Your Voice Matters Too
I received a letter from a blogger asking what to do about a high, squeeky voice. She said she knows her voice is high pitched and sounds like a little girl but she’s an engineer working with mainly men and has to do something about it before her career is negatively impacted. My first thought was to suggest a voice coach, but I decided to ask my colleague and good friend, Tom Henschel of Essential Communications, for his suggestions. I was happy to see that he too had voice coach as one of his tips but he also had some other good ones for you to consider. You might want to visit his website for other great tips too. Here’s what Tom said:
- There is no question that the pitch and tone of a person’s voice can enhance or diminish credibility. Often people with high pitched voices can catch a brief glimpse of another, deeper voice that lives inside their bodies. For example, when you first wake up in the morning, don’t move any part of your body. Stay relaxed and make some vocal noise. A short hum or a “uh.” Is your voice still “high pitched” and “screechy”? Often not. The relaxation that comes after hours of sleep often allows the vocal cords to relax and produce a sound more aligned with your body’s natural pitch. Hearing this “other” voice will give you a vision for the voice that is inside you.
- People develop high pitched voices for any number of reasons often having to do with socialization and expectations. Striving to relax and overcome years of habits is difficult but can be done.
- Enlisting the aid of a vocal coach often speeds the process. If you live in a metropolitan area, contact a university music department or a professional theatre company; they should be able to put you in contact with a vocal coach. Hypnotherapy often works, too.
I would also suggest that anyone with a high pitched voice consider if this is a developed trait in response to the expectation that you remain a “little girl.” After all, little girls have squeeky voices. Give yourself permission to be an adult woman and see if this impacts the tone of your voice.
People are born with certain vocal qualities. You are either a soprano or not. Your voice is either thin and reedy, or rich and colorful. This is largely due to genetics.
While there is some socialization involved, having worked with many, many singers (being one), I would say that impact is minimal.
Good vocal training can help even out the voice. In this case though, I would NOT recommend a music coach. Singing and speaking are not the same. People tend to sing in their head while the same individuals will speak in their chest.
The key here, is learning how to speak while resonating some of the chest tones. This will make a voice have more command and presence.
Comment by Robin — March 21, 2009 @ 11:00 am