Have you heard a person complain about not liking the tone of one’s speech? Are there people you talk to and can compliment you but you can easily take it the wrong way because of their tone? Have you ever taken time to listen to the tone of your speech? In my practice, I have heard many interviewers complain of an interviewee being rude. But if you investigate, it is the tone of their speech and well they didn’t intend to be rude. You need to know that an interview is similar in a way to a tune. The lyrics are the content of the interviewee's responses and the music is the tone of voice used. Certain songs may have an optimistic empowering effect or contrarily may be melancholy and blue.
Your tone says a lot about you. It portrays the confidence in you and the type of person you are. A job applicant that responds in a confident manner is likely to induce confidence in the interviewer.
On the contrary, an interviewee that will be shy and hesitant, similar to a sad tune, is likely to raise doubt and concern in the interviewer. If you have a very sad tune, it is easy for an interviewer to conclude that you seem unconfident and will not be suitable for the position. Here the doubt emerging in the interviewer's mind may disqualify you.
Content Vs Tone.
In my years of experience, many job applicants assume that if the content of their answers is good and worthy their path to success in the interview is almost certain. True, the content of the responses is extremely important but the tone of voice is just as important if not more! Your tone of voice sets the atmosphere during an interview. It projects your inner confidence, your authority and the ability to cope.
The inner confidence is very important because the degree of it projected through your tone of voice sets the tone and atmosphere of the interview to a large extent and induces a sense of confidence in the interviewer in relation to the applicant. An applicant can have perfect answers in an interview but if the music of the words spoken is hesitant and shy the interview may turn sour.
Believe in yourself
For your tone of voice to sound confident it must come from within. You must believe in yourself; in your abilities; in your talent and in your skills. In the previous articles we have discussed and reiterated the importance of having faith in yourself and in ways of increasing your self–esteem and reducing self-criticism. The more you appreciate your past positions and achievements, the more confident you will be; the more confident you will be, the more it will show in your tone of voice.
By the way, the summary of a candidate comes down to how confidence he is. In any job interview you go, be extremely confident and believe in yourself.
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