Have you ever wished you could command the room like a star performer when you speak and network?

Most business owners are never taught how to connect, communicate, and stand out from the crowd at a networking event.

As a singer and professional stage performer, I’ve taken my stage skills and vocal expertise into powerfully facilitating hundreds of networking meetings and live events over the last decade.

Here are the 5 steps both singers and networkers can take to connect effectively and create massive results.

1. Choose a Song that Fits Your Voice

As a classically trained soprano, my voice sounds great in classical musical theater roles like – Maria in the Sound of Music or Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.   Put a rock ‘n’ roll song in front of me and I might have fun, but it won’t make the same impact.

I know what works well because it feels good, it sounds good and the audience gives me good feedback.

For Business Owners, your song is how you show up and what you represent.  How do you feel when you represent your product or service?  Do others give you good feedback?

If you struggle at all with how to describe the solution you provide and why they should choose you over other people with similar products, consider this next step.

2. Get a Coach to Finetune Your Voice

All successful singers and business owners have coaches.  Professional singers train with voice teachers for years and years because we know it’s a journey.  I want to keep my voice in top condition so I’m able to sing day in shows 6 nights a week if I choose.

If you are a business owner without a good coach, you are missing out on valuable training and feedback that are indispensable for success.  They can help you craft your powerful message and deliver it with confidence.

I work with my clients on their “energetic voice” (their thoughts and feelings), their “physical voice” (how to project and sound great) and their “mental voice” (the script and flow of any communication).

3. Develop a Practice/Warmup Routine

A professional singer would never dream of singing in a 2 or 3-hour show without warming up their voice.  We practice for hours and hours.  We have before-show routines that allows us to get into the right mindset and step on stage with confidence.

Yet, I’m amazed how many business owners show up at networking events with no clear intention, no plan, not having practiced their introduction, and just hoping for the best.

Then, many of them will complain that networking is a waste of time. “It takes too long to generate business,” they say.  “There are a lot of nice people, but I’m not getting referrals.”

If you are a service-based business owner who is willing to prepare yourself adequately with a strategy and practice routine, Networking can be more cost effective than any other kind of marketing.

Make sure you have set a powerful intention for what you want to create from that networking meeting.  Practice your 30-60 seconds introduction before you show up.  Have a follow-up plan in place including setting aside time in your schedule to make phone calls with anyone who feels like a good connection.

4. Consciously Choose Where to Use Your Voice

Singers will sing anywhere, anytime for fun, but if we want to make the biggest impact, we consciously decide when and where to audition and perform.

What audiences do you want to impact?

Who will enjoy listening to your type of music (your message)?

As Business Owners, you want to consciously choose where to Network.

Check out my live video “Stop, Drop and Get Paid When You Network and Speak” that lays out the questions you want to ask yourself before saying yes to your next networking event.

5. Get Out There and Use Your Voice!

Singers are meant to sing.  There isn’t much that will keep us from using our voice.

Business owners are meant to speak to people.  There really is nothing more powerful to grow your business.

Yet, I see business owners avoid networking, avoid speaking, avoid taking the microphone, and avoid making phone calls.

Instead, they hide behind their computer, their email, their social media posts, their LinkedIn messages, and expect to make the same impact.

There is nothing more powerful in making a connection than when someone hears the sound of your voice!

I recently had a service-based business owner tell me that he didn’t think visiting my networking group (that, by the way, is FULL of his ideal customers – including ME) was a good way to find clients.

He apparently found clients by reaching out with messages on LinkedIn.  Yet, his lack of desire to visit my group and create real connections cost him a lot of potential clients and money.

The sad truth is that not everyone is comfortable or willing to use their voice powerfully to find clients.  They either have had a bad experience with networking in the past, or do not understand the skills and strategies necessary to fully leverage their voice.

Just like singers who walk into an audition room and are given 8 to 16 bars of music to shine, business owners only have a few seconds to make a good first impression.

I’m passionate about taking the skills I learned as a professional performer, singer, actress, and translating that into the business world to really help people succeed at their communication, building relationships, finding more prospects, and closing sales faster.

I hope you’ll use these tips to up your Networking game and make a bigger difference with the power of your voice!

*Note – If you would like to hear me sing an original song – please watch the video I posted on this training topic that led into a song I wrote about auditioning in New York City.

Learn more about Stephanie at www.empoweryourvoice.com and visit her networking group at www.ebnnetworking.com