0341 – Vocal Proxemics

2021.12.07 – 0341 – Vocal Proxemics

Vocal Proxemics

Associated with ‘Human Spacing’ are our vocal proxemics: the kind of voice we use in each Zone. The further away someone is, the louder and less personal your voice becomes. ‘Proxemics’ is a branch of linguistic science which describes the effects of nearness or distance in signalling attitudes.

We all[1] have an inbuilt ‘virtual voice volume’ dial, which we use to adjust our loudness level depending on what we judge is needed. The brain automatically adjusts our projected voice depending on factors such as, for example:

·        where the other person is – next to us on the sofa or down the street

·        how many of them there are – whether we are speaking one-to-one, to 12 people or 200

·        our familiarity to them – in a bedroom or a boardroom

·        ambient noise – a silent street or a noisy nightclub

·        the content or complexity of the message – to give emphasis: “I said NO!”, to whisper a secret

·        our own assertiveness – self-confident people tend to have louder voices

·        the urgency of the message – shouting at someone who is right beside us on a pavement “watch out!”

·        what we want them to think about us – do we want to appear engaging, entertaining, brave or a bully

·        and our own perception of our ‘personal volume’ – we hear our own voice through air passages connecting ear and throat (the ‘eustachian tube’) and also through the vibrations in the bones in our head. So, our perception of our voice quality differs greatly from that of others’.

[1] Nearly all. Some people are not able to ‘read a situation’ and therefore may have a loud voice when engaged in a private conversation, or may speak quietly without picking up clues from the listener that they cannot be clearly heard.

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