To rant about unclear speaking voices on the phone

Allira

I wonder if it's because they use headphones and talk into the built-in microphone?

It could be. I frequently have to ask unknown callers to repeat their words. Mostly they d do willingly, but occasionally they take offence.
Also, often if I have my phone on speaker, the person at the other end says that what I say isn’t clear.

I use hearing aids but really struggle with phone conversations even though i have Blue Tooth aids. Usually I stop the caller immediately and say I am deaf so please speak clearly and slowly. We use subtitles all the time apart from the News. Attending a cinema we only go to a subtitled showing - offered infrequently!

As a hearing aid wearer the most difficult accen to try to decipher is Scottish.
I mentioned this at my last audiology check up and was told that I'm not the only one who has said that.

It's the speed, especially when they are reading from a script which that is the problem for me

I have no hearing issues but do find a lot of actors both on tv and film mumble and it's worse when the production seems to be based in the dark. I find I have to increase the volume by about 50% to enjoy whatever I'm watching.

Diction is terrible in so many films! Often I've had to give up, as, struggling with 'flashforwards' and 'flashbacks', trying to make sense of a film, I haven't been able to understand what they're saying either! Usually it's strong Scottish accents or drawling Americans speaking very quickly. Accents - great! But don't expect those without the accents to be able to understand them! And, yes, I speak Southern English, but, really, everyone does understand that!

I am deaf and I actually say to the person on̈ the other end of the phone that l am deaf, so please could they speak slowly and clearly. I remind them of this if necessary. It is not only unclear speech in my experience, but people speaking far too quickly, too. Subtitles are vital for me; those of you who don't need them and get irritated by them - please remember that we are doing our best by not having the TV on at the volume we would like to be able to hear comfortably, which is why we have the subtitles.

One of my first jobs was as a telephonist, you know, on the old switchboards so you can tell how long ago. We were told we could'nt use our everyday voice, we had to have a telephone voice, because when the voice travels down the phone lines it becomes distorted. So you learned another way of talking on the phone. Today no one does that, they use the natural voice and you can't understand what they say. It's not you. It's a n ightmare.

Allira

I wonder if it's because they use headphones and talk into the built-in microphone?

I think that this is the case. Also the clarity when they use speakers is pretty poor. I have good hearing and if I'm finding them difficult to understand I ask them if they are using a speaker, and if so to turn it off.

Both DH & I wear hearing aids. We use subtitles on TV and also have a soundbox. It seems to make speech easier to understand.

My husband insists our granddaughter and daughter speak too quietly. He keeps telling them to speak up. I know for a fact that his hearing is poor yet he won't admit it.

I'm deaf, so can you imagine my problems, I get fed up of say 'I'm sorry can you repeat that' even when I've explained that I'm deaf, in the end I get fed up of trying to communicate with people that I don't!

Has anyone else noticed that they can hear the adverts pretty clearly? I wonder why!!

I've worked in call centres. The one thing never tested is speech clarity - essentially, the employers (as opposed to the managers and other call centre staff) only care about monetising everything that they can.
eg, you know those hideous prerecorded messages and questions you have to wade through before getting to a real person? They are scraping information which will be used to sell services and may be sold to other companies; the information is rarely if ever passed to the person answering the call, which is why you have to repeat everything. The bottom line driven execs don't care that the bottom level employees get to bear the brunt of the frustrations and annoyance caused, and that there is a high turn over of those employees as a result, which means even worse service.

I don't like to use subtitles as I find them too distracting and I don't get to watch the tv. But I think I'm going to have to turn them on for the Haribo advert with the two Scottish fishermen. I just can't make out what they are saying and I listen so carefully. they mention Nessie and one of them says something about the green ones but that's it. If somebody could give me a transcript I'd be grateful, it's just driving me nuts. Mind you, going by some of the hilarious subtitles mentioned so far I dread to think what AI will make of it

Beats me why you’d want to know!! I loathe the Haribo ads for that reason!

Sometimes the signal is not very good if it’s a mobile phone. I also find I have to take my mobile off loudspeaker or they can’t hear me properly and then I can hardly hear them.

Totally agree - many times they have a script to follow & want to get the words out as quickly as possible and/or they are heavily accented so my strategy is to refuse to talk until they talk more slowly & clearly and I can fully understand everything they are saying - I might be old but I’m not stupid (yet!)

I'm with 'MadMeg' ( even though I consider myself sane!!) I have aids, but still have great difficulty hearing what some people say. I have less trouble when on my landline, but find it harder on my (socalled) smartphone. I do find it's a bit better if I put it on speaker and turn up the volume ( it's taken me several months to find out how to do the latter!)
In particular I do find that there are an awful lot of people at work whose first language is not English, I daren't ask them to speak more slowly and clearly as no doubt I would be accused of being racist.
And in shops etc it seems to me that young people speak very fast and no one has ever told them to slow down and enunciate clearly. Yet again I don't like to say anything.
Perhaps we can start a campaign for CLEAR SPEECH!

I have immense difficulty hearing on the landline, though on both landline and mobile I set them so anyone (but me) can hear - forget foreign accents - I pass them to my DH!
(I do have two hearing aids!)

Sadly I am losing my hearing and find (like many others here) that it can be almost impossible to hear people on the phone even with hearing aids. Most of my family are really softly spoken so I get over that problem by turning on “speaker phone” and holding the phone to my ear. Only problem is I can never have a private conversation without DH being able to hear.
If I speak to someone who gabbles or has a strong foreign accent I tell them I am very deaf and ask them to speak very slowly - if they don’t comply I say “I’m sorry I still can’t hear you” and discontinue the conversation. Genuine callers are usually very patient and helpful.

Crossstitchfan

Beats me why you’d want to know!! I loathe the Haribo ads for that reason!

I want to know just because I don't know and it irritates me every time it comes on. If I know then I could turn the sound off and not have to listen to it. Stupid I know, but it just annoys me that I can't work it out, it's become an obsession now.

I think so, also so few speak in an 'educated' voice , elocution lessons needed for these speakers on the telephone!

Well after 3 cancers I no longer have the blessing of speech. If I could only guess at how many times people just hung up on me - I would be a rich woman today

Keep in mind that some people have speaking disorders and are doing the best they can.

Donna Butcher

How about unclear voices on the RADIO? I like to listen the science programmes and look forward to hearing about the latest book about (for instance) the Big Bang or quantum entanglement. They usually have an author or learned scientist to interview. But, when the interviewee starts talking they sound like Einstein on steroids. And there aren't any subtitles on radio! PS My hearing's fine.