Students say I have an annoying voice

[ciao_yall]

Lately I insert a brief interlude or two during each lecture to pose a few easy questions to the group, questions that I expect have enough hooks that they will bite one of them. That way the students have time to listen to each other, and be listened to, so that I'm not the only annoying person in the room. Everyone should get their turn. It gives one perspective.

Seriously, I get tired of hearing my voice, so I think they need a break too.

Really? I can't imagine...

[Caracal]

In-class affect is not trivial, and one's voice patterns and quirks are not irrelevant.

Point in fact: I had to sit in on a colleague's lab/lecture [methods were new to me] and every statement was ended with "Okay?"  In five minutes I was cringing about what was next to be said.  If I cringe, well...  Do the students have a greater tolerance?  I doubt it. 

Then there's the colleague whose lecture door I occasionally pass and always hear an almost constant irritating (maybe I vex easily?) laugh.  Then there are those in a seminar who preface/end each statement with an "Um."  Yes, yes, these are all so human.  And all so fixable IF they know they exist and want to do something about them. But do they?  Dunno.  Should they?  Certainly. 

Teaching at its best is all about communicating without verbal static.  Yes, yes, probably I have something that irks the student in my speaking, but... I do pay some attention to just what I'm saying and how.  Why not for all?  But I can hardly call out a colleague for being a pebble in the audible shoe when speaking.  Can't I?

Sure, on some level, but at the same time we all have a million things that are "not perfect" in terms of our presentation. For me, focusing on the individual parts is usually less important than the broader picture. A lot of this probably depends on personality, but if I get really focused on exactly how I'm talking in class or which filler words I use, that doesn't lend itself to engaging teaching. I was once told in a mock interview with senior faculty in my grad program that I sounded "both bored and hostile." I wasn't bored or hostile, I was anxious and defensive, which starts a vicious circle. I had the same problem in my first couple of semesters of teaching. I'm sure I was communicating bored and hostile with various sorts of facial expressions and verbal signals, but I really just needed to work on communicating openness and enthusiasm to students. (Oddly enough, people who are deciding whether to hire you also prefer that to weird grumps)

I think the ums are sort of similar. I got that comment a few years ago and haven't heard similar things since, I'd like to believe that I've cut out filler words as I've been working on speaking more slowly and precisely in class, but I have to think in terms of general principles like that rather than obsessing about particular habits.