Anyone hear remember the old Police Academy movies? Remember the black lady who had that soft sweet voice, that almost sounded like she was breathing in helium, and how people would not respect her? Know anyone like this?
I work with a woman who sounds like this, and for a long time I thought she was doing it to play the cute woman game. She always talked softy and even came across to happy or sweat. You know, she sounded annoying with that squeaky little baby voice. One day I was talking to her, and she mentioned that she was in management before she worked where I do. I thought, "how could you get directions from this woman, without laughing or being annoyed." She explained that no one respected her, that they ignored her, pushed her around and when she pushed back they had no problem putting her in her place and quiting. She decided management was not for her. She even went to a speech therapist to try and sound more grown up, less cute sounding and high pitched. It was a genetic things and she is made fun of often. She even showed me how she would try and lower her tone, sound different and how much of a struggle that was. I actually found myself feeling sorry for her. To this day, people make fun of and even hate this woman, as they think it is an act.
Weird, isn't it? Some people just have terrible voices. I remember elders like this too. Giving talks with a low tone monotone, or a feminine twang, or the ever terrible lisp. I feel lucky, at times, to know my voice is pretty normal and sometimes forget how much that is apart of us.
How do you feel about your voice, does it cause problems for you or is it normal?