Your Annoying Voice Is Yet Another Reason People Don't Like You

As soon as you drop that last ten pounds and get the bump sliced off your nose, you just have to worry about changing your entire sound and then finally, FINALLY, you’ll be okay.

There’s a reason people play to get Carl Kasell’s voice on their answering machine, and not yours. He’s got the smooth voice of a seasoned gentleman, and you’ve got the squawking pipes of a deranged dodo bird afflicted with vocal fry. But never fear, you can change that squeaky, nasally annoyance of a voice into something humans want to hear via “therapy, coaching or feedback.”

I’m just imaging a feedback session: YOUR VOICE SUCKS CHANGE IT.

Basically, that’s what’s happening — well, with a little more decorum. People are paying for these lessons because their shitty friends and intrusive coworkers are telling them their voices make them want to jump off a bridge into oncoming traffic in the middle of a tornado at the eye of the storm.

Raising the issue can be touchy, Ms. Hartman says. Some people become defensive about their voices, saying, “That’s just the way I talk, and people shouldn’t judge me,” she says. Also, sensitive factors such as gender, ethnicity, age and cultural background play a role in how people talk, and so managers should take care not to discriminate against an employee based on those characteristics, she says.

Personally, I love hearing different accents and qualities of voices and if someone’s voice is bothering me, I’ll either move myself or put on headphones. Is this honestly a problem for people? Have you ever been so annoyed about someone’s voice that you wanted to suggest they get vocal therapy? Because I think that might be more your issue than theirs.