How much does voice play into what someone says? I don't mean the English teacher "I want to hear your individual voice in your paper" meaning. I mean actual voice, the audible characteristics aside from what someone is actually saying. Do listeners perceive someone's speech differently depending on the arrangement of their mouth and how it sounds when talking? The question is rhetorical, as of course voice is a crucial part of the message and how it is received by others. I wonder how many people are not listened to or not taken seriously because of how they sound. I imagine there is a lot of ignoring and misunderstanding because someone doesn't sound convincing or engaging. This also has a lot to do with the delivery of speech, but again, this is not necessarily an easily controllable quality. Sometimes people just talk funny, or pause too often, or stutter, or speak slower than others, or have some physical quirk while they talk that might distract or signify a meaning the speaker does not intend. It makes me very pessimistic about our communication skills as humans. We have the right equipment and mental capacity to transfer meaning to each other without any inhibitions, but sometimes we get hung up on things like voice. The message is overlooked because of the medium. I'm sure there are times when this is useful, like when trying to tell if someone is lying or reading subtext that the speaker is not explicating in words. However, I bet that voice obstructs messages far more than it enhances them. Is this a quirk of personhood? Should I be proud to have all these extraneous traits that I can't control? Is this part of being an individual? If people are judging me based on how I do over what I do, I'm not sure I want to be quirky. I want my individuality to be defined by my passions in life, my interests, the messages I sent out into the universe. If the voice I use to do so is more remarkable than the messages themselves, I start to lose the point of talking.

I am a firm believer that silence is golden. It's safe, you don't get hurt, no one can see you. You're just an object, a part of the scenery. And it's a great opportunity to simply let other people make fools of themselves.