The Creaky Voice Craze is a learned and imitated speech pattern where the speaker lowers the pitch and volume of the voice until it sounds a bit like a hinge that needs a spritz from a can of WD-40. Almost exclusively adopted by “hip” young women, it is bad for the health of the voice and is unpleasant and unprofessional to the listener. Singers use it in pop music sometimes as a vocal styling to slide into a low pitch note rather than hitting the note squarely.
Sounding almost as bad, although not unhealthy, is the speech pattern consisting of an upward inflection or ascending pitch at the end of a thought or sentence. This makes the speaker sound unsure and less than confident.
So, what’s a speaker to do?
Practice. And make sure that you don’t adopt a speech pattern where you are lowering your natural pitch to the point of vocal fry, which is damaging to the vocal cords and vocal folds over the long run. That isn’t “cool.” Make sure, too, that you don’t adopt a speech pattern where all or most of your thoughts and sentences end with your voice going up the vocal scale.
Whenever we introduce ourselves, or make a comment, or state something “for the record” we need to make sure we sound as if our thoughts and sentences end with a period and not a question mark.
Try to vary your pitch. Don’t speak an entire thought or sentence in only one pitch. (which is called a monotone and is boring)
So what’s a speaker to do?
Practice.
Practice saying your name: “Hello. I’m Cissy Rebich.” (Drop to a low pitch at the end to sound declaratory) Don’t say “Hello. I’m Cissy Rebich?” (Raising to a higher pitch at the end, which sounds like a question) Practice your introduction: “I’m Cissy Rebich. We met at last year’s annual conference and I want to thank you for the materials you sent me.” Rather than “I’m Cissy Rebich? We met at last year’s annual conference? I want to thank you for the materials you sent me?”
Don’t forget that your voice is an essential part of your package and just as important as your wardrobe in making a good first impression.
For more information, here is a link to an article published in the ABA Journal with an audio example of vocal fry.