***Does Your Voice Drop Off at the End of Your Sentences?

If you find that your voice drops off at the end of your sentences, you are probably male. While this problem is not confined to the male sex, it is much more common among men than women.

Why this happens could be for a few different reasons.

1. Fear of Interruption. You are hoping not to be interrupted while speaking, thus you do not pause. The result is that you are losing your air supply and do not have the support for your words by the end of your statement or sentence.
2. Breathlessness. You still believe what your 3rd grade teacher taught you: you should not take a breath until you come to some form of punctuation.
3. Insecurity. You are not comfortable speaking to others and would prefer that they did not hear what you have to say. This is especially true if your words are being directed to those in authority or to those you may not know well.

The difficulty for your listeners is that they catch only half of what you are saying; and, given enough of this, the listener stops listening or they interrupt you. It is as simple as that.

This is also not a problem just for those who are soft-spoken. You may be confident and speak in a normal volume when you begin your sentence. If the last part of your statement is not coming through, however, then you might as well be soft-spoken. Hearing only half of a remark is not quite as effective as hearing the whole thing!

In the above scenarios, it is important to keep your balloon of air filled. Instead of waiting until you are totally spent, interrupt your sentence, take a very quick breath, and then continue on. Waiting until the last moment to try to replenish your air supply leads to tension. And, tension only fuels the fire. You are then in a cat and mouse game continually trying to catch up.

If you are uncomfortable speaking to others and want to make the change, ask yourself what you are afraid of. You may simply not enjoy talking or you may think that what you have to say is of no value because you have spent your entire life being interrupted or being talked over.

If you believe that what you have to say is important, then don’t be afraid to speak up and let your remarks be heard fully. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.