Another amazing wonder of the world easily taken for granted is voices.

“If I had a wish, or even a choice; I’d wake up to the sound of your voice; How I miss waking up to the sound of your voice.” – Barenaked Ladies, Sound of your Voice.

Voices come in all kinds of different shapes, volumes, tones, timbres, inflections and intent.  Voices can be the ultimate expression of emotion between us.

Infants and animals respond to voices.  Dogs come when called, babies smile when a familiar voice speaks to them.

We don’t think about how incredibly unique voices are.  Even voices that are fairly similar are still different (for example, Jim and Brian Henson.  Kermit never sounded quite the same when Jim Henson left us.)

Voices are also incredibly changeable.  We can alter volume, tone, inflection for different people and situations.  We can show our “professional” tone, our “caring” inflections, our “emotional” timbre.  We can mix and match for any given situation or experience.

We speak softly and reverently in certain circumstances.  We are boisterous and loud in others.  We can raise the pitch of our voice, alter the volume, and convey an incredible amount of emotion.

How do you speak to babies?  Do you soften your tone, coo at them?  What about when someone gets you steamed?  Do you get loud and angry?  Your voice will change to suit the moment and the emotion.

Voice can convey a sense of calm, a sense of urgency.  Voice can be used to express so many emotions, so many thoughts, in so many ways.

We speak, and we simply let the words and thoughts carry us.  The tone and pitch are often changed utterly subconsciously.  We seldom stop to consider how we will be heard, and how we are speaking will come across.

And yet the tone of voice we use has quite the effect on the person we are speaking to.  We make people feel good, feel bad, feel happy, feel angry, all but altering our voice.

Our own voice sounds quite different from in our heads than when we hear them recorded.  They have a greater depth, a deeper, richer tone than how the rest of the world hears us.  But we still can control them in so very many ways, for many different outcomes and effects.

Something to think about when you speak to someone – how is your voice being heard and processed?

I am MJ Blehart, your whimsical wordsmith for “Wednesday’s Wondrous World”.  Every week I will be sharing a wonder of this amazing world, and I hope you will enjoy the journey with me!

Check out my blog, The Ramblings of a Titanium Don, for more of my philosophical and topical opinions.

Also now available, Pathwalking: A 21st Century Philosophy in Book and Kindle form!