Try watching “The Manchurian Candidate.” It’s this film starring Hollywood greats Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Jon Voight and Liev Schreiber. All of them play political and military figures. They may just be acting but that is why you have to watch them closely. They know how to speak with authority.
In the corporate world, it is important that you know how to carry himself well. This includes the way of walking and most importantly, the manner of speaking. If the person of authority sounds doubtful of what he is saying, then why should the people listening believe him?
Take for example Marilyn Monroe. Why do you think Hollywood had a hard time taking her seriously? Her breathy, soft, raspy voice didn’t help her in her career or her off-cam dealings with people.
If the your voice lulls people to sleep when you talk, don’t expect the company to give you a promotion. Giving an employee a promotion means that the employee will also have more responsibilities. If your voice isn’t authoritative enough then the company won’t be secure in sending you out to represent the business.
When conversing with your superiors as well as those from other companies, use a tone that is strong and projects integrity and believability. You should ooze confidence, power and credibility. You should represent strength and not weakness.
Speech and voice can be learned. If a child can do it, so can an adult. We can tell a lot about the person by watching their mannerisms and actions. A person of authority knows exactly how to move and speak in order to get the attention of others.
If a person shrieks “Listen”, “Quiet please!” or “Alright”, chances are he will only be ignored. But if he merely makes casual greetings here and there, give off a little smile and wave, he will be able to reach out to the entire room. As long as he remembers to make direct eye contact whenever he converses with someone and say his sentiments loud enough for everyone to hear then he’s doing good.
Also, some people are receptive to distinctly cadenced and low timbered with moderately volume voice. Examples are that of Charlton Heston (Moses) and James Earl Jones (Darth Vader).
Now that you got the tone, the next step is the words. Think about what you will say before you actually speak it. Speakers who have a message easily get their listener’s attention. You should also maintain eye contact with the person who is focused on what you are saying. You should add a little bass to your tone.