How to Control Vocal Fry in Your Presentations

Glottal fry, glottal scrape, laryngealization, glottal rattle, pulse register. All more technical phrases for vocal fry – a low, creaky sound created when air flows slowly through loosely closed vocal cords. Usually occurring at the end of a phrase, studies have found that vocal fry is oftentimes used to express an emotion or to wield dominance. The two sides have clashed in the vocal fry debate. One side insists that vocal fry is an annoying sword which slices the attention of listeners, while the other suggests that it is a personal armor – a decorative piece of the individual’s personality. But the root of the vocal fry debate for presenters comes down to audience perception.

How to Control Vocal Fry in Your Presentations

Source: Susan Sankin, speech therapist,  From Upspeak to Vocal Fry: Are We ‘Policing’ Young Women’s Voices?

An analysis of media appearances by 120 top financial communicators discovered that the sound of your voice is 2X more important than the content of your message. And according to a recent study from PLOS ONE, young adult females who speak with vocal fry are perceived by both men and women as less competent, less educated, and less trustworthy, to name a just a few from the list. So, there is no question that the way you are perceived by an audience determines the ultimate effectiveness of your message.

On the other hand, some studies have concluded that people under 40 years of age view vocal fry as authoritative, while people over 40 years of age interpret vocal fry negatively. If you are giving a presentation to a younger audience, perhaps vocal fry will not be much concern – but use your best judgment when deciding whether or not to consciously avoid it during your next presentation. Always consider the audience’s needs. In general, however, many people negatively perceive vocal fry – and if you present with it, you could be negatively perceived as well. To avoid negative perception from the get-go and to efficiently and effectively convey your message to your audience, try these tips to avoid vocal fry:

Breathe more

Ensure that you breathe prior to talking. Avoid speaking more than one sentence before inhaling another breath. Speech therapist Cathy Sobocan suggests performing breathing exercises such as the exercise described below.

Place one hand on the belly. Take a moment to release your abdominal muscles. Let your breath drop down into the belly. When you breathe in, the belly should expand. Your hand should be able to feel the movement of the breath.

Source: Exercises to Stop Vocal Fry

Other exercises involve connecting your breath to a sound by counting out loud to five in one breath and then listening for crackle at five.

Speak in a higher pitch

Presentation coach Michelle Hakala-Wolf encourages people to practice speaking at a higher pitch to reduce vocal fry. Before your presentation, try practicing certain sentences in your speech – starting the sentence at a higher pitch than you typically start at when talking.  

Exercise self-awareness

Marissa Barrera, a Manhattan speech-language pathologist, says practicing self-awareness can help alleviate vocal fry. For example, record natural conversations, spot vocal fry, and analyze the reason you lowered your register in a particular instance. What emotion were you attempting to project? Pinpointing this out in your daily interactions gives you insight into the method to your perceived madness – laying the groundwork for a seamless transition away from vocal fry.

If you pay attention to vocal fry like you do to the color of your socks on presentation day, audience members will not only perceive you positively, but they will also take your message more seriously. To further harness the power of perception in your favor, explore the following resources.

Why You Need to Avoid Vocal Fry

Speaking Clearly: A Presenter’s Burden

How to Make Yourself Presentable for Presentations

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