Hello? My name is Karen Oleson? The name of my company is VoiceTech?

If I were to introduce myself to you this way, would you believe me? Would you trust and have confidence in me?

Ending your sentences with a question is called upgliding. Upgliding means allowing the musical inflection to move up in pitch when making statements. Next time you call someone on the phone, notice the musical inflections in your speech. Do you say your name and the name of your company as if it were a question?

Women are particularly prone to this speaking pattern. For women, upgliding patterns translate into non threatening, consensus-building, inclusive communication. It’s true, no one will be threatened by this speaking pattern, but how many clients will take you seriously? This musical inflection pattern has become prevalent in our society.

I recently overheard two older women at a restaurant commenting on how all the young people seemed to be going up at the end of each sentence. They found it very irritating. It often does sound insincere and certainly not very confident.

Women in business need to sound as if they mean business when contacting prospective clients. If you are at a networking function, it is important to make a strong positive impression. Practice your self-introduction with the following example.

Practice saying your name as a statement with an exclamation point at the end of it. My name is Karen Oleson! The name of my company is VoiceTech! VoiceTech is a training center for the speaking and singing voice!

It is important to add musical inflection to your speech patterns so that you don’t speak in a monotone way. The following is an example of what musical inflection looks like on the page.

There are many musical choices you can make. The example above is just one way to avoid upgliding.

Another thing to consider when introducing yourself to others is to articulate your name clearly and slowly. You put others in an awkward situation when they cannot understand your name because you said it too fast or mumbled it.

When you say your name carefully and with confidence, everyone wins!