***Why the Valley Girl Sound is Sabotaging Your Job Interviews

If there are 2 candidates for a job in which one sounds like a Valley Girl and the other does not, I guarantee that the candidate who speaks with normal inflection will win that battle. When your answers, remarks, or statements are on the upswing, it sounds like you are asking a question. This is the reason questions are posed with the pitch of the voice on the rise. (Incidentally, pitch refers to the highness or lowness of sound and is not similar to volume which deals with the loudness or softness of sound.) One of the most important characteristics employers are seeking in their employees is confidence. If you sound like a Valley Girl, you are defeating that prerequisite because you not only sound silly and immature but you do not instill confidence in your communication skills or your abilities. When I discovered my real voice, it got me the jobs I wanted (and even those I wasn’t seeking) because I sounded mature. My voice exuded confidence. The best way to break the habit of ending your statement on the upswing is to record yourself so that you can begin to ‘hear it’ and recognize when this is happening. Your next step is to practice taking the end of your sentences down in pitch. Try the following exercise.

1. Record yourself saying the following statement as if you are asking a question.
I have a master’s degree in business from Johnston University.
2. Now record yourself again saying the above sentence as a statement, taking the pitch of your voice down as you finish the word university. 3. Play back the recording. Did you hear a difference between the two statements? If not, do it again until you are successful. 4. Practice talking out loud in which you say a sentence as if it is a question and then say it again as a statement. Your goal is to retrain your inner ear to begin to recognize the difference. 5. Every time you speak, think about your inflection. While you probably cannot achieve this goal 100% of the time, even if you are successful 50% of the time, you are moving in the right direction.

If your objective is a job, it is in your best interest to sound more mature than the next candidate. How you answer the questions posed to you – both in content and in your means of delivery – speaks volumes. If you respond to every question on the upswing, it is a surefire method of telling a perspective employer that you are not ready to handle the position.