If you have noticed that your voice occasionally gets higher then you are probably wondering why.
This post will help you to figure out why your voice will sometimes go higher pitched. It will also try to help you to recognize when it is happening to other people and what it might mean.
So, why does your voice sometimes get higher? We have evolved to adapt our voices depending on the environment. When speaking to an attractive woman both men and women speak at a higher pitch (men also speak more deeply as well). When a woman is speaking to an attractive man she also will speak at a higher pitch. Nervousness and submission can also cause men and women to speak at a higher pitch.
There are actually a number of other things that you would likely be doing differently with your body language when speaking at a higher pitch.
If you can figure out what you’re doing differently with your body it will help you to figure out why you’re speaking at a higher pitch or why someone else might be.
Reasons why people speak at a higher pitch
There are a number of reasons that someone might speak at a higher pitch and each of them would likely come with a number of different clues in terms of the body language being presented.
Below, I will mention a number of reasons why someone might speak at a higher pitch along with the body language signals to look for.
Attraction
Attraction is one reason that you might speak at a higher pitch.
Studies have found that men speak at both a higher and lower pitch when speaking with an attractive woman. Women also speak at a higher and lower pitch when talking with or around a woman that they think is attractive.
It’s thought that men speak both more deeply and at a higher pitch because it shows to the woman that he has an abundance of testosterone while speaking at a higher pitch shows that he isn’t a threat to her.
It’s also said that women speak at a higher pitch around a woman that they think is attractive because it’s a way of showing femininity.
It’s also been shown that women also speak at a higher pitch around attractive men.
If you notice someone of the opposite sex speaking at a higher pitch around you then it could indicate that they are attracted to you.
If they are then they will likely show signs with their body language that they are attracted to you.
These signs include:
- Pupil dilation
- Also speaking more deeply if it’s a man
- Holding eye contact for longer
- Playing with hair with the palms showing if it’s a woman
- Pointing his/her feet towards the person they like
- Glancing towards the person
- Getting anxious when the person is with other people
- Mirroring their body language
- Talking to the person they’re attracted to more than others
- Standing at
a closer proximity to the person - Touching the person frequently
- Touching the person’s feet with their feet
Mirroring
It’s been shown that people begin to speak at a similar pitch to those around them over time. It was also shown that our voices begin to converge to a similar pitch to people that we like.
This means that if you notice that you have been speaking at a higher pitch lately and the people that you live with also speak more highly then you’re probably converging to speaking at their pitches.
It also means that if there is someone that you like that you hang around with frequently, who speaks at a high pitch, then you might be converging to their pitch as well.
When people begin to mirror other people’s voice they will also likely begin to mirror other aspects of their body language.
There are many ways that people can mirror the body language of others but some examples would include:
- Mirroring their posture
- Copying their smile
- Standing in a similar way (ie with hands in pockets or with the arms crossed)
- Dressing similarly
- Walking similarly
- Returning their touches
Submission
One reason that someone might begin to speak at a higher pitch is that they are being submissive.
When people are being dominant or aggressive they will often speak more deeply. If another person speaks deeply back at them then it could be considered an act of aggression. This is why people will often speak more highly when they’re intimidated.
Speaking that way can help to prevent them from being attacked since it can help to make the other person calm down and to conclude that there isn’t a threat.
If it is due to submission then it would also often be combined with a number of other body language gestures such as:
- Showing the vulnerable areas like the neck or palms
- Looking down
- Laughing
- Hunched shoulders
- A stance where the body looks smaller
Nervousness
Another reason that someone might begin to speak at a higher pitch is that they are nervous.
If this is the case, then they would likely start speaking at a higher pitch when something happens that can cause them to be nervous such as being asked a question that they are insecure about.
If they are nervous then they would likely show other signs of nervousness such as:
- Rubbing the face
- Rubbing the nose
- Rubbing the palms
- Tapping the feet or fingers
- Rubbing the upper legs
- Touching the neck
- Pacing
- Fidgeting
- Quivering
- Hunched shoulders
- Crossing the legs and arms
Why people speak with certain pitches
There are a number of factors that can affect the pitch that we speak at.
The pitch that people speak at most of the time will often have a lot to do with the personality and the social standing that they think they have.
If someone thinks that they’re dominant they’ll speak at a lower pitch. This is likely to be because lower pitch noises tend to be made by much larger animals and it implies that they have lots of testosterone. This can help them to get other people to submit to them.
Whereas, if they think that they’re of
Related
What does it mean when someone’s voice gets higher? If someone begins to speak at a higher pitch it would imply that they are either attracted to someone, being submissive, nervous or that they are mirroring the pitch spoken by those they spend most of their time with.
If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.
