I have read several articles lately which state that there is a war on how women speak.\u00a0 The premise is this: the goal of criticizing female vocal habits is to silence women.\u00a0 Yes, women have been fighting to be heard for millennia.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not the topic I wish to address here.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to tackle the notion presented in these articles that uptalk (continuing rise) and creaky voice (glottal fry) are acceptable vocal practices in professional communication. While it\u2019s true that both of these habits are typically used by young women, I\u2019ve worked with numerous men who pepper their language with them as well.<\/p>\n
The whole point of verbal communication is to be heard and understood by the people we are trying to reach.\u00a0 Speaking is a generous act.\u00a0 We offer ourselves \u2014 our passions, our ideas, our perceptions \u2014 to others, through our breath, resonance, and the physical act of making language.\u00a0 We literally touch one another with our sound waves.\u00a0 If we wish to connect, we must do everything we can to make it happen.<\/p>\n
In spoken American English, various inflections inform our listeners of our thought structure. These inflections correspond roughly to punctuation.\u00a0 For example, when the voice drops from a high to a low pitch on a \u201c.\u201d, it feels like the final note of a song. This downward inflection, or \u201cend stop\u201d, lets the listener know that you have completed your thought. The brain can then process your idea.<\/p>\n
Upward inflections fall into two categories. One kind let us know that you have asked a question and would like an answer.\u00a0 The other kind, the continuing rise, indicates that you are speaking a series of thoughts. We hang onto your ideas without fully processing them, waiting for the \u201cend stop\u201d to let us know that we are free to think about what you said.<\/p>\n
When the speaker repetitively uses uptalk, the linguistic information becomes confused.\u00a0 I have heard both men and women say \u201cgood morning?\u201d at the beginning of a presentation as if it were a question.\u00a0 If you actually meant \u201cgood morning\u201d, you would use a downward inflection.\u00a0 I have heard both men and women introduce themselves with a question mark following their names, and then another one after stating the topic of their talk.\u00a0 What does this do to their credibility?<\/p>\n
Then the talk begins.\u00a0 With a continuing rise at the end of each phrase, one thought merges into another with no pause for processing.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to write the next paragraph in this way (\/ indicates where uptalk is inserted if you wish to read it out loud):<\/p>\n
I want to demonstrate how the continuing rise\/ keeps us from understanding\/ and so I\u2019ll to try\/ to write a paragraph\/ to show how hard\/ it is to comprehend\/ and so I\u2019ll imitate\/ how the spoken word\/ would be represented on paper\/ so that you can get\/ how difficult it is\/ to process my thoughts\/ and so like I\u2019m trying\/ to complete my thought\/ so that I can finish\/ this paragraph\/ and so it\u2019s like I can\u2019t remember\/ where I began\/ and so I don\u2019t know how\/ I\u2019m going to finish\/ and so I run on and on\/ and I don\u2019t even know\/ what my first words were\/\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n One article I read derided the fact that we need to speak in shorter sentences.\u00a0 It\u2019s true.\u00a0 We do.\u00a0 When we eliminate uptalk, we automatically speak more succinctly. We lose the impulse to connect our thoughts with versions of \u201cand so\u201d.\u00a0 Not only can the listener remember your content, but you can as well.\u00a0 This is how that paragraph might read using the \u201cend stop\u201d (| indicates where the downward inflection is inserted for you to read out loud):<\/p>\n I want to demonstrate how eliminating the continuing rise helps us with understanding|\u00a0 I\u2019ll imitate how the short sentence speaking style would be represented on paper| \u00a0 I want you to get how easy it is to process my thoughts|\u00a0 I\u2019m going to finish this paragraph now|<\/em><\/p>\n In order to make glottal fry, you must hold back your air flow. If you make a small, tense space in the back of your mouth, the tiny stream of air creates a clacking sound in the glottis. There is nothing harmful about making this sound, but its impact on communication is huge.<\/p>\n First, think about sound waves.\u00a0 Although we many not perceive that we are being touched by the voices around us, we are.\u00a0 Air passing the vocal folds creates a sound wave, a tangible vibration.\u00a0 That sound wave is amplified in the bones of the body (primarily the sternum) and the bones of the face and skull.\u00a0 That amplified sound wave travels through time and space and reaches the ear drums of your listeners, as well as their bones and skin.\u00a0 The fullest resonances are created by a steady, supported flow of air and an open mouth cavity.\u00a0 If we really intend to reach the people we are talking to, we let the vibration flow freely.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t, we hold it back.<\/p>\n Second, think about mirror neurons.\u00a0 When the mirror neurons in our brains are activated, we unconsciously mimic the physical behaviors of the people in front us.\u00a0 If you are not breathing fully and freely, your listeners will be holding their breath as well.\u00a0 They may not be aware of how your limited breathing is affecting them, but they will feel the discomfort.\u00a0 Your audience might dismiss your ideas, not because of their value, but simply because they are delivered in an uncomfortable physical way.<\/p>\n Every dialect has a different way of making resonance.\u00a0 Each one uses rhythm, melody and sound patterns in a unique way. Creaky voice and uptalk might be considered as characteristics of an emerging dialect of American English.\u00a0 If this is happening, then they should be honored as a way of speaking, just as all dialects should be honored.<\/p>\n However, in order to be understood by their listeners, speakers often code-switch between dialects.\u00a0 We sound one way with our parents and another with our children.\u00a0 We talk differently with our peers than we do professionally.\u00a0 This is a practical and powerful tool that lets our vocal expression be fully appreciated by the people we wish to reach.<\/p>\n By all means, use uptalk and a creaky voice if all of your friends do.\u00a0 By all means, use these patterns if your boss talks this way.\u00a0 But if you wish to have an impact on a larger scale, or if your organization values a different mode of communication, code switch.\u00a0 Breath fully, resonate, and land your points on your listeners.\u00a0 You will be received in a completely new way, a way that has little to do with your gender and a lot to do with your wish to be heard.\u00a0 Do everything you can to insure that people are touched, moved, and changed by what you have to say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have read several articles lately which state that there is a war on how women speak.\u00a0 The premise is this: the goal of criticizing female vocal habits is to silence women.\u00a0 Yes, women have been fighting to be heard for millennia.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not the topic I wish to address here. 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