Vocal fry may be hurting women’s job prospects

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    (Shutterstock image)

    (Shutterstock image)

    Should vocal fry be put on hold in an interview setting?  

    Vocal fry. It’s a common speech pattern that’s been gaining popularity among young women in the United States. Now researchers suggest that vocal fry may be hurting women’s chances of landing a job.

    But before we get to that. You’re probably still wondering what exactly vocal fry is.

    Think Kim Kardashian or Zooey Deschanel. Both celebrities are known to use this speech pattern.Regular Pulse contributor Bethany Brookshire, of Science News, explains.

    “Basically, you’re allowing air to bubble through the compressed but relaxed vocal cords, creating an irregular vibration,” she said. ” That’s what causes the creakiness of the vocal fry.”

    This recent study recorded 14 people speaking with vocal fry and without vocal fry. Those recordings were then played to 800 people, who were then asked to rate the voices in categories of attractiveness, intelligence, and hireability.

    “It may make you cool among your friends but people in hiring positions do not view vocal fry in a positive light,” she said. “Eighty percent of the time, people preferred the voice without vocal fry.”

    So, should women hold the vocal fry in an interview? Brookshire says it may be more complicated than that. Listen to the audio above to hear why.

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