Why Great CFOs Sound Different: Pace, Pauses and Presence | David Pope

Diary of a CFO | Financial Strategies for Smart Business Growth

Executive voice coach David Pope joins the podcast to discuss how professionals can transition from good to great speakers through subtle vo

Key takeaways

• Small, incremental changes in volume and intonation can significantly impact how a leader is perceived by their team.
• Authenticity is paramount; attempting to mimic the vocal patterns of others, such as Elizabeth Holmes's attempt at a lower register, destroys charisma.

Main topics

• Executive Voice Coaching
• Building Executive Presence

Notable quotes

Don't sweat the big stuff, focus on the small stuff.

Conclusion

Listeners gain actionable, low-friction techniques to enhance their pr

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) My catchphrase on LinkedIn and a lot of my branding is about good speakers, help good speakers become great speakers. People are able to communicate, but it's those small changes that really make the big impact. Because I think nowadays there's pressure on so many of us, not only to perform well in our jobs, but to actually sound good. while we're doing it. But the good news is you don't actually have to make these drastic changes. So even small changes can have a very big impact. Now some people they put a lot of pressure on themselves. You know, I've got to speak like this person. I must be like that person. If somebody has a little bit more intonation in their voice. They're seen as more engaging. So, for example, if they're moving up into a senior leadership role and they're having to lead teams and carry out regular meetings, you know, regional or even on the global stage, and that is what is going to get you from good to great. And this all comes down to understanding how you sound and the influence that you have with your voice. Speaker 3 (1:13) We are live, ladies and gentlemen. You want to get welcome to the Kingdames Podcast and Diary of a CFO. And today I've got with me a very, very important guest. The fight in the heart of Hong Kong, McWalkin David Hall. How are you Speaker 2 (1:32) today, David? I'm great. Thank you. Thanks for that wonderful introduction, Adam Ola. Wow, you are welcome. You know, you are the only Speaker 3 (1:42) Pope I know that doesn't live in the Speaker 2 (1:44) Vatican City. Speaker 3 (1:46) And of course, you know, your name is so Christian, you know, David the Pope. I feel like that name is a setup. But, you know, it's really amazing to have you on the port today. It's amazing to have you. And of course, sit back while I read the... introduction that I curated for you. So, ladies and gentlemen, you once again welcome to another powerful episode of the Kingdoms Podcast and Diary of a CFO. And today we are joined by a man helping leaders unlock one of the most underestimated superpowers in business and life. That is their voice. Our guest, David Pope, is a BBC trained executive voice coach who helps professionals move From simply speaking to creating presence, influence, and impact. He has worked with executives, leaders, and high performers from around the world to strengthen confidence, executive presence, and communication mastery. David Pope, welcome to the podcast. Speaker 1 (2:53) Whoa. Speaker 3 (2:55) So, you know, for every Speaker 1 (2:56) exceptional... Thank Speaker 3 (2:56) you. Thanks for that wonderful introduction. You're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome. You know, and I will tell you something, you know, about why I very much appreciate your body of work. Right. So while I was a teenager, I had a mentor who was a broadcaster. Right. And guess what he studied? He had a master's in communication and language arts. So a Speaker 2 (3:25) lot of people Speaker 3 (3:26) see me as, oh. He's the finance guy, you know, economist, childhood accountant. But I always loved communication, right? And, but, you know, back in the day, I grew up in Nigeria and I told my father, I want to study, you know, communication, language arts or mass communication. And guess what my father told me? He said, if you know that you will pay the school fees yourself, then take that cost. But if you know I am the one to pay the school fees, come on, go pick something serious. And of course, you know, like I wanted to be a broadcaster right from being a teenager. But as fate would have it, you know, they took away the broad and replaced it with a pod. So I ended up becoming a podcaster. So, you know, for every exceptional communicator, there is always that, you know, origin story that shapes them, right? So looking back at your early years before coaching, executive presence, voice master work, like who was the young David? You know, you probably were the young David that was, you know, the shepherd boy. Speaker 2 (4:27) Yeah. I mean, it's interesting talking about accountancy because I mean, my father was an accountant as well. And I mean, for me, I've always been rubbish at maths and, you know, I just can't, I can't get all