Vocal awareness for selection panels

This is an edited summary of Talking Tips interview #18 with Tim Noonan, who runs a Sydney-based voice communications company called Visionary Communications.

How can selection panels be more vocally aware?

The Vocology system is a set of strategies and underlying principles which help people to express themselves more effectively using the voice. It helps people listen more intuitively and insightfully and increases their level of vocal understanding so they can make better connections.

As a person who is blind I have been interested in the human voice all my life. The visual aspects of communication such as body language are less dominant for me. I believe my experience of working with the vocal richness in the voice is of benefit to others, to help people communicate more meaningfully.

When people are on selection panels they need to pay more attention to the voice. I am developing a workshop called Seeing beyond the suit. This workshop helps people use the Vocology principles to be more effective interviewers. People get overwhelmed by the visual aspects of applicants such as how they look, how they are dressed, their body language and eye contact.

I believe people are losing the art and awareness of the richness of the vocal.

One strategy I use is to ask people to close their eyes for a couple of minutes to feel what it is like when someone is speaking.

One thing panels need to do when applicants are giving a behavioural description that demonstrates a skill is to listen to the voice to hear what emotions are present, to gauge if the person is really present in the story. Applicants are trained to fake and bluff. If you have a gut feeling that a person is just using words but not really experiencing the story, they may not be really doing it. A panel may want to confirm if the experience is real rather than just intellectual. If you jave a sense or hunch that something does not feel right the panel needs to use probing, clarifying questions to move through the woolliness. By doing this the panel avoids leaving doubts unresolved. Probing questions narrow down to get more evidence from the applicant to validate the hunch or allay fears, so that you have confidence that the person can do the job. Panels need to probe for more detail in what is being said. What did that applicant actually do. What was their specific role. Bring the focus right down to that person so they tell what they have actually done.

Contact details for Tim Noonan: www.visionarycommunications.com.au, phone 0419 779 669.

Dr Ann Villiers, learning guide, professional speaker and author, is Australia's only Mental Nutritionist® specialising in mind and language practices that help people build flexible thinking, confident speaking and quality connections with people. Visit www.mentalnutrition.com to learn more about Mental Nutrition. Visit www.selectioncriteria.com.au for free resources unlocking the mysteries of public service jobs.