Question:
A male friend of mine, aged 30, has a high pitched voice which is making him appear to be ‘gay’, which he is not. It is also stopping him from getting jobs. What can he do about it? Unfortunately he has little money to spend on speech therapy. I would be very grateful for any help you can give this young man.
Answer:
Lowering the pitch of the voice has to be done only if it is healthy and appropriate for the voice, and then it must be worked at very carefully. One has to learn what is causing the voice to be too high and the correction for the issue would be different in each case.
Generally, having an energized posture and body, a robust breath cycle, pure and precise phonation, and full resonance, especially in the chest, are components of a rich voice.
Your friend really needs to find a voice coach or speech therapist who will work with him and allow him to record the exercises so that he can practice on his own. You can read my other answers about having a lower or louder voice. You can also share my VOCAL TUNE-UP FOR SPEAKERS CD or look for other audio programs offered by other teachers and coaches.
I will add that discrimination against any group of people because of vocal timbre creates pain for all of us, and the cure for that is not in the voice, but in consciousness.