A study published in the journal PNAS (Aucouturier et al., 2015) suggests that slightly changing the tone of your voice may make you feel happier...or does it?
In the study, researchers let the subjects hear their voices in real time and asked them how happy they were. In some cases they didn't manipulate the voices, in some cases they made them sadder, in others they made them sound happier. Then they asked the subjects to rate their level of happiness in that moment.
The results suggest that people listen to their own voices to tell how they feel.
Does it follow that if you make yourself sound happier by changing your voice, you actually will feel happier?
Maybe. The study shows this effect when you don't know your voice is being changed. It could be that when knowing you're doing it on purpose could negate the effect. However, especially since other studies have shown the benefits of purposely changing your posture, it's worth a try.
It's also consistent with what I call the Alter Ego Strategy, which can help you be more productive. Here's a short video about how to use that method--and, yes, next time I'll move the camera farther back :)
