Your voice is a powerful tool when you are negotiating. How you use it influences the outcome of your negotiation. Here are some tips on how to use your voice to be a more effective negotiator.

Listen to the tone and pitch. Is your voice soft, sweet or high-pitched? Do you have an accent?

Non-native English speakers have a tendency to speak fast when conversing in English. Slow down. Even some native English speakers need to heed this tip, especially if you have a regional accent. This will also help with the next point.

Speak in a lower tone, especially in a negotiation, for added credibility. Research verifies that men prefer to hear a low, slow-paced female voice with some vocal variation. Also, some men have difficulty understanding people with accents. That's where the slower speed comes in.

Your ethnicity plays a large role in how you speak, and this carries over into negotiations. For instance, in Japan men find women with a soft, high-pitched voice appealing.

Consider finding a voice or presentation coach to help you. Record your voice in various settings (including telephone voice and meeting voice) and replay as a learning tool. Take note when your voice raises, goes lower, speeds up or slows down. If your voice is running on autopilot, the message you want to give may not be the one the other person hears.

How do you find a negotiation, presentation or voice coach?

Google is one way. Another is to locate a local chapter of the National Speakers Association. There may be a member in the chapter who specializes in negotiation, presentation and voice development.

Learn to use your voice effectively in a negotiation. It is one of your most powerful negotiation tools. Expand your negotiation skills with a negotiation training class.