Have you ever stepped back and wondered what your voice sounds like to other people?
Your friends and family can probably identify you just by the sound of your voice.
And it turns out, it says a lot about us!
1.
Your Voice Hints At How Social You Are Specifically, people can tell whether you’re
an extrovert or introvert.
Extroverts tend to talk loudly, quickly, and excitedly.
Introverts tend to speak quietly and more slowly.
So if you’re that loud person at a party, you’ll probably find that all eyes are on
you; whereas introverts won’t likely be at that party at all.
2.
Your Trustworthiness Just on word can make the difference between
whether or not someone trusts you.
In one study, participants heard several recordings of just the word “Hello.”
Women said that men who said “Hello” with a deep pitch on the end of the word sounded
more trustworthy.
In the reverse, men said they put more trust into the recordings of people that put a higher
pitch on the ending of the word.
It’s all about that pitch!
Have you ever used a person’s voice to gauge their trustworthiness?
Did it work?
3.
Your Voice Says Something About Your Height!
This may sound bizarre, but if people close their eyes and hear you speak, they can probably
tell if you’re tall or short!
Taller people tend to have a deeper voice, whereas shorter people tend to have a higher
voice.
This is true for both men and women.
Think about your favorite actors and actresses, and compare their voices side-by-side to see
for yourself!
4.
How Professional You Are Okay, let’s talk about up-speak.
Ever heard of it?
Maybe not the term, but I guarantee you’ve heard people speak this way.
Up-speak is a talking trend – especially in North America – where the speaker gives
the end of a sentence an upward inflection.
In other words, people who talk this way make a statement sound like a question.
Those with up-speak sound less sure of themselves and less educated, and therefore less professional.
Something to keep in mind at your next job interview to give you the edge!
5.
A Woman’s Fertility If a woman is at the point in her cycle where
she’s most fertile, her voice will involuntarily take on a higher pitch.
This has an evolutionary purpose, since our early ancestors could use this as a tool to
gauge whether a woman was ready and suitable for child-bearing.
Likewise, studies have shown that a woman’s voice will take on a higher pitch when she’s
speaking to someone she’s attracted to…so pay attention!
6.
A Man’s Upper Body Strength One study had participants listen to male
voices from different countries, speaking their own languages.
The strength of the men who provided the recordings was tested.
The men with the deepest voices scored highest in body strength, specifically the upper body.
Another thing to pay attention to in the dating world!
Again, think of the evolutionary purpose: during the time of early man, women would
gravitate toward the men with deeper voices.
Since they tended to be the strongest, she knew he could protect her, defend their home,
and was probably a good hunter and athlete.
Having a good sense of humor apparently came later.
7.
Your Voice Can Tell Others About Your Health If you’ve noticed a lot of changes in a
person’s voice – the pace at which they talk, the tone and pitch of their voice, or
whether their voice has become quieter – they may have Parkinson’s Disease.
These changes can happen in the voice due to the tremors that a patient would be experiencing.
8.
Your Kindness and Empathy What does your mother’s voice sound like?
Or your grandmother’s?
Hopefully it sounded warm, soft, and kind.
Hearing an adult speak slowly and calmly with a warm tone has a calming effect on children;
and even on pets!
Adults notice this too.
If someone’s voice sounds cold, tight, and abrupt, we might assume that this means they’re
unable to understand the feelings of others.
It’s not just in your head!
9.
Whether You’re a Leader or Not When you feel confident and know what you’re
doing, you tend to raise the pitch of your voice when negotiating or debating with someone.
You would also pay attention to how often and when you’re raising your voice, and
would speak enthusiastically.
All of this makes you sound like a leader, and people will tend to get behind you!
Simply raising your voice and talking over people in a sharp, cold way makes you sound
like you’re trying to cover up your lack of knowledge or experience – not someone
people would trust to lead.
10.
Stress Level If we’re stressed out, our vocal cords tend
to tighten.
This will make your voice sound crackly and uneven.
You might also stumble over your words.
Overall, you’ll sound like you have pretty disorganized speech, which gives off the impression
of stress and anxiety.
11.
Confidence Level A confident person will have a smooth and
steady tone, will keep their volume at a comfortable, stable level, and their words will come out
at an even pace.
Those tight vocal cords I talked about in a stressed-out person will be loose in a confident
person.
This allows steady airflow, so the person will sound equally steady and at ease.
People would perceive this person as strong and confident.
12.
The “Vocal Attractiveness Stereotype” One study found that there’s a correlation
between how attractive or pleasant your voice sounds and how desirable you are physically.
Oh I get that all the time.
Now, keep in mind, these are stereotypes, so this doesn’t ring true for everyone;
take it with a grain of salt.
Maybe a little pepper.
In this study, men who sounded attractive tended to have broad shoulders and narrow
hips.
Women who sounded attractive tended to have narrow waists and larger hips.
What do you think?
Has this been true in your experience?
13.
How Well You Control Your Emotions Talking slowly in an even and warm tone gives
the impression that you’re in control and at ease, a good indicator that you’re perfectly
able to keep your emotions in check.
If you talk too quickly and the pitch of your voice is too high, you might sound hysterical,
high-strung, and anxious.
People will think that you can’t control your emotions, and you’ll sound unprofessional
and sloppy.
14.
The Nasally Voice A nasally voice makes a person sound demanding,
calculating, and cold.
A person with a voice like this is unlikely to be taken seriously as well.
Plus, a nasally-sounding voice is just overall annoying to most people.
If you fall into this category, what can you do about it??
Try opening your mouth wider when you speak, so that your voice comes more directly from
your voice box instead of through your nose.
15.
How Successful You Are Our voices are as unique as we are, but the
voices of people who are considered to be successful have a couple things in common.
Think back to the earlier point about sounding confident.
Successful people’s voices tend to be of a lower, warmer tone.
Their words come out evenly, and their vocal cords won’t be tight.
They’ll speak loudly enough to make themselves heard, but not so loudly they’re unpleasant
to listen to.
They’ll be very aware of their voice and what it sounds like.
16.
How Creative You Are A creative person may not actually talk much,
because they’re daydreaming, people-watching, or thinking deeply.
But when they do talk, they certainly won’t be boring to listen to!
They’ll have a wide vocabulary, and will talk in an excited, animated way.
They’ll have emotional highs and lows, and their tone will match.
Plus, these people aren’t likely to use voice-deception techniques, like lowering
or raising their pitch or tone (as someone lying would tend to do), or playing around
with their volume.
17.
If Someone is Lying In the middle of a lie, someone’s voice
may get shaky and change pitch or tone.
People who are lying tend to speak in a higher tone than their natural, everyday voice.
A liar may also start to stutter, making their voice sound halted and nervous (remember those
tight vocal cords?).
Their voice will not come out smoothly, and they may raise it to try and distract you
from your interrogation.
It may take some voice comparison experiments, but a person’s voice can be a big clue as
to whether they’re being truthful.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
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