The 'Does my voice really sound ...'thread (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

I would say that people's reactions are that it is "worse" when in fact, it's not so much worse as it is different. People are so used to hearing themselves a certain way that any variation is just unsettling and they determine that it is worse. They just don't like it because it's not what they expect.

It's similar to photos. Most people HATE the way they look in photos, but that's because they're really not used to seeing themselves like that.

This is probably getting a bit off topic, but I know a lot of people are thinking "but we see ourselves in the mirror all the time, so it can't be that we're not used to seeing ourselves." - To that I say, we are all used to seeing ourselves in the mirror. This is what we are 'used to' - just like our voices in our heads, we are used to this and we get thrown off when we experience something different than we are used to (or what we expect to hear or see).

They say (and I've seen proof) that both sides of our heads are VERY different. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, we are seeing the opposite of how everyone else sees us. So when we see a photo of ourselves, it doesn't look the way we are used to seeing ourselves (i.e. the mirror reflection). We don't realize that what we are seeing is quite different than what we are used to seeing, so we immediately think we look 'bad'.

Well, that's enough "Mr. Wizard" for tonight.


p.s. There used to be a site where they'd take the right half of someone's face, copy it and flip it around to make the left side. Then they'd do the same thing with the left side (flip it to make the right) and the end results looked very much different. They did an example of Abe Lincoln and the 2 photos looked like 2 different people. That's why I believe that when we see photos of ourselves, we don't recognize the image....it's not confusing to the point that we don't know it's us, but it's just enough off that we assume we just look bad.

 

[MichaelBA]

Wait, so the technology exists to manipulate your recorded voice so that it sounds to you exactly or almost exactly like your voice sounds in your head? This is true?

I mean, people have actually done this and said, "hey wow! I always hated my recorded voice because it didn't sound like me... but now that the pitch has been changed, I finally sound like what I hear in my head!"

Really? This is true?

 

[Bryan X]

I've just resorted to walking around with one of those Darth Vader voice changers all of the time.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I wonder if Peter Cullen ever watches, say, Transformers: The Movie and says, "Damn, I sound like shit."

 

[mylan]

I have always heard that we hear ourselves differently because we hear our voices through our heads, or, more specifically, through the bones in our ears and the resonance of our skull. I can't be more specific but it makes sense to me. I think my voice sounds pleasant enough but I can't stand to hear my recorded answering machine message whenever I call my house and no ones home.
As far as seeing ourselves in pictures, I think we are our worst critic, when we see ourselves in a mirror, we think "hey we're not that bad" but in a photo, nothing short of Brad Pitt is acceptable

 

[Greg_S_H]

When people ask, "Does your voice on tape sound like the voice in your head," I ask, "Which one?"

 

[mylan]

huuuuhuuuu,you said "spank the monkey" huuuuhuuu, that rules!!!