Can you frown with your voice? Perhaps in a conversation with someone, you could feel it–that accusing frown. Some conversations are just unsettling, aren’t they? No arguing but just a feeling, a tone, and you know without being told that somehow you have come up lacking. It’s not a good feeling.
It isn’t always what we say, it’s how we say it. I was reminded of that last week in a telephone conversation. After I hung up the receiver, I wondered why I was left with an unpleasant, disgruntled feeling. No harsh words were spoken at all. Or, was it just the way I was listening? Did I expect a disagreement so that was what I heard.
So, I wonder, is the shadow of a frown really in the tone of voice or is it in the way I perceive that tone? Am I already expecting a certain response, so that’s what I hear?
People are interesting and sometimes we are misunderstood. So, I determine to not only watch what I say, but listen to how I say it. There are enough disagreements in this world without concocting one where none is intended.
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