Day 8: The Voice, Factors

As mentioned briefly on the information page, Berry believes there are four main factors that influence the voice including environment, ear, physical agility, and personality. Today I am going to reflect on the first two factors.

The first is environment- we are influenced by the sounds and we hear spoken around us when we are a child. The second is ear, or the perception of sound. I believe these two factors are almost intertwined. Some people hear sounds differently - some hear certain sounds more distinctly than others. This then comes into play when you are a child you are listening to the sounds you hear around you. If you hear one sound more distinctly than the other it influences your speech formation. This in time also influences voice.

The reason why I am intrigued by this idea is because I was extremely hard of hearing when I was younger. This plays into the second factor (ear). I could not hear sounds distinctly and therefore, it was harder for me to make these sounds. My mom would speak loud and move her lips very obnoxiously because I was trying to read her lips. This plays into the idea of environment. Another example of environment was the fact that because I could not hear well, I often times would have to sit in the front of the classroom. Because I was in the front of the room, I did not have to speak very loud for the teacher to be able to hear me.

Luckily, my hearing got much better after many sets of tubes in my ears. This post is me theorizing based on some of Berry's prime philosophies. While, I am sure this was not the only source of my struggles with vocal agency, I feel that it definitely played a part in the problem.

I also finally decided to watch one of the TED Talks I found during my research. I thought it was extremely inspiring and went along nicely with the articles I posted a day or so ago.

Sheryl Sandberg's main points were:

1. Sit at the table. She argues that women are constantly underestimating their own abilities and don't negotiate for themselves. You don't get to the office on the corner by sitting on the side of the table.

2. Make your partner a real partner. Share responsibilities in childcare and housework. Realize it is just as hard to be a stay at home dad as it is to be a stay at home mom.

3. Don't leave before you leave. Women start leaning back as soon as they start thinking about having a child. Don't take your foot off the gas pedal until you decide you have to leave. Don't make decisions to early.

Until tomorrow,

Chelsea Janke