Today I’m covering one of the many sounds that can cost you your ideal prospects, sales, and return customers. And that’s the lilt.

Lilt is one of the ways we affect our voices–it’s where your voice lifts up at the end, making everything sound like a question even when it’s not. 

The problem with lilt is it can consciously and unconsciously be interpreted by your listener as asking for permission; that you aren’t the expert you say you are. It creates the feeling that you don’t know what you are talking about. 

Having a lilt is not bad–it can be a powerful choice in certain situations. Part of what I do with my students is uncover what sounds truly belong to them and what don’t. 

More often than not I find that the lilt is based out of a cultural habit or motivated from pleasing people. None of that is bad, it’s important to know whether your subconscious is tricking you into using the lilt to protect your heart and hamper your truest expression.