Wake up your voice (and your audience)

Okay, let’s imagine that we’re sitting across from each other right now — coffee (or tea) in hand, maybe a little bit of nerves in the air if you’ve got a presentation coming up, and we start talking about your voice.

And the first thing you ask me,​

“Is my voice boring? I feel like it sounds monotonous when I speak.”

​I quickly respond and say, “your voice is not at all boring, you probably just haven’t given yourself permission to play with it yet.”

Because guess what? A voice that stays on the same note at the same pace with the same energy… for minutes on end? It’s basically the adult version of being read a terms and conditions agreement out loud.​

And you, my friend, are not terms and conditions.

​You’re a whole human. And your voice should feel like one too.

​In fact, I have a friend who is a compliance officer in the healthcare industry, and I’ve sat through many presentations where the compliance officer took their title so seriously that they sounded robotic — but not my friend! Nope, she took stand-up comedy classes to see how she could spice it up a bit, and it worked!

​So — before you start spiraling — let’s keep it simple.

​Here are three things you can start doing right now to vary your voice and wake up your listeners (without feeling like you’re auditioning for Broadway).

1. Pace yourself

When you slow down... people listen differently.

When you speed up a little... people feel your excitement.

If you’re always at one pace? People tune you out.

Here is a fun exercise you can use for practice:

• Pick a sentence you say all the time. (Something like, "Today’s meeting is about compliance updates" or "We have a new policy starting next week.")

• Say it out loud once, just how you normally would.

• Now, pick one word you want to emphasize — and right after you say it, pause for three full seconds.

• Feel how different it is? Notice how the pause makes the word stand out more.

  
  

Bonus:

Next time you’re presenting, use this move to land an important point.

A small pause can make a big impact.

2. Play with your pitch

Your voice naturally goes up when you’re excited and down when you’re serious.

Let’s practice putting that back into your speaking.

• Pick three sentences you know you’ll say in a meeting or presentation.

• Practice saying each one out loud:

  • Lift your pitch slightly when you want to show excitement.

  • Lower your pitch slightly when you want to sound serious.

• It might feel exaggerated at first — that's normal. It will sound way more natural to your audience than it feels to you.
  

Tip:

Record yourself and listen back. You'll hear the energy shift immediately.

3. Emphasize what you actually care about.

Hit the word

If you care about something, let it show in your voice.

• Take a sentence you’re planning to say. (Example: "Our new compliance policy starts next month.")

• Choose one word that matters most — like compliance or next month.

• Say the sentence out loud, putting a little extra energy or volume on that key word.

• Keep the rest of the sentence natural. Let the emphasis do the work.
  

Tip:

The goal isn’t to yell. It’s to make your voice a little more alive and intentional — so people lean in.

Here is the truth.

​You already have a voice that’s worth listening to.

​You don’t have to invent some “better” version of yourself to sound compelling.

​You just need to give yourself a little more permission to show up fully.

If we were actually in the room together, I'd probably be grinning at you right now and saying something like, "C'mon, let’s try it — what’s one sentence you could play with right now?"

​I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

You’ve got this. And I’m right here cheering you on.