“The human voice is the organ of the soul.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
In a world where we struggle to be heard it is important to find our unique voice. It does not matter whether we want to be hired for that dream job or share a unique insight or convince the world around us to embrace a particular cause. We need to be heard and that is why our voice is so important.
What is it about us that will the make world around us pause for a split second so that we can share our story? The key to finding our unique voice is by understanding the answer to these three questions.
Where Did We Come From?
Our past defines us, our present is one of life’s stops and our future is our dream. To properly understand our unique voice we need to look at our past and understand the experiences that made us the person we our today. Sure we have made mistakes, had triumphs and had some unremarkable times; together they have joined together to bring us to this point in time. Understanding the impact these events have had on our voice will help us to know what our message is for the world around us.
Where Are We Now?
When we understand how the past has influenced our present voice and take the time to understand where we our now, we begin to get a picture of how our voice is emerging.
What Is Our Personal Vision For The Future?
The most important part of our unique voice is our personal vision for the future. We need to understand how we fit into the world around us and where we see our self-going in the future. This is critical to finding our unique voice because it impacts on the journey we want to take others on. We need to be able to say to our audience, their world is this way now, but we see a better way going forward.
It is our personal vision that will make their organization stronger and better for hiring us. Our personal vision about that important cause will make them feel better about their lives if they embrace it and it is our unique insight that has the power to improve their lives.
The Challenge
“For success, attitude is equally as important as ability.”
Walter Scott
If you can answer these three questions successfully you can start to understand what is your voice, what makes your particular voice unique and how you are going to make an impact on your world. You will know what your message is for the world and how you are going to deliver it.
It is not enough to find your voice you need to use it. Armed with the clarity of understanding what your personal message is you can embrace it and share it with the world. You need to let the prospective employer know why you are the best fit for that dream job, you need to mobilize your community to embrace that important cause or share that unique insight that will change your audiences lives.