Students say I have an annoying voice

[Morris Zapp]

Does anyone else get these comments?  I'm not actually sure what about my voice they are finding annoying.  I watched a bunch of Youtube videos about modulating your voice and increasing the resonance.  I think I probably don't speak from my diaphragm enough, and maybe my voice goes up and down a bit more than others when I'm excited, but I"m getting concerned since I seem to get this comment quite frequently.  Any hints on how to fix this issue?

[Ruralguy]

I get students saying stupid things, that's for sure.

If this doesn't seem to be affecting evaluations, or evaluations are negative, but there are clearly other issues,
then be sure you are focusing on the right thing.

[Parasaurolophus]

I don't get comments like that, but I'm a pretty conventional-presenting dude. Apart from the mohawk, anyway.

A close friend got comments about her northern English accent for a while, until she pre-empted them by telling them, on evaluation day, that she knows she has an accent, and that these evaluations aren't a personal conversation between them and her, etc. She doesn't get that comment any more.

In your case, you might be able to pre-empt them by drawing attention to it, and pointing out that there's nothing to be done about it. It's just your voice, and if they don't like it, well, stuff them. (You may not be able to get away with being rude, but pre-empting could still work.)

Beyond that, I'd say don't sweat it. Not a thing you can change. And to the extent you can, it's not reasonable for anyone to ask you to.

[pepsi_alum]

I get this occasionally on Ratemyprofessor comments but not my formal course evaluations. My overview is that unless students are complaining that they can't understand you (e.g., your voice is too soft or you speak too quickly), it's a totally inappropriate comment that's on the same level as complaining about someone's physical appearance. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

FWIW, I noticed that I got these comments the most when I taught first-year general education classes. It's never come up in classes that for mostly majors or minors. I attribute it to the social immaturity of first-year students combined with resentment about having to take general education classes. Students made a number of weird complaints in those evals that have never come up again at other universities. (It could be that I've become a better teacher in the past nine years, but really, I think it was more them than me). 

[Caracal]

FWIW, I noticed that I got these comments the most when I taught first-year general education classes. It's never come up in classes that for mostly majors or minors. I attribute it to the social immaturity of first-year students combined with resentment about having to take general education classes. Students made a number of weird complaints in those evals that have never come up again at other universities. (It could be that I've become a better teacher in the past nine years, but really, I think it was more them than me).

Probably you and them. I had similar weird comments about my mannerisms and voice in my first few years of teaching. You're right about the social immaturity part, but I think what happens is that nervous, unsure instructors make undergrads uncomfortable. They feel like you don't know what's happening and they think this means they will be penalized somehow. I have as many weird mannerism as I ever did, actually I suspect now that I'm more comfortable I'm weirder, but nobody writes about them in their evals anymore. I think I just seem like I know what I'm doing and they are willing to accept all of my annoying traits as part of my schtick.

[mamselle]

Just from the performance perspective, it is possible for some voices to be less pleasant to hear than others at louder levels. Incorrect projection efforts can also distort a voice and placement issues may make it less appealing as well.

It is also possible to do something about these issues.

1. Those with strongly nasal placement need to redirect the airflow--a simple way to do this is to practice reading aloud while holding your nose. Let go, read some more, and keep listening to yourself.

You'll both begin to hear the difference in the sound quality and appreciate the rounder, more resonant tones your voice is capable of. It doesn't usually change overnight, but you will begin to hear yourself and adjust your placement without a lot of work after awhile.

2. Another issue is vowel production. Vowels carry vocal tone, consonants start and end it, together creating verbal meaning. Holding out consonants like n, m, r, and l before or after a word get in the way of the vowels and make them less discernable.

Closing off final consonants more strongly in particular help the word's meaning to come through better. You should hear a bit of echo when the word ends if you're supporting correctly (not tightening the throat or jaws, but using the lower abdominals to support the diaphragm): the word should "ping" a bit.

3. The parts of a vowel that are emphasized can include or enhance meaning and comprehension as well. Long vowels are dipthongs (long A = eh +ee, long E = ih + ee, etc.) Regional speech patterns come into play here, with some dialects singsonging the two parts of the vowel more than others. Some individuals just go to the "ee" part and hold on too tightly, making the vowel unclear as well.

