President Uhuru Kenyatta has revealed he cringes when he hears the sound of his own voice.
“Every time I hear a recording of my voice I wonder if I really sound like that. I think my voice has a low pitch but every recording proves otherwise.”
Speaking to our journalist, it was apparent he has built his self-image and vocal self-image around what he hears, rather than the reality.
“You’d think someone with a good command of the language would love his voice,” Uhuru revealed he rarely listens to his speeches after orating to the public.
The head of state had to spend millions of taxpayers’ money getting the world’s best voice therapist to explain his cognitive dissonance. Uhuru gave the following reason
When the source of sound is a recording, the sound waves are only received through the air (an external stimulus). However, when the source of sound is the observer’s own vocal cords, sound waves also travel through the person’s body to their ears (an internal stimulus.)
“People perceive their own voice to be the combination of those two sources of sound, but everyone else just hears the external stimulus. This is why when you listen to your voice in a recording, it sounds different than the voice you’re used to.”
“We never actually hear our voice as other people hear it, hence our surprise when hearing a recording,”
The president also mentioned that the quality of a sound recorder can also lead to voice confrontation, the phenomenon of a person not liking the sound of their own voice.
Citizen 250Q 