In 2003 a friend encouraged me to start a business centred on phone communication skills. I was skeptical. He insisted. At this point, I’d been working with him part-time for 2 years, and he’d listened to me as I’d grown his software business from 11 clients to over 100 … one conversation at a time.
Tentatively, I began to test his belief, with the result being the creation of The Phone Lady in 2006 – a thriving, exciting, constantly blossoming business that, in every way, exceeds my expectations. And which, much to my surprise, has become more than my business. It’s become my mission.
For in the past 13 years we have all been on a path that is diminishing our voices. We have gone from sharing the sound and nuance of our words to insisting that all that matters can be captured by tapping on keys, by creating characters on screens. We are losing our voices and the power they contain. An unintended consequence of technology? Absolutely. Should we shrug and accept it? No … I don’t think so.
Which is why I’m introducing you to a project I’m supporting. Voice Messages is a documentary film by Martin Zied that “speaks out about the wonder and beauty of our most powerful instrument: the human voice.”
I encourage you to watch the trailer for the film here on Indiegogo. In the 4:35 minutes, there are many moving moments but for me, hearing Linda Ronstadt speak about losing her singing voice due to Parkinson’s Disease … . (Linda’s voice was my companion for many years. Blue Bayou got me through numerous lonely moments my first year of university.)
Should Martin’s project capture your interest, your heart, then please do support it. At this writing, there are 145 backers including voiceover talent Natasha Marchewka, who shares her thoughts on the power of our voices in this recent post.
I realize that phone calls don’t possess the glamour and excitement we associate with singing, acting or voiceover work, but they do contain an important and powerful role in our lives, which I expressed in this article for Thought Leaders.
Don’t misunderstand me – I believe in both email and text communication; I believe in content marketing (this is a weekly blog after all). But I also believe that abandoning phone conversations is a thought-less choice. As you move through this coming week, in both your business and personal interactions, stay present to the value of vocal communication. What do you hear? What do you learn? What are you able to express? And what are the results? Can email or texting really replace all that is contained in the sound and nuance of our voices?
Enjoy your phone work everyone!
I agree with you that voices are diminishing but you are helping keeping it at the fore. Thanks for doing so.
Thanks, Steve. Your words mean a lot. And the documentary certainly boosts my morale as well. The more people we reach about the importance of our voices – the more people we reach about the power of gratitude – the more we can increase positive communication.