An awareness of how your voice sounds to others is a real advantage.

The more comfortable you become with your own voice, the more effective you will be in building rapport with clients and colleagues.

5 qualities of a good voice

1. Alertness

Your voice should have spark and energy.

2. Pleasantness

Your voice should be smooth, not abrupt. Use your voice to communicate that you are a pleasant and happy person. There is no room for shortness or anger.

3. Conversational tone

Whether you're speaking on the phone or face-to-face, it's important to speak to the person not at the person. Keep your language simple and straightforward with a conversational tone.

4. Distinctness

Articulate and enunciate clearly. We all tend to get lazy in our face-to-face communication. We drop the final consonant or breeze through that middle syllable. The telephone exaggerates this tendency so open your mouth and let the sound come out clearly.

5. Expressiveness

Vary your tone and rate. Build a verbal picture with your voice.

By focusing on improving your voice you will be able to communicate better with both clients and colleagues.