When working on your presentation, content is often the first thing you think about. Perhaps the most important one, and that makes sense, because your message is in that content. You gather the right information and choose the right words so you are well prepared. Still, you need to make sure your content is not the only thing you spend time on. How you deliver it is just as important. After all: C’est le ton qui fait la musique.

When you are speaking in front of a group, but also in a personal conversation, your tone says at least as much as your words. Your story gains meaning through the way you express it. The same sentence can come across as inspiring, motivating, insecure, distant, enthusiastic, or unfriendly. Before you have even delivered your message, your audience has already formed a feeling about you and your intentions. When you welcome your audience, are you convincing? Engaged and credible? Or are you just reciting a routine and can’t wait to go home? Your audience hears it all in the tone of your voice.

“I’m glad you are here”

Have you ever recorded your presentation and listened back to it? Many people only discover how they sound when they hear themselves. What you feel does not always match what you project. Your enthusiasm can be reduced by nervousness, and your conviction and confidence can sound flatter than you intend. Your voice should express what you feel, so it is really important to know how you come across.

Tip!

Getting used to seeing or hearing yourself can take some time. Our tip? Do it in stages! First watch without sound, then listen without image. After that, combine both step by step.

How was my tone? Ask someone in your audience how you came across.

Your audience does not only process the content of your message, but also your enthusiasm, conviction, engagement, insecurity, curiosity, and confidence. This is not always fully conscious, but even before your audience has processed your message, they already have an impression of you as a speaker. Are you credible and engaged with your topic? Do you enjoy being there, and do you truly mean what you say? This is not in your words, but in the tone in which you say them.

The right tone creates connection

The most inspiring speakers are not distinguished by perfect sentences or impressive word choices. What makes them special is that their tone matches their message. When they tell a personal story, you hear their involvement. There is high energy when something joyful is shared, and when the message is serious, they take time to let their words land. Your audience wants to feel why your message matters; they want to be taken into the story. The challenge is not to come across differently than you are, but to be your authentic self in your story.

“I’m really looking forward to it!” Ronald Koeman, coach of the Dutch national team

That tone often says more than words is clear from various press conferences by our national coach. With a stern expression, closed body language, and a low, monotone voice, he says he is really looking forward to the upcoming World Cup. Of course we understand he is excited about this challenge, but how would that statement come across if he said it with an enthusiastic tone? What would that do to his audience’s excitement?

It is the tone that makes the music

This is the essence of good public speaking. Not only what you say, but especially how you are present in what you say. Your tone shows whether you are truly engaged, whether you believe in your story, and whether you dare to connect with your audience. And that does not require perfection or learned tricks, but attention to your voice and to the effect you have on others. It is clear: only when content and tone reinforce each other does your message truly come to life. Only then does the tone make your music.

Do you want help using the right tone? A one-on-one training with Happy Good Talk is the next step for you!