Voice and Emotion Connection: Emotions are the thread, and your voice is the needle.
How times have changed. Not all that long ago I was told not to include the words emotion or trauma in my research study. I did. Thankfully, we are now chatting about this ingenious master regulatory system all over the place.
Our emotions are a complex tapestry of human experience and play a fundamental role in shaping how we see things, what we do, and how we interact with each other. Emotions are neurohormones produced primarily in our hippocampus (brain) and released into our blood stream through our pituitary gland. Our emotions guide everything we do, what we decide, our behaviour, and our well-being. What I find truly fascinating is the significant connection emotions have with our voice, and how this connection serves as a gateway to our nervous system.
Basically, an emotion when triggered, is a complex response that involves many changes in our body – to the way we think and how we feel about things. Every emotional response we have is organised by our nervous system, particularly our autonomic nervous system (ANS) which controls what our body does without us even thinking about it. When we experience emotions, our ANS spontaneously triggers a chain of reactions, from increased heart rate changes and muscle tensions to digestive and voice changes.
Our voice is of course a remarkable tool of human communication but as you can see is far more than that.
Our voice is of course a remarkable tool of human communication but as you can see is far more than that. It holds the expression of how we are feeling about our world. Our tone, pitch, pace, and intensity all reflect our emotional state. When we're happy, our voice tends to rise in pitch, and our words flow with excitement while in moments of anger, our voice might become louder and more forceful, showing how we are feeling inside. This intricate dance between emotions and voice is happening all the time whether we are aware of it or not.
Noticing how we are using our voice brings tremendous benefits to our nervous system.
Noticing how we are using our voice brings tremendous benefits to our nervous system. Emotions are the threads that give sense and meaning to our lives while our voice is the needle that stitches this meaning into our conversations. By building our self- awareness through developing and strengthening our voice increases our ability to respond to situations in our lives with less reactivity, and helps us develop empathy and confidence.
The wonders of our voice never cease!