Hey Reader,

Happy Tuesday!

Let’s learn something useful before the internet destroys our attention spans completely.

Your voice is probably BORING.

Most of us talk the same way all day long.

Same pace. Same pitch. Same flat, even tone from "good morning" to "goodnight."

It's comfortable. It's familiar. And it puts people to sleep faster than melatonin and a white noise machine.

That's your “habitual voice”.

The one you absorbed somewhere between third grade and your first job.

You picked it up somewhere along the way, from your parents, your teachers, whoever raised you to be polite and measured and not ‘too much’.

Great for Thanksgiving dinner. Terrible for the audience who ‘counts’.

Here's the thing we all do (and I mean all of us): we think sounding "normal" is neutral. Like it won't hurt us.

But ‘neutral’ doesn't hold attention.

Neutral gets people checking their phones by minute three.

The fix is embarrassingly simple. And a little weird. Bear with me.

Grab a children's book.

I'm talking, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. “Goodnight Moon”.

“Dragons Love Tacos”. Dig through a box, raid a relative's shelf, find one online for free, doesn't matter.

Start recording yourself.

Now read it out loud. Out loud for “Real”!

Children's books are written to be “performed”!

They're big and bouncy and over the top on purpose.

If you can read Dragons Love Tacos out loud and still put someone to sleep, that's a medical situation, and I'm not qualified to help you.

Read it like you mean it. Get weird.

“Over-the-top” is the whole point. You're not just reading, you're training your brain that it's okay to be “expressive”.

That it won't kill you to have a little “melody” in your voice.

Then play it back.

You'll sound more “Alive”! More interesting.

Like a person, not a terms-and-conditions recording.

That shift, from ‘flat’ to ‘expressive’, from habitual to intentional… is what keeps audiences locked in.

It's the difference between a show people binge and a show people abandon at minute seven.

Once you feel it, you can't “unfeel” it.

If you want some real, quick help getting there, I do a free 15-minute call where we dig into what's holding you back. No pitch, no homework, no awkward upsell at the end. Just a straight conversation with someone who's been doing this on Major Market Radio for over 30 years.

(Book your free 15-minute one-on-one with Royce below)

If the timing's not right, no worries…the children's book trick is yours to keep.

Stellar Quotes

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

John C. Maxwell

“Successful people are simply those with successful habits.”

Brian Tracy

How to shut someone UP

After interviewing well over 200 guests On the Air over the years, I've learned a few things.

Boxing promoter Don King would talk forever.

You say "hello." He's off. No pause, no breath, no end in sight.

Just Don, at full volume, filling every inch of available airtime.

The man could monologue through a hurricane.

That's an easy interview.

Example of a hard one? (no names)

A guy who'd won multiple Emmys playing a lead on a soap opera.

You'd think someone who talks for a living would have a little more to say off-camera.

His answers: "yeah" and "that was fun."

That's it. That was HIS idea of “sharing”.

Here's what I know about getting people to actually “Open up”...

Find something they've never been asked before.

Not their resume stuff. Not the thing on their bio page that everyone leads with. A weird hobby you spotted three weeks deep in their Instagram.

An unusual connection nobody else noticed

Social media is a goldmine. I can spend 5 minutes looking at a profile, and find something! If I knew your small college mascot was the “Fighting Parakeets”… I'm using it!

Ask them about that, and they'll look at you like you just showed up knowing their middle name.

Suddenly they trust you. Suddenly they're talking.

Now. The opposite problem, Reader...

How to get someone to shut up.

Some people won't stop. Every sentence becomes a paragraph.

Every answer becomes a detour.

Here's the trick: become "Suddenly inquisitive."

Toss in a question that yanks their brain sideways.

Ask a question that pulls them off the rant and back to where you want to go.

Something like… "Before I forget, I wanted to ask you about..."

or "that reminds me, did you ever..."

Here's why it works: your brain can only handle ONE question at a time.

Ask a new one and the old rant just... stops.

Like a computer that got a new command.

Peanut butter. Creamy or crunchy?

See? You're not thinking about anything else right now.

Use that. Ask a ‘guiding’ question, get them back on track.

These moves work in interviews, sure. But also in meetings, panels, and anywhere you need a conversation to go somewhere useful instead of just... “somewhere”.

Like trying to convince your partner you NEED that boat. 😅

Diversions

Your Thoughts

Quick gut check, don’t overthink this one...

Which would make the BIGGEST difference in your career? Speaking up more in meetings Giving stronger presentations Being better on camera Networking with confidence