the breath so that it is used optimally when speaking.
When we are born our breathing is naturally correct, babies can breathe, scream and scream to optimal effect because they use their lungs without conscious thought. As we age, some people become lazy in their habits using only the upper part of their lungs, taking a shallow breath instead of a normal one.
Breathe from your belly. Hold a finger near your lips and exhale slowly, your breath should be warm and moist, and you should feel the action of your diaphragm as you exhale.
The stomach area should naturally move in towards the end of the breath, the stomach should not be ‘sucked in’ as this prevents the diaphragm from working effectively. Instead, the abdominal area should remain expanded to the level it was when you inhaled and allow it to gradually decrease naturally at the end of the breath.
Good breathing support when using your voice to maximum effect requires good posture and abdominal breathing and adding qualities that you feel are desirable, attractive, resonant, and congruent with the way you communicate naturally. We use our voice so much, why not use it to its full potential, huh?
So today, have fun using your voice to see how you can make people respond to you differently, more progressively and positively, and maybe you’ll end up liking the sound of your own voice too!