Are You Considered a Big Mouth?

Can the neighbors from a block down the street hear you when you are engaging in a normal conversation or are you capable of making a sailor blush with you’re lude and crude foul language that you unthinkingly slip into every sentence? Do dogs howl for no apparent reason when you speak, other than your voice resembling a fire whistle, or are you capable of making a cat’s hair stand on end with your high pitched squeaky or nasally chit chat? Have you ever noticed how people that hold telephone or radio jobs have sexy, confidant or commanding voices? There is a good reason for this tactic, the company wants to make a profit, and a pleasant voice is easy on the ears as well as nice to listen to.

Your voice is often the first thing that people notice about you, that is if you happen to be speaking. In fact your voice speaks volumes about whom you are and determines how the world hears and sees you. How you use your voice can make others view you as decisive, confident, trustworthy, and likeable or you can appear to be insecure, weak, unpleasant, boring, crude, or worse, dishonest. In fact, a problem voice can easily make or break careers and relationships, because the same people who are meticulous in their manners, wardrobe, and appearance often pay little, if any, attention to the effect their voices have on other people. Hands down, the most annoying sound that can come out of anyone’s mouth is whining, complaining, or a nagging tone.

Other offenders include a high-pitched or squeaky voice. This is almost as annoying as fingernails being dragged down a chalkboard. While a person with a loud and grating voice, often referred to as a “big mouth” could blow out a persons’ eardrums. Highly annoying voices include those that mumble or extreme fast talking voices that lead to hiccups, and the weak and wimpy voice. From hearing a persons voice you can generally tell if they are happy, excited, sad, depressed or angry, but not much can be detected from the voice that comes out in a flat monotonous tone. The most aggravating voice by far though, is the authorative voice. This person knows the answer to everything, and often talks down to you, leaving you with the feeling that you are a blooming idiot, because this type of voice has a condescending tone to it.

Voice and sound are an important part of life or there wouldn’t be so many choices as to how we hear things on so many different products. Our verbal abilities are predetermined by the length of our vocal cords, and sometimes they play tricks on us when we least expect it. We all want to be in control of our bodies, and when our voice shoots out of control with a high pitch at a time when we want it to sound self assured, it can be rather awkward. Luckily, irritating voices can be changed with practice. Listening to yourself talk through a recorder is often surprising. You may not even have a clue that your voice comes across in a particular tone or sound. Nobody wants to be dubbed as a “big mouth”, and being comfortable in your own skin is the key to having confidence. Whenever conversation or talking is necessary, a good clear, pleasant voice is always a people magnet.

If you want to change your voice it takes practice, and lots of it. There are also things that can aid you in changing your vocals. Avoiding vocal abuse is the first step to keeping your speaking voice to a level that other people enjoy hearing. Smoking and alcohol are killer irritants to a clear speaking voice, as is yelling, constant whispering, or talking while you have a sore throat or laryngitis. Another helpful tool for severe voice problems is a voice coach, and while they are expensive, they can train you to control the level of your vocals with problems ranging from high-pitched talking and resonance, to proper breathing techniques for better voice level and control. One thing is known for sure, and that is our voice reflects many different aspects of our personality, and it is undoubtedly what makes us unique individuals, big mouth or not!