It may not be fair, but it is true: if you speak with confidence and authority, people will lend more credibility to your statements.  This is a running joke at my house because my husband often makes outlandish statements in a completely confident voice just to see if I will call him on it.  We have been together long enough that he rarely sneaks  one by me, but I see it happen often at parties and social events and it always causes a big laugh.

Last night I attended an event that had an almost exclusively female crowd.  While talking to a friend about networking in general and networking there in particular, she pointed out that she had a hard time talking with some women who just wouldn't speak up. 

Why do some people (not always women) speak in soft, breathy speech that the audience has to strain to hear?  Speaking to sound cute will get you just what you project - a smile from your audience as they quickly move on to find the adults in the room.

Speak with confidence and depth to give your words the attention and emphasis they deserve.  After all, if you are an expert at what you do shouldn't you convey that to your audience right away?  Why else would they stick around to listen to you?

If you need help learning to vocalize with confidence, here are some resources:

• Toastmasters International meets weekly and gives training on public speaking as well as spontaneous speaking in small groups (they call it table topics).   There are chapters all over the world and the cost is minimal.
• Free tips from VoiceCoach.com on a variety of speaking issues.
• Anna Bernstein with Speaking Matters offers individual voice coaching in the Seattle area and often holds a free introductory class.  I've taken it and learned how to better project my voice and speak without tiring. 
  

Give your words the weight they deserve and raise your level of expertise with your audience.

"We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us." 

~Friedrich Nietzsche