It’s All About the Tone

It’s not what you say that counts, it’s what people hear.

Tone is one of the most important elements of speech. When you need to deliver a really hard message, it will generally be received better if your tone is soft and caring. Even when you’re trying to say something nice to a person, if it’s said in a way that makes them defensive or uncomfortable, they simply won’t hear you. A friend of mine asks himself, “What does the dog hear?” In other words, we talk to babies, children, and dogs with a pleasant, reassuring voice but we often lose that voice when talking to other people.

The words can be great, but if they’re said in a hard or harsh way, the message can be totally lost. So once again, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. It’s all about what people hear—that’s what counts.