Ep. 6: Your Tone is a Jumpscare

Dec 23

This episode is about tone… the thing nobody teaches you, but everyone judges you for. We’re talking customer service voice, baby voice, “she’s the man” voice, bitch voice, mirroring, staying neutral (Switzerland, bitch), and why your tone is basically your boundaries in audio form.

If you’ve ever walked away from an interaction thinking “I didn’t even say anything wrong…” congrats. It was your tone. And/or theirs. And that’s exactly the problem.

The Front Desk Incident (AKA: Are You Okay?)

So picture this:

You walk into a customer’s office. You go to the front desk like a normal human being. You say hi.

No response. No eye contact. No computer look-up. Just dead behind the eyes.

You say hi again.
Now you’re staring into the void like it’s a hostage negotiation.

Then you ask for who you’re meeting and she hits you with:

“I don’t know how to help you.”

Girl… you are the front desk. That is literally your entire personality.

And this is the point: Most interactions don’t go wrong because of what you said. They go wrong because of how it was delivered.

Lesson 1: Your Tone Is Your Reputation

People do not remember your exact words.

They remember:

how you made them feel
how your voice landed
whether you sounded competent, calm, annoying, insecure, or insane

Tone is branding.

Lesson 2: Your Shitty Day Is Not an Excuse

If you care about your career, your tone can’t depend on your mood.

You don’t get to pick up the phone sounding like you’re one minor inconvenience away from arson and then be shocked that people don’t want to deal with you.

A successful person can be tired, stressed, PMSing, or spiritually unwell… and still sound like they have their shit together.

Because that’s what professionalism is: control.

Lesson 3: Sometimes Their Tone Isn’t About You…Pivot It

A lot of “rude” tone is actually just:

mentally elsewhere
stressed
overwhelmed
insecure
dumped
underpaid
or just… socially defective

So yes, you can assume best intentions.

And if you’re smart, you pivot. Compliment them.

Lesson 4: Men Take Everything at Face Value

Women do this thing where we downplay ourselves to be cute or “less threatening.”

Men do not interpret that as charm. They interpret it as truth.

If you present small, you’ll be treated small.
If you speak like you’re optional, you’ll become optional.

This is why tone matters even more in male-dominated spaces:

get to the point
speak clean
don’t perform
don’t cosplay insecurity

Bring what you have to the table like you mean it.

Lesson 5: The Baby Voice Must Die

We need to address the chronic baby voice epidemic.

And no, we’re not talking about “warm professional.” We mean:

“Ohhh I’m sooo sorry… whatever you need… are you suuure…?”

It’s a major ick.
It communicates:

no boundaries
no confidence
please like me
please don’t be mad
please don’t fire me daddy

And men will walk all over you the moment they hear it.

Tone is a gateway to your boundaries.
And baby voice is basically leaving the gate open with snacks outside.

Lesson 6: The “She’s The Man” Voice Also Must Die

On the flip side: You cannot overcorrect and start bro-ing out with men at work.

You are not their bro. You are not a hockey teammate. You are not “one of the guys.”

It makes everyone uncomfortable, including the men.
It’s giving She’s The Man.

You want to show up as:
a powerful lady.
Not a baby.
Not a bro.
Not a bitter HR poster.

Lesson 7: Bitch Voice Isn’t Power… Control Is Power

Some women think rude tone = dominance.

It doesn’t.

Being powerful sounds like:

calm
direct
collected
neutral
to the point

Not snappy. Not condescending. Not emotionally volatile.

Because the real flex is:
staying steady while everyone else spirals.

Lesson 8: Find Your Voice (Not an Out-of-the-Box Character)

Baby voice.
Customer service robot voice.
Bitch voice.
She’s-the-man voice.

These are stock characters.

If we can all instantly picture the voice you’re using… that’s a problem.

You should not sound like a preset.

You need a voice that’s you, but intentional:

warm when needed
firm when needed
neutral when needed
direct always

Final Takeaways (Be Switzerland, Bitch)

✔ Your tone is your reputation
✔ Your mood is not your customer’s problem
✔ Baby voice = no boundaries
✔ Bro voice = uncomfortable + unserious
✔ Bitch voice isn’t power — control is
✔ Mirror energy, don’t become it
✔ Practice by recording yourself (yes, it’s painful — do it anyway)
✔ Find your voice, not a preset

If you implement one thing this week:
start listening to yourself like other people do.

See you next week, you hoes.