Most Britons put on ‘sick voice’ when calling in absent, survey suggests

‘We unconsciously adapt the way we speak to mirror the tone and accent of the person we are speaking to,’ expert says

Four-fifths feel they need to exaggerate because they fear they won’t be believed when calling in sick ( SWNS)

Millions of Britons have particular voices for different occasions, with many putting on a “phoning in sick” tone when calling their boss.

A survey of 2,000 adults revealed that, of these, 79 per cent felt they needed to exaggerate in order to be believed.

Other times people put on different voices includded when playing with children, cracking jokes and telling someone off – while one in 10 even have a job interview voice.

One in four said they had a unique tone they reserve for their partner’s ears only, with 37 per cent describing this as “cute” and 22 per cent cliaming theirs was “playful”.

Embarrassingly, nearly half (49 per cent) said they had accidentally allowed their private voices to slip out in public.

Britons were most likely to bring out these unique voices for pets and babies, apparently believing it will help them be understood.

The research was commissioned by Jakemans.

Vocal expert Sue Addlestone said: “When communicating with others, we unconsciously adapt the way we speak to mirror the tone and accent of the person we are speaking to.

“We can also make these unconscious changes in different environments, for example: sounding different when talking to a friend in a pub versus going to a job interview.

“There is a rich variety of vocal tones and accents that people use – and this highlights how powerful a tool the voice is in day-to-day life and how important these skills are in social and work settings.”

When respondents were quizzed on what they believed made a good voice, clear enunciation (37 per cent) and articulation (36 per cent) were the top answers.

The research, carried out via OnePoll, went on to reveal 37 per cent have made efforts to look after their own voice.

Sue Addlestone added: “Regardless of whether you are feeling poorly, suffering with a hoarse throat or a tickly cough, we should take more care of our voices and treat it just like any other part of the body – we use our voice for so much it is important to look after it.”