It’s not what you said.

It’s how you said it.

Your tone delivers emotion before your jurors even process the words. And if you’re not intentional with your tone, you may be sending the wrong emotional cues—and shutting jurors down without even realizing it.

In today’s episode, we wrap up our 5 Building Blocks of Voice series by focusing on TONE—the often-overlooked element that carries the emotional weight of your message.

LISTEN HERE... 

🔍 In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How tone can create momentum, authority, compassion, or conflict

2. What happens when tone doesn’t match your message (hint: confusion, resistance, and shutdown)

3. Why “doing the voices” helps jurors track who’s speaking and how they feel about it

4. How to calibrate your tone for contrast, clarity, and courtroom connection

 

🎯 Key Takeaway:

Your tone isn’t just emotional—it’s instructional.

It tells jurors how to feel, when to lean in, and why it matters.

 

💡 Favorite moment:

“You can’t say, ‘They did this, and this, and this… and then she died’ in the same tone.

That’s not just ineffective—it’s inhuman. Jurors need your vocal shift to signal the emotional weight.”

 

🎁 Free Resource:

Want to know if you’re using your full vocal range—or where you might be holding back?

👉 Book your free vocal assessment here » https://calendly.com/fostervoicestudio/30-minute-assessment-clone

You’ll walk away with clarity on how your voice works for you—and where it might be working against you.

 

🔗 Links & Resources:

1. Free Guide: Pace & Pause

2. IG Carousel on 5 types of listeners: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5T3D9vrpBO/?img_index=4

 

💬 Want more?

If today’s episode sparked something for you, share it with a colleague or leave a review. Your voice matters—just like theirs does.

Until next time,

Keep fostering your voice. 🎤

 

TRANSCRIPT:

 

Helllooo! Hello Foster Fam! I'm excited to be here today, and excited to be wrapping up our series on The 5 Vocal Building Blocks. Have you enjoyed these little mini voice lessons, mini coachings over the last couple of weeks? If so, as always, I'd love it if you would leave a quick 5-star rating and written review. Tell me what you're learning and what you're taking away from the podcast so far. Your reviews go a long way to 1. Help other potential listeners find me, but 2. Give me some encouragement along the way. Since this is, essentially, a one-sided conversation, I'm not getting personal feedback. Your reviews help me know that what I'm putting out is landing with you. So, please take just a moment to leave a brief review. I'd really love it.

Before we get into our last building block of TONE, I wanted to read a fun poem. How this poem came about is...I wrote a carousel post, and actually did a whole series of posts on Instagram & Facebook about the 5 Types of Listeners that you might find in a jury panel, based on Steven Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Then, just to play around, I used the feature in Canva (the design software I use) to use their AI to change the content from my carousel post into a poem. And THAT'S the poem I'm going to read today. So...thank you to Canva's AI for this.

The Symphony of Jury Selection

In the world that spins around,

The undulating seas of voices abound.

Each jury panel, a medley of minds so diverse,

In the echoes of justice, their perceptions immerse.

 

Steven Covey, in his tome of wisdom so profound,

Explores how we listen, how our understanding is found.

In the court's solemn silence, each juror lends an ear,

The art of communication, in this dance, becomes clear.

 

Your role, my dear friend, is to guide them through,

To meet them in their world, and present a view anew.

For a verdict just and fair, they must comprehend,

The symphony of voices, and where their notes blend.

 

Five types of listeners, in this ensemble we find,

Each with their own melody, and rhythm of mind.

Understand their song, and you'll know how to speak,

To each in a way to ensure your message is not weak.

 

The Ignorer, who believes they've heard it all before,

Lure them in with vocal variety, open their mind's door.

Pitch, pace, and volume, your tools for this song,

Keep them guessing, keep them listening all along.

 

The Pretender, lost in their own mental maze,

They seem attentive, but it's just a vacant gaze.

Help them focus, don't let their thoughts stray,

One message at a time, guide them on their way.

 

The Selective listener, sifting through your speech,

Only the interesting bits, their attention will reach.

Emphasize key points, make them resonate,

A slower pace, their interest, you can captivate.

 

The Attentive listener, who seeks to truly understand,

Relating to their experiences, in their mind your words land.

Use common human analogies, metaphors that ring true,

Pause for contemplation, let them rephrase and review.

 

The Empathic listener, who feels the emotion in your tone,

They see through your client's eyes, in their heart, the story is sown.

Use dialogue, alter your voice, play every character's part,

Capture the scene's feeling, echo it in their heart.

 

Was this symphony of voices, helpful to you?

I hope it's given a clue.

For the next time you prep for jury selection,

May this guide lead you to effective direction.

 

Okay, now, I don't know much about poetry, but I think that was pretty clever. And, did you hear when it talked about the different building blocks and how they interplay in order to accommodate the learning of different types of listeners? THAT, it what we're all about. Communicating ON PURPOSE by using our voice and other nonverbals to infuse MEANING into our content.

Anyway, I thought that was fun. So, thank you AI.

