October Headlines

• Career by audition
• 5 Ws of Success
• Conquering frustration
• Change your voice?
• Talk to yourself to sell
  
  

Open audition leads to a lifetime career
When she looks back, Verónica López Treviño always knew she wanted to work in radio – as a deejay, talk-show host, or investigative reporter.

While she was preparing for that career by studying communications at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City she heard about an open audition for one of the city’s largest radio stations – part of Televisa, Mexico’s largest broadcast company.

“When I got there, there were over 2000 people, so I thought I didn’t stand a chance, especially when I didn’t hear from them for nearly 3 months afterward. But then they called and said I was one of 20 finalists, and eventually I won!

Conquering frustration
It’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed by the wealth of information and choices open to us, and to feel frustrated by our seeming lack of progress against this abundance of opportunities.

But you know, both feelings – being frustrated and being overwhelmed – start with ourselves. They come from our minds – a reflection of what we are thinking – and we each have the power to control and change our thoughts and feelings. So, choose your thoughts carefully. Write down your vision and think about it often, then create a mental path, a straight line, to your goal. Anything not on that path is a distraction that needs to be temporarily or permanently set aside.

Yes, you can change your voice
A No matter how capable you are, people will judge you by your voice. If you’re too nasal, your voice grates. If you talk too fast, you appear nervous, or shifty; too slow, and people judge you as dull. If you don’t speak with authority, you automatically become the one delegated instead of the one delegating. But voice trainers say it is easy to make simple changes to improve your voice quality.

To correct a nasal voice, make a conscious effort to open your mouth a little wider and push your speech farther forward in your mouth – much as you do to say a word like “right”.

To correct fast or slow speech, try this: Wave your hand in front of you as you practice speaking and try to match its tempo. Then experiment with different tempos until you find one that is comfortable, and neither too fast nor too slow.

Correcting a non-authoritative voice is more difficult, because it is tied so closely to self-esteem. Nevertheless, you can change it. First, pay attention to your breathing. You should be breathing from your diaphragm, not your chest, and you can use the diaphragm to push words out that need to be emphasized. If you have a habit of ending statements with a rising inflection, in the manner of question, work to change that habit – it makes you sound unsure of yourself.

Practice these exercises whenever you can, and in no time you’ll find yourself speaking with a warmer, more authoritative voice.

International Voice Talent Association
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The 5 Ws of success
AI was mulling over what it means to your business or career to be guided by some sort of vision, and the goal-setting that goes with it.

There’s no question that actively imagining where you want to be and writing it down will help you reach your goals. I know that from my own experience. But if it’s that easy – and it really is – then why don’t more people do it?

As I was mulling this question over, I met with my good friend and financial advisor Lori Bamber.
“People may not know where to start and how to go about it in a systematic way,” Lori told me, and directed me to her website where I found what she calls the 5 W’s: Who? What? Where? When? Why?

By simply asking and writing down the answers to those five questions – and doing it often – you can nail down your vision and change your life. Here is my version of her questions.
Who? Who shares your interest? Who has knowledge that can help your business? Who do you spend time with that leaves you feeling uplifted? Who supports or inspires you? Who do you inspire? Who do you want to spend your life with?

A Simple Sales Strategy: Talk to Yourself!

by Tessa Stowe
You are about to speak to a potential client, go to a networking meeting or give a presentation. What should you be saying to yourself in those few minutes beforehand? If you spend that time saying what I propose below, you will effortlessly and naturally become very attractive to your potential clients. This approach is very powerful, I promise you.

On Hold Marketing increases Sales!

Imagine this: A customer visits your office and is shown to a room where he or she is asked to wait a few moments. Now imagine that once they are seated, the lights are turned off and they're left to wait in the dark. Or worse, the room is lit but the walls are covered with posters advertising your competitor’s products!

Sound ridiculous? It happens every day when your customers calls are put on hold and must endure listening to a local radio station, or in most cases, nothing.