ABSTRACT
The lower vocal volume gives us another benefit, as well. Consider this illustration that I use when speaking to a group of teachers about classroom management. I usually ask the group to tell me some of the techniques they use for quieting an unruly group of students. Invariably, through the wide range of responses I receive, somebody in the audience says, “I lower my voice until the only way that the students can hear me is to quiet down themselves.” Usually, this leads others to recount tales of when they employed the same technique and received similar results. In fact, before long, many in the group begin realizing that this is among the best techniques for getting a roomful of noisy children to be quiet again. The fact is that many times a person who is speaking loudly or boisterously only realizes how ridiculous they sound when they have an opportunity to compare themselves with somebody else’s quiet voice. At this point, their loudness becomes much more apparent and they begin to feel a bit self-conscious.
