Judge Cheryl has a soft Geordie accent
First impressions are not as crucial as you might think, in fact it is the pace and pitch of your voice you should be worried about.
Vocal coach, Sally Hague explained that your dialect can speak volumes about your personality and affect people’s perceptions of you.
Unfortunately for many people during the winter season catching a cold is unavoidable but it won’t just be affecting the way you feel it will affect the way you come across to others.
It is hard to feel your usual self when you are ill and now we know that others will look at you differently too.
Sally said that a cold will alter our otherwise unique sound and vocal identity. "Your voice is you. It is a product of lots of your muscles, your posture, your skeleton and your breath.
“We all have basically the same equipment, but we all use it very differently to create our own individual sound - and the effects of a cold on the throat can compromise this.
"You can tell a lot about how someone is feeling by listening to their voice, whether they are relaxed and happy or feeling upset and tense. Often we don't think about what we are hearing on a conscious level but we interpret far more from the way people speak than from the actual words they say."
Quality of voice
The quality of a voice can also shape the way someone sees you. Lower pitched voices are apparently sexier than higher pitched voices.
If a person wanted to come across as authoritative or confident a croaky ‘morning voice’ would be inappropriate as it makes you seem laid-back.
The 'Sultress'
Girls Aloud member Kimberley Walsh has a ‘sexy’ husky voice. The deep voice is associated with a womanly hour-glass figure and this is true of Kimberley who sports womanly curves.
The 'Intellect'
Television presenter Mariella Frostrup has a voice perfectly suited to radio. It is deep, resonant and husky. Men find it attractive and women wish they could sound like her. The low pitch reveals a self-assured wisdom and an intelligent personality.
Pace of speech
Confident people tend to speak more slowly because they believe others want to listen to them.
Rushing over words can make them indistinct and make a person sound more tentative. This is because the words themselves have lost their clarity, we feel the speaker has lost confidence in them and by extension what they are talking about.
The 'Authoritarian'
X Factor judge Simon Cowell has a steady-paced, calm voice which means he comes across as very confident. He's the voice-of-reason on the reality TV show panel and asserts his opinion over the other judges.
Accent
Within the UK we have a wonderful variety of dialects that are now accepted by the public. Our attitude towards regional dialects has changed over time and we have learned to celebrate diversity.
Newcastle accents have a wonderful jaunty rhythm and Welsh accents have terrific energy and tune. Our reactions to them are personal and have a strong effect on one's identity.
The 'Jaunty Geordie'
X Factor judge Cheryl Cole has a warm, soft Geordie accent which makes giving bad news to the X Factor contestants easier to swallow.
Sally’s Top Tips for a voice that's all yours
* Celebrate what makes your voice different and don't hide it
* Try varying the tone and pitch of your voice, experiment with talking more slowly or more animated to reflect other people's voices - this can sometimes help to put others at ease and benefit communication, especially in the workplace
* Use your voice in as many ways as you can - read aloud, sing in the shower, laugh - all will help keep the vocal muscles agile and healthy
* Try to avoid smoking and smoky environments as these can cause long-term damage to the delicate vocal chords
* At the first sign of a sore, painful throat, take immediate action to protect it from further damage. Use medicated throat sprays, which go straight to the source of the pain for fast, targeted relief.
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