Our voice. The means through which we communicate our ideas, our opinions, our feelings and who we are. Our voice is our emblem and interwoven with our word, the structure of our speech. Everything we say orally conveys not only our own message but through our accent, the tone of our voice, the quality of our voice and our articulation we declare our identity, we convey our mood and feelings at a particular moment.
As soon as we open our mouths to talk, we are automatically judged. Because words are assumptions about who we are. The “evidence” of our intelligence, trust and influence is all inferred from the way we use our voices. Perhaps it is the most critical element in the communication system, because what it does is to create a personal connection between people. How much difference does it make when we control our voice clearly which can result in a successful communication when otherwise it could result in a misunderstanding?
Voice is the means of recognition for people in the media, our favorite artists, our family members, our friends and… our least friends.
Usually, we don’t consider our voice important. We cough and say it’ll go away. Our throat hurts and we still say it’ll go away. Today’s life model requires us to talk on the phone much more and more often in addition to endless conversations at work, with practices leading to misuse of the voice. In addition, we drink less water, we consume more alcohol, we put in full air-condition or heating (yes, that creates a problem too!) and our vocal cords are shaken!
On the occasion of the World Voice Day (16 April) celebrated by all voice-related professionals, from otolaryngologists to speech therapists who invite all of us to take care of the hygiene of our voice, I will just say… You don’t have to be a singer to take care of your voice😊
Photo source: andreapiacquadio (thanks Andrea!)