That is a good question. Unfortunately, for those few who are too loud, it is a big problem which can have serious results.
Recently, a woman wrote to me and told me that she was in fear of losing her job if she did not learn how to speak more softly. A paralegal in a law firm, she was told by her boss that she must do something with her voice or he would let her go.
So how do you know if you are too loud?
- In talking to others, they physically move back from you because you are hurting their ears.
- When family or friends tell you that you’re too loud.
There is a 3rd scenario which may be happening but is something you would not know unless you were told.
- When the person on the other end of the telephone moves the phone away from his/her ear.
The physical reality of speaking with too much volume is that it can be painful for those who are listening to you. But there are a couple of other aspects which you should consider.
- 1. You could damage your vocal cords as you age because you are pushing your voice harshly from your throat and voice box. This is called vocal abuse and it will not go away on its own until you change how you produce your sound.
- 2. Others may see you as being aggressive, overbearing, obnoxious, annoying, and/or boorish. (While none of those adjectives may describe you, your voice is saying something different.)
The best way to stop the loud voice is to learn to use your chest cavity to power and amplify your sound. In doing so, your voice will automatically become softer in volume. The edges, the sharpness will be gone. Not only will your volume become ‘normal’ but you will also find that your voice sounds richer, warmer, deeper, and more mature in quality. It is truly amazing to hear the difference when you discover your ‘real’ voice.
Another benefit of learning how to power your voice correctly is that you will be able to increase volume without shouting and without hurting your listeners’ ears. It is called projection and is important for those occasions when you need to speak with more volume; i.e. calling to someone in another room or rooting for your favorite sports team.
Don’t ignore a loud voice. It is most unpleasant for your listeners and is possibly labeling you unfairly.
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Watch Angelina’s ‘before & after’ video clip at Voice Dynamic and notice how much warmer her voice sounds in the ‘after.’ Before her training, Angelina had a voice that was often too loud.