of that. My whole way of being when I was at school and at university was all about communication. I used to, I was part of drama. I was involved in, I was involved in everything around people. So I've always been a people person rather than sitting down and looking at books with numbers on. You know, that's never really interested me. So it seemed a natural that I was going to go into this sort of industry. Yeah. Wow. Interesting. Speaker 3 (5:14) Hi there. Are you a professional or business owner teaching investors or sharing big ideas, but your presentations just are not keeping up with your vision? That's exactly why I use Gamma app, our proud partners. Gamma is an AI powered platform that helps you build beautiful decks, documents, and web pages in just minutes. No complicated formatting, no design headaches, just clean. modern presentations that communicate your ideas clearly and professionally. If you want to present like a pro, sign up today using the tool stack link in the description below and start creating smarter with Gamma app. You trained with the BBC, right? And of course, you know, I have been to the BBC headquarters in London, right? Amazing, amazing building. So what lessons from that environment still influences you today? and the work you do coaching leaders? Well, Speaker 2 (6:15) if we go back a little bit to starting a university. So I studied English literature and communication, media studies. And because of that, I was able to work in different industries. I was specific around the course that I wanted to do because it meant that I could get internships. And so when I left my... university because I had contacts. You know, the way that this media world works is you have to know people, basically. So actually, my first job was at a production company in Soho in the 80s in London. And this is when MTV had just started. Yeah, it was all around that time, you know, music, all the videos buzzing. So I was very fortunate. I was working with a video director who actually then went off to work in Hollywood, funnily enough. So we were working on pop videos for groups like Wham. Well, it shows how old I am. Wham is George Michael. George Michael used to be in Wham and Dire Straits and A-Ha, you know, these big bands in the 80s. And so... That's really when my love of voice began because I was working in the cutting rooms in post-production. And then I was very fortunate to be interviewed to work for the BBC. And I got a job in the editing suites. And that is really where everything began for me in terms of voice. Because I was working in TV shows, I was working on documentaries, series, films. And so... Really the whole voice thing, getting to understand how actors were using their voices to be able to engage and inspire people, you know, getting into a role, inhabit a role. And then as my job as the assistant film editor was seeing the way that film The audio and the visual came together to create this incredible feeling, you know, for films and TV series. And so that's really where it all began. The foundation of the work that I do now all started with the work that I was doing in production companies and then in the BBC in London. Yeah. Amazing, Speaker 3 (8:37) amazing stuff. You know, it's amazing to always look back, you know, at the background. People see the finished product. but they don't get to see the journey that makes, you know, that finished product. And of course, you know, Soho, you won, right? I have amazing memories of Soho as well. That's West London. So, you know, like, what would you say was the defining moment? Like when you realized that communication was not simply about speaking, but about transformation? Speaker 2 (9:07) I think probably when I moved to Hong Kong. I'm based in Hong Kong now. I've been here for 32 years. And because I started here, I was working for all the major publishing companies as a director and a producer. So that's really where it started, that whole journey. Again, working with professional voiceover talent, getting them to be able to use their best voice to be able to sell a product. And then moving from that, that sort of training that I did, and to be able to transfer that training across to the clients that I work with now, you know, in a global space. I work with a lot of law firms, a lot of financial institutions, F &B, fashion hotels, you know, a whole gamut, a whole wide range of people. And the small steps that start from understanding how... important the voice is to be able to communicate, to have power, to have influence, you know, all of these things. And it all really began from those, you know, going back to W1 days, right? W1, you know, amazing, amazing stuff. You know, it's Speaker 3 (10:23) crazy how people think, or would I say loop down on. communication as a life's body of work and also choosing voice you know people want you to focus on the hard skills like oh be a chartered accountant be an engineer be a doctor right but not everybody is actually tailored for those professions and you know it leads a lot of people