There are a couple of ways of teaching this; I prefer to hold out the short vowel at the beginning and close back to the final "ee" as late as possible. This lets vocal color have some play before the long "ee" (which goes to the back of the mouth: if you say it with an exaggerated rictus smile you'll hear it getting swallowed) is sounded.

Too much emphasis on the "ee" can also (I think) create stress and tension in the jaw; others prefer to emphasize it in a different way.

But in any case, a voice can be easier or harder to listen to, as well as more or less understandable. It is indeed a personal thing but some habits and learned practices can actually get in the way of letting your own 'real' voice out. So it's not just something to shrug off entirely.

It's always quite possible that students are just having a go at you, but if you even think it might be true, or if you're hearing the same complaint a lot, there are speaking coaches who can work with the kinds of things outlined above, or you can find a secluded place and do some of the work yourself.

You can also listen to good actors (I'm in love with the BBC for exactly this reason) to educate your ear, which will in turn help you unconsciously to shape your voice.

If there's melody in your speech, people tend to want to listen.

M.

[dr_codex]

Just from the performance perspective, it is possible for some voices to be less pleasant to hear than others at louder levels. Incorrect projection efforts can also distort a voice and placement issues may make it less appealing as well.

It is also possible to do something about these issues.

1. Those with strongly nasal placement need to redirect the airflow--a simple way to do this is to practice reading aloud while holding your nose. Let go, read some more, and keep listening to yourself.

You'll both begin to hear the difference in the sound quality and appreciate the rounder, more resonant tones your voice is capable of. It doesn't usually change overnight, but you will begin to hear yourself and adjust your placement without a lot of work after awhile.

2. Another issue is vowel production. Vowels carry vocal tone, consonants start and end it, together creating verbal meaning. Holding out consonants like n, m, r, and l before or after a word get in the way of the vowels and make them less discernable.

Closing off final consonants more strongly in particular help the word's meaning to come through better. You should hear a bit of echo when the word ends if you're supporting correctly (not tightening the throat or jaws, but using the lower abdominals to support the diaphragm): the word should "ping" a bit.

3. The parts of a vowel that are emphasized can include or enhance meaning and comprehension as well. Long vowels are dipthongs (long A = eh +ee, long E = ih + ee, etc.) Regional speech patterns come into play here, with some dialects singsonging the two parts of the vowel more than others. Some individuals just go to the "ee" part and hold on too tightly, making the vowel unclear as well.

There are a couple of ways of teaching this; I prefer to hold out the short vowel at the beginning and close back to the final "ee" as late as possible. This lets vocal color have some play before the long "ee" (which goes to the back of the mouth: if you say it with an exaggerated rictus smile you'll hear it getting swallowed) is sounded.

Too much emphasis on the "ee" can also (I think) create stress and tension in the jaw; others prefer to emphasize it in a different way.

But in any case, a voice can be easier or harder to listen to, as well as more or less understandable. It is indeed a personal thing but some habits and learned practices can actually get in the way of letting your own 'real' voice out. So it's not just something to shrug off entirely.

It's always quite possible that students are just having a go at you, but if you even think it might be true, or if you're hearing the same complaint a lot, there are speaking coaches who can work with the kinds of things outlined above, or you can find a secluded place and do some of the work yourself.

You can also listen to good actors (I'm in love with the BBC for exactly this reason) to educate your ear, which will in turn help you unconsciously to shape your voice.

If there's melody in your speech, people tend to want to listen.

M.

Super helpful! More information than I'd ever heard in an answer to this question, and I'll have to practice it.

OP, the standard advice is to record yourself, and hear how it sounds outside your own head. Video is even better, since there's a lot of non-verbal communication, as well as "blocking" that can impede speech.

My mentor advocated for actor / voice training. He was a semi-professional, and knew the value of that training.

dc

[mahagonny]

I get students saying stupid things, that's for sure.

