A new to me phrase is “code-switching,” a term I learnt recently about cultural differences in speech. It’s where you switch from one language to the next or adopt both languages at the same time interchangeably. But what about beyond racial culture and language? The culture of your community and who you are actually speaking to? It’s something we all do in everyday situations and in podcasting, you code-switch a lot more than you think.

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Transcript with audio description:

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MARY: Welcome to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice.

<< WOMAN SINGS: Let’s go >>

MARY: Reveal and define your voice to speak your truth through the power of podcasting. And I’m your host, Mary Chan.

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MARY: Hello. Hello. This is episode number 52. Code Switching – Change Your Voice Behind the Mic.

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MARY: I’m going to start with a little walk down memory lane for me. Being in radio school, it was a very practical hands-on approach. I love that. We weren’t in academia. I never really wanted to go to university and sit in a large room in an auditorium and just listen to someone talk at me all day. I wanted to get my hands dirty and to really work on something and flex my creativity skills. So radio school was perfect for me. 

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I remember in high school I always felt kind of dumb alongside some of my very, very wordsmithy and scholarly friends in high school. You know, they’ll use big words, and I’d always be like, Yeah, uh-huh, yeah, yeah, of course. Cool, cool. Knowing full well, I have no idea what they’re talking about. And my voice goes up like that. Like, Yeah, of course. Oh, my gosh. And because of that, those walking thesauruses or dictionaries of my friends, for years, I tried my hardest to stay away from writing, and it felt like speaking was the only way to go, because that way I wouldn’t have to find the perfect word to explain what I’m talking about. I even remember in radio school I was so set against writing commercials. Okay, there is multiple layers to this one, but perhaps on a general sense it’s because I grew up in an immigrant household. So that boiled down to our conversations with our parents to simple, digestible language. Radio was kind of the equivalent of that. There was actually an instructor at radio school that told me something that I’ve taken to heart. Writing in radio or writing for the ear should include words that would be understood by a five-year-old. Ah! Light bulb. This, I thought, was my wheelhouse. But as I learnt more and more over the years, I realized it wasn’t about the words you use and what you said, but how you said it. That was the driving emotion behind the words and the feelings that you create, the feelings that your listener feels. That is what was important. Labels and phrases were usually glossed over by me. I could still convey the meaning that I wanted through simpler language. But I guess, you know, as I’m older, you can still teach an old dog new tricks, as the saying goes. 

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A new to me phrase is “code-switching,” a term I learnt recently about cultural differences in speech. Switching from one language to the next, or adopting both languages at the same time interchangeably. But then I thought what about beyond racial culture and language, but the culture of your community who you were actually speaking to? That feeling was something I’ve known and felt for many years. Yet, finally saw the use of finding the right phrase or word for this particular situation. Code-switching. It’s something we all do in everyday situations, I’ve come to realize. I’m no linguist, like I said. I’m not an academic. But I know that in podcasting you code-switch a lot more than you think. 

