Weallhavepeoplewithwhomwehavetoworktogetthingsdone.Ourabilitytocommunicatewithclients,customers,subordinates,peers,andsuperiorscanenhanceoureffectivenessorsabotageus.Manytimes,ourverbalskillsmakethedifference.Hereare10waystoincreaseyourverbalefficacyatwork: 　　Developyourvoice–Ahighwhineyvoiceisnotperceivedtobeoneofauthority.Infact,ahighsoftvoicecanmakeyousoundlikepreytoanaggressiveco-workerwhoisouttomakehis/hercareerattheexpenseofanyoneelse.Begindoingexercisestolowerthepitchofyourvoice.Hereisonetostart:Sing—butdoitanoctaveloweronallyourfavoritesongs.Practicethisand,afteraperiodoftime,yourvoicewillbegintolower. 　　Slowdown–Peoplewillperceiveyouasnervousandunsureofyourselfifyoutalkfast.However,becarefulnottoslowdowntothepointwherepeoplebegintofinishyoursentencesjusttohelpyoufinish. 　　Animateyourvoice–Avoidamonotone.Usedynamics.Yourpitchshouldraiseandlower.Yourvolumeshouldbesoftandloud.ListentoyourlocalTVnewsanchor;takenotes. 　　Enunciateyourwords–Speakclearly.Don’tmumble.Ifpeoplearealwayssaying,“huh,”toyou,youaremumbling. 　　Useappropriatevolume–Useavolumethatisappropriateforthesetting.Speakmoresoftlywhenyouarealoneandclose.Speaklouderwhenyouarespeakingtolargergroupsoracrosslargerspaces. 　　Pronounceyourwordscorrectly–Peoplewilljudgeyourcompetencythroughyourvocabulary.Ifyouaren’tsurehowtosayaword,don’tuseit. 　　Usetherightwords–Ifyou’renotsureofthemeaningofaword,don’tuseit.Startaprogramoflearninganewwordaday.Useitsometimeinyourconversationsduringtheday. 　　Makeeyecontact–Iknowapersonwhoisverycompetentinherjob.However,whenshespeakstoindividualsorgroups,shedoessowithhereyesshut.Whensheopensthemperiodically,shestaresoffinadirectionawayfromthelistener.Sheisperceivedasincompetentbythosewithwhomsheconsults.Onetechniquetohelpwiththisistoconsciouslylookintooneofthelistener’seyesandthenmovetotheother.Goingbackandforthbetweenthetwo(andIhopetheyonlyhavetwo)makesyoureyesappeartosparkle.Anothertrickistoimaginealetter“T”onthelistener’sfacewiththecrossbarbeinganimaginarylineacrosstheeyebrowsandtheverticallinecomingdownthecenterofthenose.Keepyoureyesscanningthat“T”zone. 　　Usegestures–Makeyourwholebodytalk.Usesmallergesturesforindividualsandsmallgroups.Thegesturesshouldgetlargerasthegroupthatoneisaddressingincreasesinsize. 　　Don’tsendmixedmessages–Makeyourwords,gestures,facialexpressions,tone,andmessagematch.Disciplininganemployeewhilesmilingsendsamixedmessageand,therefore,isineffective.Ifyouhavetodeliveranegativemessage,makeyourwords,facialexpressions,andtonematchthemessage. 　　Improvingyourcommunicationskillswillimproveyourproductivity.