—BREAK—

Now, I want to encourage you, if you haven't already listened, make sure to go back to Episode #13. Listen to 13, 14, and 15 so you understand the previous FOUR building blocks of pitch, pace, melody and volume. As I've said before, they're not in any hierarchy. One is not more important that the others. But isolated application, meaning trying to do only one at a time is REALLY limiting. They work in tandem together. And this is how you unlock your full-spectrum voice so you can communicate not just WITH purpose, but ON purpose. So, go back and listen to the whole series.

Today, though, let's dive into TONE. This is the fifth vocal building block.

This is where the voice can REALLY create some emotional landscapes because tone carries emotion. So, what do we even mean by "tone"?

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone, your partner or spouse maybe, and it's just not going the way you intend? WHAT you're saying is benign—it's just information, non-emotional, just stuff—but the reaction is infused with...something unexpected. And your partner asks "Why are you angry?" Which surprises YOU because you don't personally FEEL angry at all. But now, you're suddenly in a fight over information that wasn't supposed to fuel anything.

Ever experienced that? It was your TONE. it's not WHAT you said, it's HOW you said it.

How many times, growing up, did I hear my mom say "Watch your tone. Say the same thing again, but adjust your tone."

By making the adjustments, the conversation stayed respectful, and I was able to be emotionally responsible and intentional with my words & delivery. Tone carries emotion.

(demo) Tone can be bright or dark. it can be edgy, or it can be breathy. it can be cold, or it can be warm. it can be nasal, or it can be blocked. And EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. Full-spectrum.

The important thing to remember is that wherever you place your tone, you will incite an emotional response. (demo bright) If I talked to you with this bright tone, how does it make you FEEL? When I've tested this on my clients, I could physically see them lean back in their chair trying to get away. They felt attacked, or like they were in trouble. But the actual words I'm saying are not attacking, unkind or punishing in any way.

(demo dark) But on the flip side, if this darker tone was my regular voice, how would it make you FEEL? Again, my clients have said, they felt tired, bored, disinterested.

Does that mean that we should NEVER use either of those tonal placements? Of course not.

The goal here, as always, is to not get stuck in a pattern. Learn to use the appropriate tone for that specific thing you're saying, and then adjust for the next thing. WATCH YOUR TONE. Because HOW you say it will be jam packed with emotional fuel that will unlock permission for your juror's emotions.

Here's some examples...

When you are driving a point home, you want to use a bright tone. Bright tone has momentum, it has drive, it's pointed, directional. "They did this, and this, and this." Or, "Company X DIDN'T do this. They DIDN'T do this. And refused to do THIS."

But then a critical change has to happen to land with the result of that action or inaction. You can't have (demo bright) "They did this, and this, and this, and then she died." Right? That's too abrasive and sounds trite.

You need warmer and darker tones to match the seriousness of the situation. (demo dark) "They did this, and this, and this, and then she died." That's not what you want either. There HAS to be a shift.

You HAVE to move adeptly through your tone. You have to be able to access both bright tone for drive, and then shift to warm/dark tone for gravitas and compassion. (demo combo) "They did this, and this, and this, and then she died." Then go back to bright, "And yet they STILL have not changed their policies. They have YET to acknowledge their mistakes. (shift) It has to stop today. And you folks, are the ones to make them do it."

Now, I'm just making up the script. You, of course, know what you would actually say in court, but can you FEEL the shifts? So can the jury. Tone carries emotion.

Tone ALSO helps the jury keep track of the various characters and the various perspectives in your storytelling. Tone helps you "do all the voices." Did your kids ever make you do the voices when you were reading to them? They do this because it enhances their engagement and understanding. Varied voices and tones help them connect with the characters and the emotions that they story opens up, making the experience more interactive and memorable. 

Turns out, this doesn't go away. Jurors need that too. You're doing a disservice to your client if you don't "do the voices" for the jury in trial.

Now, you want to stay respectful and not do caricatured voices. You don't want anyone to think you're making fun of them. Cause, even if the jury doesn't like the defendant, they won't respect YOU for being a bully. So, how do you do the voices while maintaining professional decorum?

You first have to practice all the extremes. Get all the far corners of tonal placement and resonance unlocked and make sure you have easy access. This takes some time and patience. And you'd greatly benefit from an additional set of ears, like from a vocal coach, to workshop with you and help you unlock and turn up to 11. But also how to identify when you're at 0

It takes some time to calibrate and get definitions dialed in and muscle memory confirmed. Once you know where those extremes are, then you can start coloring, vocally, within the lines. You can get nuanced. And, again, it always helps to get informed feedback from someone to help you better calibrate between your internal hearing vs their external listening.

If you're uncertain whether or not you already have access to a full-spectrum voice, or if you want to better understand where you are vocally strong and where you have vocal room for growth, I'd love to help you. I have a FREE vocal assessment session. There's no obligation to do anything after that. It'll take about 30-minutes or so and you'll leave with more clarity of how your voice works for you AND perhaps against you. I'll put the sign up link in the show notes where, fyi, you can find links to some other free resources.

When you can strategically and confidently use pitch, pace, melody, volume, and tone — the 5 vocal building blocks — you will exponentially increase your juror's ability to listen attentively, retain your content, and feel permission to emotionally invest themselves in your client.

Until next week, keep fostering your voice.