Having specific questions that direct students to think about valid criteria, e.g. 'the instructor is organized' 'the instructor made expectations clear' 'this class meets regularly at the designated time' and such are things that our union agrees to. I wish they would be able to eliminate the additional comments part, where the student is invited to sound off on any impression of the instructor's persona, appearance, etc. that may be floating around somewhere in their brain. Without the requirement that it be relevant to teaching.
I suspect this particular complaint (annoying voice) is said more often to or about female teachers and if so provides us an opportunity to sound off against student evaluations of faculty. Talk about treating the apprentice like a consumer! Being in college should mean that you are interested in going to the effort to learn under acceptably pleasant conditions, not ideal ones. If someone said 'you might work on vocal quality for increased projection' that might be valid. When a person says 'you're annoying me' they are abusing the evaluation process. Then again, we should expect that abuse if we don't prohibit.

Super helpful! More information than I'd ever heard in an answer to this question, and I'll have to practice it.

It can bring improvement, and obviously Mamselle knows her stuff, but a person who starts out sounding like Gilbert Gottfried will not end up sounding like Mel Torme.

[Caracal]

OP, the standard advice is to record yourself, and hear how it sounds outside your own head. Video is even better, since there's a lot of non-verbal communication, as well as "blocking" that can impede speech.


dc

Ack! This advice is obviously meant for people with greater self confidence who don't cringe every time they hear their voicemail message.
If you're a newish instructor, this is the last thing you should worry about, and in fact, worrying about it is going to hurt more than help.

Think about it like this. Can you think of anybody you know who you like or respect, but whose voice you would describe as annoying or off-putting? Now think of someone whose voice you do find annoying? Is the voice your main complaint about this person?

The sound of someone's voice is one of those things that people only complain about once they have decided they don't like you. I'm guessing you don't have students saying "Great instructor, I learned a lot in this class, but he did have a weird voice." That isn't to say there's necessarily nothing you can do about vocal stuff, but most of it is editing around the edges rather than trying to "fix" the way you speak. I talk fast anyway and that increases when I get nervous. I've figured out over the years how to slow myself down when I teach and now it is just a button I turn on and off without even thinking about it.

[adel9216]

Wow. As a student, I never understood why fellow students make these types of comments to instructors and professors. It's not constructive, it has nothing to do with the content of the course and competency as a professor. This is just a stupid and rude comment. Most of us tend to forget that professors and instructors are human beings. I'm sorry someone told you this, and it is probably not even true or accurate!

[Hegemony]

Do they give any hints as to what they purport to object to?  How do they phrase it?

I have a friend who's always getting objections to her voice in her evaluations.  On the one hand, objecting to an instructor's voice is trivial and ridiculous, and especially objectionable when leveled at women, as if women are not "performing" well enough.  On the other hand, I get what the students mean, because I also find my friend's voice troublesome.  She speaks in a high-pitched little-girl voice, like someone on "Saturday Night Live" trying to imitate a four-year-old.  She has some of the wording of that persona too — it occasionally verges on baby-talk. I get why she probably does this — undoubtedly it makes her seem less threatening, and women are pressured to appear unthreatening.  But I have to say it is indeed very distinctive and noticeable.  This experience of students mentioning something real is the only thing that makes me think that students' complaints about voices shouldn't automatically be dismissed out of hand.  But if none of your colleagues can tell why the students are making a fuss, then it's probably a peculiar student thing and can be ignored, with a private roll of the eyes.

[mahagonny]

Do they give any hints as to what they purport to object to?  How do they phrase it?

I have a friend who's always getting objections to her voice in her evaluations.  On the one hand, objecting to an instructor's voice is trivial and ridiculous, and especially objectionable when leveled at women, as if women are not "performing" well enough.  On the other hand, I get what the students mean, because I also find my friend's voice troublesome.  She speaks in a high-pitched little-girl voice, like someone on "Saturday Night Live" trying to imitate a four-year-old.  She has some of the wording of that persona too — it occasionally verges on baby-talk. I get why she probably does this — undoubtedly it makes her seem less threatening, and women are pressured to appear unthreatening.  But I have to say it is indeed very distinctive and noticeable. This experience of students mentioning something real is the only thing that makes me think that students' complaints about voices shouldn't automatically be dismissed out of hand.  But if none of your colleagues can tell why the students are making a fuss, then it's probably a peculiar student thing and can be ignored, with a private roll of the eyes.