to go towards improving those technical skills first well why did you choose voice as your life's work like what really convinced you I Speaker 2 (11:03) think probably what why did I choose for I think to be honest Adam I think voice chose me I never had a specific game plan but I knew that I was good at something and I think for everybody you know people who technical skills people are good at computers people are good at maths people are good at law I was never particularly good at those things, but I knew what I was good at was being able to tap into people's inner strengths. So for me, fundamentally, the voice and communication, this can help people. It can empower them to have more confidence and to be more successful, not only in the workplace, but certainly in personal life as well, to be able to communicate, to develop friendship circles, all of these sorts of things. And so for me, it was never really a game plan to do something, to work in a corporate culture, for example. So I've always stayed on the outside of that. And I know that my strengths are able to, you talked about people with technical skills. My strengths are able to work with those sorts of people and to bring the experience that I've got from the work that I've done over 30 years. of working in recording studios. In fact, I worked out a few weeks ago, I've spent over 30,000 hours in recording studios as a producer and as a director. So, you know, I've really got that foundation and I'm able to be able to use the skills that I've got and the techniques to be able to help those people who are following. a life in this, as you said, you know, these industries, these technical skills. So I'm coming at it from that angle to help and to advance them. So I see in a way, you know, my role is very much of service to help people to find their inner strength, to be able to get to the next level, both professionally and maybe personally. Wow. Interesting. So Speaker 3 (13:09) when I look at your body of work, you oftentimes talk about good speakers and great speakers. That is something I talk about in a different way. I love talking about the difference between the good and the great, right? There is always a difference between the good and the great. But from the close, from which I am caught out of, I always aim to be great, right? You can't blame a man for aiming to be great. So what would you say is the differentiating factor or factors, right? What differentiates good speakers? from great speakers and how do you help good speakers to become great speakers? Speaker 2 (13:51) Yeah, I mean, that's always become my catchphrase. You see, my catchphrase on LinkedIn and a lot of my branding is about good speakers. I help good speakers become great speakers. People are able to communicate, but it's those small changes. that really make the big impact? Because I think nowadays there's pressure on so many of us, not only to... perform well in our jobs, but to actually sound good while we're doing it. But the good news is you don't actually have to make these drastic changes. So even small changes can have a very big impact. Now, some people, they put a lot of pressure on themselves. You know, I've got to speak like this person. I must be like that person. I want to be like, you know, ABC, XYZ. What I'm doing is trying to get people to harness their own strengths. So these small changes. So if somebody maybe has a quiet voice. If they start speaking with a little bit more volume, people begin to see them as maybe a stronger person. If somebody has a little bit more intonation in their voice, they're seen as more engaging. So, for example, if they're moving up into a senior leadership role and they're having to lead teams. and carry out regular meetings, you know, regional or even on the global stage. They need to not just be a good speaker, they've got to be a great speaker. But it's only these small changes, these incremental changes. What I always say to people is like, don't sweat the big stuff, focus on the small stuff. And that is what is going to get you from good to great. And this all comes down to understanding how you sound and the influence that you have with your voice. And so the aspirational value, people wanting to be great, great communicators, if they can actually just work on those simple steps of understanding about things like intonation, volume, pace, pausing, word stress, this brings everything together. It's also the idea of the foundation of having a great voice, which is like the science of the voice, the breathing, the pitch, the volume of the voice, the way that we can use articulation, all of these elements. We're all OK at that. But if you want to become a great speaker, you need to understand how you can refine these to become even better when you speak. I think I appreciate that, Speaker 3 (16:42) right? And I understand that little changes in terms of your pitch, your cadence, your style of articulation, your tone actually. Speaker 3 (16:54) helps to distinguish you as a communicator. But for some people, they, what