VOICE
The Voice is a great revealer of character. Prof. O. S. Fowler says: "Whatever makes a noise, from the deafening roar of sea, cataract, and whirlwind's mighty crash, through all forms of animal life, to the sweet and gentle voice of woman, makes a sound which agrees perfectly with the maker's character. Thus the terrific roar of the lion, and the soft cooing of the dove, correspond exactly with their respective dispositions; while the rough and powerful bellow of the bull, the fierce yell of the tiger, the coarse, guttural moan of the hyena, the swinish grunt, the sweet warblings of birds, in contrast with the raven's croak and the owl's hoot, each correspond perfectly with their respective characteristics. And this law holds equally true of man. Hence human intonations are as superior to brutal as human character exceeds animal. Accordingly, the peculiarities of all human beings are expressed in their voices and mode of speaking. Coarse-grained and powerful animal organizations have a coarse, harsh and grating voice, while in exact proportion as persons become refined and elevated mentally, will their tones of voice become correspondingly refined and perfected."
Prof. L. A. Vaught says: "Affectionate voices always come from the backhead. Heavy, thunderous voices always come from the sidehead. Egotistical voices come from the crown of the head. Kind, respectful and straightforward voices come from the top-head."
A clear, distinct utterance is held to indicate clear, logical thought, while indistinct, confused, slurring utterance is indicative of careless, illogical and hasty thought processes. Sharp and shrill notes denote nervous tension and lack of restraint, as witness the voice of the shrew or the hysterical woman, or the high-strung nervous man. Self-restraint is shown by calm, deep, forceful utterances. Slowness in delivery denotes slow, deliberate mental processes, while quickness, and "snappiness" in speech, denotes quick, active habits of thought. The cheerful voice of the optimistic person, and the rasping whine of the chronic pessimist, are well known. The voice of self-reliance, and the voice of fear and lack of self-esteem, are easily recognized. The strident, overconfident note of the boaster and vain-glorious person, is easily distinguished from that of the modest, careful, reliable person.
All the several mental Qualities manifest in the voice, in tone, pitch or feeling. The Emotive Qualities give the affectionate voice; Self-Esteem gives the confident voice; Approbativeness gives the voice of affectation and conceit; Combativeness gives the "let me alone" tone; Destructiveness gives the "get out of my way" note; Cunning and Acquisitiveness give the tone of deceit and flattery; and so on, through the entire scale. In studying voices it will help you to ask "What Quality or Qualities produce this voice?" in each case. Study the voices of those whose characteristics you know, and then apply the experience to others whose characteristics are unknown.