Available thought processes, and why you choose that thought process:

1. No, they shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, because students have the option to choose the section they enroll in according to which instructor they'll be getting, and if they're not choosing your section, you may lose work and income.

2. Sure, they can be dismissed out of hand unless it's being reported to you, reliably, that people have difficulty understanding what you're saying. That is all you owe them. It's college, not the movie channel.

Especially when

3. You have a union that gives you seniority and you know you do competent work.

Wow. As a student, I never understood why fellow students make these types of comments to instructors and professors. It's not constructive, it has nothing to do with the content of the course and competency as a professor. This is just a stupid and rude comment. Most of us tend to forget that professors and instructors are human beings. I'm sorry someone told you this, and it is probably not even true or accurate!

I agree with you. I wouldn't do it either. But the information is potentially useful, isn't it? That is, if the instructor needs to figure out how to attract more students. (#1 above)

[dr_codex]

OP, the standard advice is to record yourself, and hear how it sounds outside your own head. Video is even better, since there's a lot of non-verbal communication, as well as "blocking" that can impede speech.


dc

Ack! This advice is obviously meant for people with greater self confidence who don't cringe every time they hear their voicemail message.
If you're a newish instructor, this is the last thing you should worry about, and in fact, worrying about it is going to hurt more than help.

Think about it like this. Can you think of anybody you know who you like or respect, but whose voice you would describe as annoying or off-putting? Now think of someone whose voice you do find annoying? Is the voice your main complaint about this person?

The sound of someone's voice is one of those things that people only complain about once they have decided they don't like you. I'm guessing you don't have students saying "Great instructor, I learned a lot in this class, but he did have a weird voice." That isn't to say there's necessarily nothing you can do about vocal stuff, but most of it is editing around the edges rather than trying to "fix" the way you speak. I talk fast anyway and that increases when I get nervous. I've figured out over the years how to slow myself down when I teach and now it is just a button I turn on and off without even thinking about it.

It freaked me out, too. But it was useful. I hated using a microphone when I started lecturing, but I remember vividly the day I asked a class if I needed it; the resounding "YES" was clear. They would never have said something to me, or put it on an evaluation, but obviously I wasn't hitting the back of the room as I had thought. In big rooms, when I had T.A.'s, I'd ask them to signal me if they couldn't hear/understand me.

I'm not naive. I know that sometimes complaints about somebody's speech is coded or sublimated classism, sexism, racism, or xenophobia. But if the comments are not about what somebody is ("Professor X is unintelligible because hu is Chinese"), but rather directed towards how somebody is communicating in hu's job, I think it's fair comment. You don't have to be a great public speaker to be a Math professor, but it sure helps if you are lecturing to hundreds of students in Calc I.

Compare this with student comments that they cannot read work written and diagrammed on the board, or in handwritten comments. Would you feel self-conscious? If you did, would you then try to do something to improve the learning experience?

[craftyprof]

Another vote for asking a trusted colleague to record you - or record a video lecture for students and (the horror!) watch the playback.  I have a dry sense of humor and resting b**** face.  In normal conversation, my personality comes through and these traits have served me just fine.

Watching back a recording, I realized that what felt like over-the-top cheerleader-level excitement to me read as fairly ordinary enthusiasm on the video.  The whole experience with the video was awkward and terrible, but it helped me to see I need to be me but bigger when I teach.

It's like acting for the screen vs the stage, but without the acting part.  It's possible that your perfectly wonderful for the screen/conversation voice is not projecting well for the stage/classroom and you need to consider amplification or some of the voice modulation techniques suggested up thread.  It's also possible that students are thoughtless and needlessly unkind sometimes.

[Caracal]

Watching back a recording, I realized that what felt like over-the-top cheerleader-level excitement to me read as fairly ordinary enthusiasm on the video.  The whole experience with the video was awkward and terrible, but it helped me to see I need to be me but bigger when I teach.

Yeah, I think this is basic to teaching. You aren't going to be able to have some whole new persona or new voice, but you can create the edited classroom version of yourself. Teaching me is more enthusiastic and less sarcastic. I enunciate a little bit more, I talk a little bit slower. Weirdly, I find that now that I've created these frameworks I feel more like myself in the classroom than I do when I was starting off.