I attended a women-only technical conference in the spring and was extremely distracted by a speaker who used upspeak during her presentation. What is upspeak, and why might somebody want to minimize that tendency during a tech talk?
What is upspeak?
A rising inflection is when the pitch of one’s voice goes up. In English, a rising inflection is commonly used at the end of a sentence when we’re asking questions. Upspeak, also known as uptalk, is speech in which each clause, sentence, etc., ends like a question with a rising inflection.[note] “Uptalk.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed July 23, 2019. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uptalk. [/note] The result is that everything sounds like a question.
Who uses upspeak and why?
Yana Skorobogatov, Assistant Professor of History at Williams College, wrote a fascinating article about upspeak.[note]Skorobogatov, Yana. “What’s Up With Upspeak?” Berkeley Social Science. September 30, 2015. Accessed July 23, 2019. https://matrix.berkeley.edu/research/whats-upspeak.[/note] She delves into the gender politics of upspeak, since it’s a trait that’s largely associated with women.
She also writes of a noted female scholar, Dr. Robin T. Lakoff, who in the 1970s was the first linguist who examined language through the lens of gender. It was Dr. Lakoff’s assertion that “The marginality and powerlessness of women is reflected in both the ways women are expected to speak, and the ways in which women are spoken of. In appropriate women’s speech, strong expression of feeling is avoided, expression of uncertainty is favored….”[note]Lakoff, Robin. “Language and Woman’s Place.” Language in Society Vol. 2, No 1 (April 1973): 45–80.[/note]
More recently, actor, writer, and director Lake Bell addressed this topic in the 2013 movie In a World. She describes upspeak as a symptom of “sexy baby vocal virus.” This condition, she asserts, is one of the reasons that women don’t advance in their careers or aren’t taken seriously.
Using upspeak while presenting at a conference
When I heard the presenter at the conference this spring, I hadn’t yet read Ms. Skorobogatov’s article. But I’d seen In a World and was thinking of the scene referenced above while listening to her speech. She sounded like she was requesting validation from us for what she was telling us. It sounded something like this:
“Cybersecurity measures don’t work if companies are unwilling to install patches? Or upgrade legacy systems? It’s important that IT departments keep up with software upgrades? Otherwise, it makes organizations vulnerable to exploits? That could really cause damage to infrastructure, finances, and reputations?”
Are you asking me or telling me?
During her entire presentation, all I could think of was, “Is she asking me or telling me about cybersecurity?” Now, I’m all for vocal variety—speeding up or slowing down the pace of one’s speech, raising or lowering the volume, etc. But her constant upspeak was all I could focus on! Speaking at a women’s conference, she got a bye from the audience. But if she were in a boardroom trying to convince the C-suite to always maintain the latest versions of software, would she be able to do it using upspeak?
I’m not saying that in order to be a tech presenter that a woman has to speak in an artificially low voice. But I think it’s important to remove all barriers to understanding as a presenter, so a distracting speaking habit should be among the first barriers to go.
Breaking the habit
I’m sure a lot of people use upspeak out of habit. By appearing cute and vulnerable, maybe they think they’re less likely to make waves or seem antagonistic. But Dr. Lakoff wrote that this is a learned behavior that women adopt. And if it can be learned, then it can be unlearned.
Your turn
Have you ever been distracted by upspeak? Do you practice upspeak yourself? I’d love to hear about your experiences!
No, I don’t use upspeak, vocal fry, trendy buzzwords, etc. when I talk. I know a few people who do this, and it’s incredibly annoying to listen to. I find myself tuning out the message and focusing on the person’s speech patterns–until I get irked enough to cut the conversation short and make a quick exit before I blurt out something hurtful. I have lately noticed upspeak in print as well. This is the use of a question mark (or a string of them) at the end of a declarative sentence instead of a period. (How on earth do these people find jobs with such a lack of communication skills?)
I realize not everyone is a good speaker or an accomplished writer, but these are all habits that can be improved or eliminated with a little effort and the realization that such pretentiousness impresses no one.
Thanks for such insightful comments. I try not to upspeak, use trendy buzzwords, etc. when I speak. But yesterday I noticed my voice went up an octave when I was thanking somebody for doing me a business favor. It just came out that way!
I despise upspeak with a burning passion! I believe that the rise in its usage can be directly correlated to the emphasis on “feelings” that has cancerously overrun public education.
That’s an interesting theory, Bill. I hadn’t thought about it like that before!
