hold the room.

Glossary

Vocal fry

A creaky, rattling sound at the end of sentences when the voice runs out of energy. It can make you sound less competent.

Vocal fry is the creaky, low, rattling sound at the end of a sentence, when the voice drops below its natural range and the breath runs out. A little is normal. A lot reads as low energy, and in one hiring study people rated speakers with vocal fry as less competent, less trustworthy, and less hireable. The fix is breath: finish the sentence on the exhale, not after it.

From the lesson

Land the sentence

Then there is the end of the sentence. Statements should land: pitch down on the last word. Uptalk (ending a statement like a question) can sound unsure, and in one hiring study, vocal fry (the creaky, low-energy drop-off) made speakers sound less competent. Breath fixes most of it: speak on the out-breath from the belly, not the throat.

Day 5 · The Voice People Lean Into: How to sound more confident when you speak: pace, pauses, and landing sentences

Where it comes up

Related terms

  • Lip trillBlow air through loosely closed lips so they flutter, like a motorboat, while you hum. It warms up your breath and voice together.
  • UptalkEnding a statement with a rising tone, as if it were a question. It can make you sound unsure.
  • ProsodyThe melody of your voice: how it rises and falls. A varied melody holds attention; a flat one loses it.
  • TimbreThe colour of your voice: warm, bright, thin or rich.
  • RegisterWhether you feel your voice more in your chest (deeper, fuller) or your head (lighter, higher).

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