#brick post

We've got lots of blind/low vision folks in our social orbit, so we've been thinking of more non-visual ways to indicate each of us. Today, I'm starting with voice.

Often voice is listed as one of many indicators of who's fronting or around. Maybe people will mention pitch, volume, or tone, which is great. Let's try going deeper.

I acknowledge that these may not be things people are used to listening for. Hell, we're not. Try anyway.

Let's start with the more commonly discussed ones:

Volume: Loud, soft, somewhere in the middle. Booming, or not.

Pitch: High, low, in the middle.

Resonance: A "head voice" versus a "chest voice." Some who were subjected to such tortures as "choir" at school might be familiar with this. If you're not-- where the vibration is most present in someone's body when they speak.

Tone: Not everyone can pick up emotional vocal tones (hi, autism). Some people have more variation in tone of voice, and others don't. Some may communicate more in tone than words, or more in words than tone.

Cadence: Flat, monotone, sing-songy. Up and down.

Word choice: Blunt, direct, indirect, careful, more or less swearing, baby words or no baby words. More or fewer questions. More or fewer "I" statements. Focus on validation, or advice and problem solving?

How about vocal qualities?

Breathy

Covered/muffled/mumbly

Creaky

Fluttery

Rough

Vocal fry

Clicky

Hoarse

Nasal

Jittery

Strained (like mine)

Pressed

Buzzy

Trembly

Twangy

Irregular

Yawny

How about the speech and breath quality?

Speaks quickly

Speaks slowly

Long pauses between words

No pauses between words

Lots of fillers: "um," "well," "like"

Use of fillers to transition to another topic

Use of fillers to start their turn to speak

Use of fillers to take space before formulating a thought. Example: "Okay but um... (long pause before resuming)"

Shape and direction (don't have better words for it):

Does the sound go in your direction? Away from you? Some other way?

Is it muffled? Something in front of their mouth?

Can you "hear a smile" or "hear a frown" in their voice?

Any quirks in responses? Maybe their voice changes direction when reacting to something you say. Maybe they cover their face when they're feeling blushy or embarrassed. These are things you can hear.

You don't have to be consistent.

It's been easy for me to slip into self-doubt or self-consciousness when I notice my behavior seems different. Lately my voice has been changing, for example, and I haven't really been sure what to do with that. My baseline for where I am in my window of tolerance is different. I'm emoting differently. I've been getting nervous about it. "Oh, am I still me if I don't have my more reserved way? If my voice is different? Am I still me if I laugh more? Am I going to be too much like the others, and not like myself?"

People change all the time. Singular, plural, and in between. People change. Life changes people. Relationships change people. People just become different. It's natural. It's inevitable, even.

I don't need to stick with the things that identified me as me when I first unfolded and became myself. Sure, I'll be sad to lose some of it if it goes away. But I'll still be myself. I decide who I am, if I am myself or not. I'm not an archetype. Not a character in a story whose existence depends on a narrative series of events that guide a beginning, middle, and end. I'm a person. I'm just some guy.

Might as well.

[Image description:

8 Panel comic in black, dark red, and bright red ink.

"That's the thing about filth. It clings. Sticks to you." One hand scrubs the other arm.

Two arms folded over a bare chest, covering it. "Demands to be" The word "seen" is written over one arm. "Acknowledged" on another. "Remade" under the elbows.

"I could peel it off and make all the art in the world. Cover the walls with it." A hand paints the "s" in walls. "Or." Two hands mold clay. "Sculpt it into something beautiful."

A spiky plant and a small flowering plant in the ground. "Sow all the se-"

The panel overlaps and interrupts the previous one. It is outlined in jagged black and grey marker. "There is always more" is written in red, overlapping with grey.

"I shouldn't wonder, 'is this all there is?' So what if it is?" A boy lies back with his arms behind his head. His hair covers most of his face. His mouth is a flat line.

"Despair," written in bright red. "Doesn't change anything." One hand cracks the knuckles of another. Sound effects 'crack' and 'crick' written around them.