0969 - The Unnaturally Pitched Voice

 2023.08.27 – 0969 - Unnaturally pitched voice

Unnaturally pitched voice

Symptom: This is similar to the ‘mono-tone’ (but where that is usually a lower pitch, this problem is usually one of being too high), and ‘forced pitch’ (but this is not done deliberately). It's when nerves or excitement (sometimes combined with an undue haste), cause you to speak with too high a tone, away from your natural ‘home tone’. This makes you sound forced and shrill and some may perceive it to be child-like. It may be wearing to listen to, and wearing on your own vocal folds.

Using an incorrect higher pitch reduces your ‘headroom’ and so makes proper intonation difficult.

Prescription:

·        Relax and slow down.

·        Better breathing and breath control will help steady nerves and instil confidence

·        See advice on ‘a nervous voice’ and listen to episode 210 ‘Michael Caine on How Your Voice Pitch Can Be Affected By Nerves’ and 277 ‘The Nervous Newbies’

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.