Voice on the phone

[Charlize]

   I am sure many of us have been misgendered during phone conversations.  I know for me it is often the case, while it is rare when visual clues are present.  It used to bother me but less so now than years ago.  I asked a dear friend who is a trans voice coach about my voice.  She said it was fine but it sounded a female after years of smoking (true).  

   The other day after spelling out my name to a woman dealing with an insurance issue and being referred to as "sir" for the second time, i had to act.  "Pardon but it is "mam".  Years of smoking gave ne this voice."  She, apologized, laughed and we had great chats as we completed the work.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

 

[Robin.C]

Thank you, I've been using the "too much throwing up when i was drunk ruined my voice" line.

Has the same effect on people.

At least in Australia it works a treat.

Plus for me its not far from the truth 

Pretty glad to have found sobriety  

 

As they say "Yes Ma'am, thank you for the clarification ", LOL ... narrator: he felt such a dick for calling her a man just coz of her voice. 

 

They are so nice afterwards 

 

Hugs

Robyn

[KayC]

On 9/12/2022 at 11:13 PM, Charlize said:

"Pardon but it is "mam".  Years of smoking gave ne this voice."

That's hilarious @Charlize

[Kasumi63]

My voice has upset me for years, and after a year of unsuccessfully trying to change my voice with voice training, I decided to bite the bullet and have voice surgery. Don’t misunderstand: I’m not recommending this. With surgery, you’ll definitely lose a lot of your range and speaking will require much more effort. If you’re a singer, this option would be a huge mistake. There are also various risks. So there’s a huge trade off.
 

Anyway, the phone has been something I’ve always dreaded, but I never get the opportunity over here in Japan. Even when I do, the other party usually calls me “customer” (there’s no Japanese equivalent of “ma,am” and “sir”), so I never find out how they’re hearing me.
 

Thanks for sharing about how to handle phone situations! Not sure whether I’d prefer being a smoker or a drinker, though!