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The power of voice

It is difficult to escape the power of voice: from getting your morning coffee with a cheering “there you go” to hearing the receptionist at work mumbling an unfriendly “morning” can make or break the start of your day. Tone of voice sets moods, shapes how we feel – both about ourselves and others – and, if used appropriately, has the power to influence and motivate others. That is not to deny the role words play in our daily interactions; however, a simple “yes” spoken firmly and confidently will leave a much bigger impact than a shaky, slightly unsure version of it (or how would you feel hearing the latter after proposing to your loved one?).

Our voice gives it away

Voice cues can reveal a range of information about us as individuals: our sex, our age, where we come from, how we feel. Moreover, our voice also adapts to contexts – we might whisper to the person sitting next to us in an important meeting – and it can be used to signal group membership including our ethnicity or social class. It can tell other people if we’re healthy and what we really think about the brilliant idea to go for a run at 6am. In short, by varying how high or low our voice sounds, how loud or quiet we speak, how slow or fast we tell our story, how soft or harsh we utter words, other people can gauge information about us as individuals as well as our intentions. Crucially, these evaluations take place within milliseconds and listeners quickly form impressions about speakers. All of this make vocal cues very powerful predictors for a number of social outcomes.

Please browse through our pages to find out more about how we use our voice, what others pick up when we speak to them, and why any of this is important to you.