My first business voice training experience [In-house training]

My name is Umi Fujisawa, and I am in charge of public relations and recruitment

One thing you do every day when you come to work is"greeting others.

"Good morning" is something we say at least once a day

"Thank you for your hard work" is something we say about 10 times a day

Because we say it every day as a matter of course, don't you sometimes end up being careless about it?

within the companyabout a problem where greetings were becoming neglectedthat recently there had been whispers

To solve that problem, several of our employeesvoice trainingwent to a

Our instructorsShanana TVwhich plans and operatesTake Seven Co., Ltd.were Ms. Kumada and Ms. Yasuami from

Mr. Kumada is actually a former musician and currently provides vocal training to numerous artists. Our CEO, Haraoka, has teamed up with Take Seven"Business Vocal Training"to create a

Before attending the training, participants filled out a questionnaire introducing themselves and describing their goals and challenges

"People play characters within their company and relationships."

When I heard this approach, I thought, "Is that so?", but then I agreed, "That's true."

The fact that he changes the tone of his voice depending on who he's talking to means that he's acting all the time

first half

Filming a self-introduction

First, we start by reading out the self-introduction you filled out in the questionnaire

At the end of the training, participants read the same self-introduction, and a video camera is set up to record it to verify how much their voices have changed

I'm not used to being photographed, so I felt a little embarrassed and nervous..

Vocalization points

Next, we learned the knowledge necessary for vocalization

Release the brakes on your voice

, everyone"puts on the brakes on their voice," and instead of trying to raise your voice, releasing those brakes allows you to naturally produce a resonant voice.

Even if you're told to "speak loudly," it's often difficult to do so, but if you imagine "releasing the brakes on your voice," you'll be able to relax and speak louder

Apparently"Ah!", "What!?", and "Wow!!", the best vocalizations are those that make you involuntarily exclaim, such as

Kumada-san: "Did you bring that document today?"

Beyond:"Ah!"

Kumada-san: "I heard that person was arrested."

Beyond:"Huh!?"

Kumada: "Your bonus will increase!"

Beyond:"Ohhhh!!!!"

We practiced vocalization using a call and response method

Knob to adjust the voice

There are four elements of expression that are important when speaking

1. Vocalization: Expressions using the way you use your voice (how much breath you take, how tight your throat is)
2. Pitch: Expression using vocal tone (pitch, range of intonation)
3. Pronunciation: Facial expressions (clear pronunciation, bold pronunciation, smiling face)
4. Rhythm: speaking speed (slow, fast)

lets you adjust these four expressionsa knobinside your body that

by those around youa cute personwhen you want to be seen as

1. Vocalization →Take less breath and tighten your throat
2. Pitch → Use a high voice to add emphasis
3. Pronunciation → Smile with clear pronunciation
4. Rhythm → Slow

You have to conquer these four

It seems like it would be impossible, but it seems that announcers and entertainers all over the world are thorough in this regard

Conversely,dapper (slightly rebellious) personwhen you want to be seen as a

1. Vocalization → Take a deep breath and open your throat
2. Pitch → Low and modest intonation
3. Pronunciation → flashy pronunciation (sharp pronunciation)
4. Rhythm → Slow

A voice like Nao Omori's is the best. (This is my personal opinion.)

Besides voice,eye contactandgesturesthroughvisuallyit's also important to communicate

When I'm at work, I often talk without making eye contact and without making any movements while working on my computer, so I often end up not being able to properly convey what I want to say, and the conversation ends halfway through

In such situations, try taking your eyes off your computer for a moment, making eye contact with the other person, and adding some hand gestures. This addsvisual elements to auditory onesmaking it easier to understand what they're saying.

It's not a good feeling when someone talks to you without making eye contact, and it's more likely you'll want to listen if you can sense that they're trying their best to communicate with you

Second half

Reading practice

Let's practice speaking by actually getting into character! So,news scripts, fairy tales, and novelswe'll try reading aloud

It had been since high school that I had read aloud, so I read the lines from the fairy tale feeling like I was taking a modern Japanese literature class

Some ofa "real estate salesperson and a customer,"and although I had no sales experience, I consciously focused on how to get the customer to listen, which resulted in a clear and cheerful tone of voice.

At that moment, I realized, "So, in the end, what's important is the desire to communicate with the other person."

Finally

To see how much my voice had changed since the first self-introduction I filmed, I read the same thing aloud

At first, I spoke a little muffledly due to the nervousness and embarrassment of being filmed, but with the feeling that "I can't let the time I've spent practicing my voice go to waste...!", I was able to deliver my self-introduction while focusing on clear pronunciation

At that time, I didn't have any conscious thought of "I have to speak loudly!", but"making good vocalizations,"I realized that simply by focusing on

(Apparently, I will be sent videos of myself speaking before and after the training, but I would rather not see them if possible, as I find it embarrassing...)

conclusion

Voice training is great

Unless you're a musician or a news announcer, youuse your voicedon't usually get taught how to

However, as a working adult, talking to people is essential for any job

Just by changing the way you speak, you can make business negotiations go more smoothly and expand your circle of friends!

We will be refining our business voice training menu in collaboration with Take Seven and Beyond, so weour business voice trainingencourage everyone to try