Why would anyone want to take a voice stress test? I mean really, who wants to lie their way through a job interview or a meeting with a prospective new boss. You’d rather be honest, wouldn’t you? So why do some people want to give voice stress testing a try? I’m going to tell you!
Computer voice strain tests and voice stress testing are both pseudoscience methods that aim to infer deception from the vocal tension recorded at various points during a phone call. The idea here is that if someone says they have a sore throat, the phone will pick up the tension in their voice and give them a false reading of how their voice is feeling. This is completely wrong. It has been proven that it doesn’t work at all.
To answer the question: “what is a voice test?” – I’d like to point out that some voice therapists may say that it is a valid test to look for when determining a problem. However, there are many doctors and therapists who do not support this practice. For instance, if someone has a case of acute pain in their voice, the doctor will definitely recommend an MRI or CAT scan to discover the exact cause.
So we can see that voice testing is technically a valid way to find out how someone feels from their voice, but this kind of test should not be used to diagnose anything. Still, some people might try it because they are curious. And let’s face it – there’s nothing embarrassing about getting a bit alarmed by your own voice. That’s what makes the test fun!
So what is a voice test and how does it work? You might have heard of voice recognition software or voice synthesizers. These things can be used to take a voice sample and analyze it. It then compares this sample with the database of sounds that it associates with various situations. With enough trials, it learns how different sounds make us feel. It might be able to detect stress, anger, happiness or sadness – just by figuring out which sounds are associated with them.
So what is a voice test, then, if not to tell if your voice is stressed or not? It lets you know how stressed you are and whether you’re happy sad, angry, worried, tired or in a good mood. You can simply take the test and return it to the lab. Then the scientists there will determine what those sounds mean and if your stress level is increasing or decreasing.
Is this the end of the story? Of course not! A voice test can’t determine everything, but it can reveal a lot. For one thing, it’s an excellent way to eliminate self-diagnosis. If you think you’re stressed, you might as well go ahead and tell the truth, instead of pretending to be something you’re not.
A voice test can also be used to pinpoint the problem. Don’t take it too seriously, though. If you tell the truth, the results may reveal that you’re really not stressed at all. If you lie, on the other hand, you’ll probably discover that the voices in your head aren’t actually helping you relax. For these reasons, it’s wise to use a voice-stress analyzer only when you know you’re being tested and only when you need to find out something concrete – like how stressed you are.
Fortunately, you don’t have to wait until you’re actually stressed to find out whether you have low levels of stress in your body. Stress tests can be performed any time you’re naturally anxious or stressed. For example, you may be driving in rush hour traffic or stuck in a jammed elevator. At that point, you should immediately perform a voice stress test to determine if your anxiety is excessive or normal. If you find yourself shaking, gasping, perspiring and having trouble breathing, you’re probably suffering from excessive stress.
The key to performing a good voice stress test is to pay attention to your body language and listen closely to your own reactions. This might sound strange, but there are many times when we ignore the telltale signs that we’re under stress. When we’re under pressure, we tend to ignore the feelings in our bodies and ignore the test.
However, by paying attention to our reactions and listening carefully to our breathing, we can quickly determine if we’re experiencing excessive stress or not. If so, we can take steps to relieve the stress before it interferes with our lives. For example, if we’re driving and become increasingly concerned about how fast we’re going, we can divert our attention to the road and try to relax. Even if the drive becomes unbearable, we can pull over and spend some time on the internet or another relaxing activity. Once we understand what a voice stress test can and cannot tell us, we can use this information to our advantage and get the help we need.