Common wisdom tells leaders that if they want everyone’s attention or to make their advocacy land with force, they must increase their speaking volume. Multiple people in a room or a meeting turn their attention to the loudest voice and often stop talking themselves when one voice dominates.
The intensity of the language the leader employs, as well as the emphasis they place on specific words and phrases, gathers attention like a magnet. Experience informs leaders that getting heard in a crowded room is never an easy task and they must resort to more extreme amplification of their points.
But some leaders have learned a different secret. Under the right circumstances, actually lowering volume gains more mindshare from others. Leaders who normally don’t employ high volume often find that when they lower their voices and speak very slowly, others lean in and hang on every word.
Leaders who decrease their volume force others to dial down their own vocals in order to hear what is being said. Lower volume then demands more attention, not less. Suddenly, everyone’s focus is on what the leader is saying, exactly as planned.
Unfortunately, this tactic doesn’t work for leaders who turn to higher volume most of the time. They unintentionally train colleagues to listen only when their volume rockets, which it usually does. The lesson is clear: How leaders get others to tune into what they are saying speaks volumes about who others think they are.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
