Voice Chameleon

I find it a weird phenomenon how I always adopt the same tone of voice with people to whom I'm speaking - even if it's not anything like my actual voice.

I'd like to think I'm a pretty even-toned speaker. I don't have a super high, valley-girl-cheerful voice, nor is it deep and depressing. It's non-descript. But whenever I'm speaking to customers, I seem to take on this sugar sweet, butter-wouldn't-melt voice that, when I leave them, makes me wonder how they didn't punch me out of annoyance. Same goes for co-workers - part of me wonders if they think that I'm a total bullshitter who talks to them in super sweet way, but who is totally faking it. Mostly because I usually think that of other people. The thing is with me, though, is if I don't like you, my voice and face show it. It's somewhat of a problem.

My manager has a VERY cheerful voice, and I find that I talk like her when speaking to her face, and then end up thinking, "What the hell was THAT?" after I think about how I spoke to her. At least she's nice, and not annoying. I unfortunately did the same thing to a co-worker at the hospital when I first met him (yes, him) and he took that to mean that I was always that cheerful. I'm not. He is. We didn't get along very well.

The problem with adopting the same voice as the people I'm talking to, though, is that it becomes quite a shock when they find out that I'm actually pretty cynical - and cheerfulness to the point of sweetness drives me crazy. I still don't know why I do it, or how to stop it, but let me tell you - it's exhausting being that happy. I'll take dry and sarcastic any day.

Love,

M