Lower your vocal pitch

In the workplace, the quality of your voice can be a deciding factor in how you are perceived. Speakers with higher pitched voices are judged to be less empathic, less powerful and more nervous than speakers with lower pitched voices. One easy technique I learned from a speech therapist was to put your lips together and say Um hum, um hum, um hum. Doing so relaxes your voice into its optimal pitch. This is especially helpful before you get on an important phone call where the sound of your voice is so critical.