I don’t agree. This type of speech has been around for a long time. It’s not about public education It’s about developing cutesy, insecure speech in order to be safe and to succeed and get what they want as trying to be really feminine despite wanting to be heard by others. I have a naturally deep voice, and I can’t stand women doing it. I want to tell them STOP asking and just tell us what they have to say. I saw upspeak in a commercial just now from a woman who is 40 and who has been on tv for a long time. I have to forward through the commercial if she comes on and I am female. Her voice isn’t super high, but someone needs to show her how to read the script. Is the bath good or not? Don’t ask me, you are selling it!
I see this often in women who are concerned with their looks and how they are received by others. If I give a speech I likely know the subject, and I don’t need to be cutesy or pitch my voice up to be acceptable to the males and not a threat to the women. I want to impart the information, and since I work in a tech field with more men than women I just say what needs to be said. Frankly if I interviewed a woman who talked that way I wouldn’t likely hire her. But I am older and I couldn’t listen to the “valley girls” when that was in style or the other nonsense that has come along. Just say what you have to say and stop being all cutesy. And if your voice sounds like a baby take speech and diction or see a speech therapist if you want to be taken seriously. Ugh.
I just listened to a voice recording I made for work that responded to a prompt to address how I would handle communication with a client. I did notice every sentence ended in up talk. I feel like based on where I live how I talk is normal. I feel like I can agree that I use it to avoid confrontation and indicate to people they have their own choices to make about what I’m saying. I also use it to indicate that I’m not trying to come across as all knowing and express sensitivity for others. I think it’s basically a cultural accent and that people do not judge me for it and if they do it’s their loss because of my status and earned respect I choose where I work. So if up speak annoys you well I wouldn’t make it a public vent. Why bother bashing an entire group of women who are culturally expected to talk this way? Obviously she was not asking you a question and I think you knew that too. maybe just roll with it take what you can use and leave the rest (Period not question mark).
I can appreciate how you might view my essay as a personal attack on you and all women who employ this vocal habit. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am pointing out that by allowing statements to be perceived as questions, we women can cast doubt as to whether we believe our own words, we open our statements up to debate, and we sound vulnerable even when the words convey a different message entirely.
It’s interesting that you point out that some women are “culturally expected to talk this way.” I would ask you to consider what it is about our culture that encourages women to speak as if everything is a question.
There are extremes in the other direction, certainly. Consider the former CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, who artificially and intentionally spoke in a lower register whenever she was in public. In Silicon Valley where she operated, the tech field is dominated by men. I can absolutely see why she believed she needed to sound less feminine and more masculine.
No matter how capable we are, people judge us by the things about us they can perceive: the way we look, our gestures, our voices. These perceptions can either reinforce our messages or they can distract from them.
Aha! As I thought! These affected women might as well ask her audience member or members, “Are you buying any of my Bullshit?”
I just
I think
I feel
I would
repeat…
You are too self-absorbed to understand the problem.
You have just hit on another gender gap in communication. Women tend to soften what they say as part of not making waves….everyone of the ones that you mention are constructs that helps women seem non-threatening to men.
A woman’s ability to seem non-threatening make perfect sense when you consider how quickly men go from extolling a woman’s beauty etc to calling various epithets when the man is refused.
She is not self-absorbed. She is engaging in safety behavior for women.
Sounding insecure and less confident is exactly the opposite of safety behavior. She is reinforcing the perception that women should apologize for having something to say and ask permission when offering ideas in a male-dominated space. What’s next, talking like Marilyn Monroe with a fake breathy voice?
Because they sound like they think they’re BS artists, and dumbing it down as if they’re too stupid to lie to you.
Okay, looking for input. It’s been pointed out that I do the opposite. When I ask a question, I do not raise pitch at the end of the sentence (high terminal), but instead they come off as statements.
That’s very interesting! Do people know when you’re asking questions?
Yes, I agree. I sound almost a angry when I pronounce my words plainly. I come off sounding angry but I’m not, just trying to speak plainly.
Like asking are you believing any of my BS?
Upspeak is maniacal, shreds my eardrums and scrambles my brain. It’s tonal predictability (aside from the nonsensical sound) makes listening to the content impossible.
Just for a moment, imagine your surgeon is saying, “So the surgery went well? And like, we’re pretty sure we fixed the problem?”
Chad Daybells son speaks with this tone.
Not surprising seeing who and what his father is.
Obey without question.
I hate. People that do it sound like morons.
I also wonder if it’s an indication of lying and seeking approval of their statements.