I say, are afraid of being self-aware, right? And of course, it leads them to overthink because, you know, a lot of people are subject to paralysis by analysis, right? Some people just like to overthink things and then they constantly ask for feedback. right? Even when they're doing well, right? But how do you get to balance it and, you know, not losing authenticity? Because I've gotten to meet people, especially in the corporate world, that have lost their authenticity just in the effort to sound in a particular kind of way that they want to look the path, right? And also, what exactly is leadership voice? Speaker 2 (17:49) Yeah, very, very good question. I mean, that whole idea of authenticity. I think one example I would give is somebody called Elizabeth Holmes. I don't know if you're aware of her. She's the, excuse me, she's the disgraced CEO of a company called Theranos. She's currently in prison now in the US. Now, if you listen to her, the way that she spoke. So she was the darling of, it was all about sort of genome testing and stuff. And she was getting millions and millions in funding. And she was on, you know, in the news, she was on magazine covers. And if you listen to her speak, this was somebody who was trying to be that idea, Adam Ola, you talked about, you know, that what is that leadership voice? So what she did was, and you can find her videos on YouTube, she lowered her vocal register. So her voice pitch was incredibly low. She slowed her pacing down. She started wearing clothes, very sort of Silicon Valley type style. You know, she styled herself on Steve Jobs, you know, that sort of style. But she totally lost her authenticity. And you look at that and I will sometimes get people, they'll contact me and they'll say, you know, David, I want to speak like A, I want to speak like B. You know, some people will say, I want you to help me speak like Obama, right? Obama is an amazing speaker, but he has his own authentic voice. And by the way, he's had years of voice coaching as well. That doesn't happen overnight. So what I'm always doing with people, that idea of paralysis by analysis, I'm telling people to harness their own authentic voice. So everything that I do is around recording the voice. playing it back and analysing it because I want people to get comfortable with how they sound, how they come across. And I think the most basic questions that we need to ask is, is my voice engaging and can I be understood? You know, and then that's where that authenticity can begin from. We don't want to change our voice. We don't want to be like somebody else. We have our own voice. And we need to be authentic. Once you start going down that path of trying to copy somebody else, then that's not a good path to go down because you just lose all of your charisma, basically, your charismatic belief, you know, you just lose all of that. I appreciate your Speaker 3 (20:35) analysis, right? But also for me, and I'm going to share a personal story with you, right? I strongly believe that. confidence come from competence right when your competence you know in your field of endeavor right it automatically comes with a certain level of confidence and also when you are credentialed right it also brings another level of confidence for you as a person so Talking about a personal story, before I became a chartered accountant, right, I had to lecture, you know, foundation level students, right? I was at the final level of the chartered accountancy exams. But I remember back in the day, I always had to, you know, dress corporate, you know, switch up my style just so that I can look the part. I wanted to look like a chartered accountant. But the moment I became a qualified chartered accountant, I just lost interest in, you know. Always putting on a suit and a tie. I don't like ties, for example. I prefer to wear my suit with, you know, a t-shirt or probably, you know, this kind of shirt you're wearing, right? I hate ties. But I found the confidence to express my hatred for ties when I became fully qualified as a chartered accountant. Because, yeah, I have it. I'm not trying to be it, right? And, you know... Is it possible for people to have strong expertise but weak influence because of their method of delivery? Is it possible for a person to have strong expertise but to have weak influence because of their method of delivery? The message. So there are people who are very, very competent. They have the expertise. There are people who are competent, they have expertise, but their method of delivery of the message is weak, right? So is it possible to have people who have strong expertise but weak influence due to the method of their delivery? And how can they change that? Speaker 2 (22:58) Can I get you to ask the question again? Because I'm getting sort of half of it. It's cutting in and out. I'm not hearing the whole question. Sorry. Speaker 1 (23:09) If you have spent years building real expertise, there are AI companies paying for it right now. Mercor matches professionals to paid remote projects built