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A simple example is when you have a guest interview. Your voice may slightly change versus doing a solo episode. You have somebody else to have a rapport with. Or depending on how well you know your guest, your voice can relax because they’re like good old friends. Or they might tense up if you’re nervous about asking the right questions or what should I even ask next? Or, Am I supposed to cover this? [LAUGHS] What are all the things we were supposed to talk about? Ah! [LAUGHS] On a broader scale, for people who identify as women, specifically, they’ll present a higher octave, usually unconsciously, when speaking to someone with higher authority or wanting to sound pleasing. Oh, that’s my usual thing there. Like my example with my high school friends, Yeah, of course I know what you’re talking about. That big, giant, multi-syllable word. Yeah. Oh. Oh, I did this a lot when I was younger. And yeah, it was a lot to do with the fact that I internalized the little girl. I am small. I have always been the smallest in my class. And to this day, I’m still only about five foot one. And then also the idea of the obedient Chinese daughter from those who praised me about this for years and years and years in my childhood. With that came the baby talk, ugh, I hated that, that high voice speaking that I get as if they’re talking to me like I’m their pet or something. This is something that is fundamentally ingrained in my psyche. Or is it cultural? I still do it now with that courage that I do right after it happens, maybe at the grocery store checkout, medical offices, or making calls to help my parents with government translations and anything official. You know, when I say hi. Oh, thank you. That voice just goes up higher than I would like. I slip into this higher-pitched voice to show that I’m here to help, that I am nice, and that I want to show solidarity. We can do this together. And also gratitude. And in contrast, what about when we go lower? Those lower voices. I mean, we always hear that, oh, the standard, the best strong voice maybe is a nice low voice, but lower voices for women, that can get construed as being the bitch or arrogant, especially if you’re in a leadership position and it’s combined with you giving short and direct requests. These requests can appear cocky, egotistical or stuck up. Our society has placed these unspoken rules about people’s voices. And these rules are changing slowly, yes, but they are changing. I believe we’re all tired of the control other people have over the way we speak. I’ve talked to podcasters who wonder if I can speak a certain way, like, if I get rid of a bit of a lisp that I have, or I say, uh, a lot, or I always end my sentences with kind of like an up-, like a question. A thing that people have coined upspeak. If I change those things, maybe I’ll be able to control the narrative about what people think about my voice. But what if I said you actually can’t control that? There is no control. Oh, my gosh. Okay, hold on. [LAUGHS] Before you get into an anxiety-driven spiral. What do you mean I can’t control that? If you are a type-A like me, a controller, [LAUGHS] we are not magical people with a magic wand who can control other people’s thoughts and judgements. Sure. Yes, we can do our best to sway and influence. But geez, honestly, that’s a lot of mental work. Why is it bad that we have some of these crutches in our speech? They’re built in from the way we grew up, from the way we’ve had to protect ourselves. That is not a bad thing. So instead, what if I said, to be present, stop thinking about the future and what others may or may not say about you and actually feel all the feelings? That you can feel awkward. Because it is. Podcasting is awkward. No one walks around life with a microphone pointed right at them every minute of the day. And then you can also feel confident in all your other feelings. Those feelings could be joy, scared, sadness, exuberance, or even confusion. All of it is valid behind the mic. You can switch it up and you can switch it up behind the mic. And I recommend you do that. [LAUGHS] Being human isn’t always about rainbows and unicorns and perfection and all the happy, happy things. We all have different feelings all the time. And it is okay to show up just like that. 

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Code-switching is important. It shows your shared community, that you are connected, that you feel safe in your speech. Those are valid, especially from marginalized voices. Knowing that code-switching is not changing your voice to suit a certain made-up narrative or standard. There is no standard. Over time, I learned the range of my voice. With this, I can connect and bring people in without having to resort to that friendly or pleasing tones, unless that is actually what I want. You instantly connect through your heart to use your heart voice. These are the changes in your voice that are important. The way you slightly shift from one emotion to the next. We’re all not meant to speak in a lower voice or the same way. How robotic and boring is that? And actually, when you speak in a lower tone all the time, and that’s not your natural tone, it can actually be very, very damaging to your vocal cords and you can physically lose your voice if you’ve used this voice for a long period of time and you’re constantly speaking at the lower levels. It’s not easy on those vocal cords. Your muscles are going to have a hard time and eventually, you’re going to lose your voice. That’s actually really straining after I spoke like that. [LAUGHS] That’s not comfortable, so don’t do that. What I’m saying is find that middle ground to showcase who you truly are, not too high up there, but also not too low down here, but somewhere in the middle. That is your heart voice at the emotional level to be comfortable behind the mic. 

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So your time to share. Tell me at what other times during your podcast recordings do you find yourself uneasy with your voice? What situation behind the mic had you code-switching or do you even hear it in the first place? That’s sometimes the big part is the awareness. That is the key. You don’t even hear what others hear, but you know the feeling isn’t exactly what you want. What shows up when you lack the confidence to actually show up? Share your thoughts. I’d love a voice note so you can send one by heading to my website. Hit the purple Send Voicemail button. Record it straight from your phone. Nice and simple that way. Or emails are always lovely as well. Send feedback to visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.com. In the meantime, I hope you have your heart voice with you when you’re behind the mic next. And until the next time I’m behind this mic, speak with spirit.

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MARY: Thank you so much for listening to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you shared it with a podcasting friend. And to reveal more voicing and podcasting tips, click on over to visiblevoicepodcast.com.

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