What Does Your Tone Of Voice Tell You?

You can also find out a lot about how someone is feeling by studying their tone of voice. Even if someone spoke in a language you do not understand, you can find out a little about how they feel and how they think by listening to the way they speak. Now will give you some pointers on how to interpret what someone’s tone of voice tells you.

Your tone and perception

The Laboratory for Instrumental Analysis of Communication at the  Autonomous University of Barcelona conducted a study on tone of voice and perception. They discovered some interesting things and here are some of them:

• A deep tone testifies to maturity  and creates trust in other people. There is also a common tone in commercials.
• If someone has an extremely deep tone of voice, it usually testifies to a dark feeling.
• A strong, confident tone of voice makes you believe that the person speaking is distinct and important.
• Talking in a very low-key tone makes you think that the person has major weaknesses  or is awkward.
• People who have a very high tone of voice do not convey much credibility.

The voice is such a personal detail that it is now being used as a way to confirm identity  to give people access to their technology. This is also valid evidence in a trial. The voice is just as reliable (if not more so) as a fingerprint.

Other interesting facts

Psychologists have tried to identify the hidden meaning of our tone of voice. Now we have a huge catalog of interpretations of these small details that most of us just overlook. Let’s look at some of them.

Breathing

The way someone breathes while talking can give a clue about the pace at which they live their lives. 

• Calm: a very balanced person speaks.
• Deep and constant: energy and activity.
• Deep, constant and strong: pent-up anger.
• Superficial: a lack of practical thinking.
• In short: anxiety and restlessness.

Volume

This generally defines  how someone interacts with themselves and others: 

• Normal: self-control and the ability to listen.
• Loud: weakness, self-obsession and impatience.
• Low: little experience and inhibitions.

Articulation and vocalization

Vocalization  has to do with one’s ability to be understood  and their desire to be understood:

• Well defined: mental clarity, open to communication.
• Inaccurate: deception or mental confusion.
• Very clear: narcissism, tension.
• Stumbling: aggression, inhibitions.

Speed

This will tell you something about the emotional state the  person is in:

• Slow: lack of interest, disconnection from the outside world.
• Fast: excitement, a desire to hide information.
• Regular: holding back, holding in, unnatural.
• Irregular: confusion, anxiety, breakdown in communication.

Voices and relationships

Your tone is like a stamp. Even if the person you are talking to is not an expert on the subject, their subconscious will receive messages from the other person’s tone of voice. These messages will then create the impression they have of the person speaking.

Tonefall also tells us something about what kind of relationship the person wants to have with someone else. So if they are cold and sharp, they will most likely establish a certain distance. If they are warm and sweet then they try to get closer. Your tone defines the tone of the relationship.

It is also important to point out that  a person’s tone of voice is not always the same,  but there will still be things that are always there. It is these constant patterns that give you the key to someone’s personality or mood.

A good way to increase your own knowledge is to record your own voice in different scenarios and then listen for the hidden tones in your voice. Tonefall is a great tool for communicating and shaping relationships. That is precisely why it is a tool worth learning to use.