Talking tip #10: Pitch in questions can rise or fall at the end of our message depending on the type of question we ask.

 

In our last post, we talked about pitch in our statements, that our pitch starts low, rises up and down, goes to its highest level on the most important word and then falls back to where we started.  That is the pattern for statements, declarations, opinions and facts.  But what about questions?  Is there a pitch pattern for that?  Well, the answer is it depends on the type of question we ask.

 

Wh questions

When we ask questions to get information, ones that typically start with a “wh” word, our pitch follows one pattern.  “Wh” words  are who, what, where, when, why, and how.  Those are the types of questions we ask to get information or to confirm information we already know.  When we ask questions beginning with these words, our pitch pattern follows along very similarly to that of our statements.  We start low, modulate in the middle, rise up on the most important word, and then drop down at the end.

 

Doubt

In contrast, if we ask questions where we aren’t sure of the answer, maybe where we have a little doubt, our pitch does something different.  Take for example this type of a question “He jumped pretty far, didn’t he?”  If I’m asking that question because I’m not sure or I have a little doubt, I’ll start off low, modulate in the middle, rise on the important word, and then slightly rise at the end.  By doing that, I’m telling my listener that I’m not sure and would like their input.

 

Disbelief

In yet another situation, our pitch will rise up fully at the end of our question. This occurs when we are expressing shock or disbelief.  Take for example the question “Did he make it out of the burning house?”  In this situation, the speaker is asking an emotionally charged question, something where they might be in shock over the situation.  Pitch is rising and summiting on the last word of the question.  Most likely loudness is increasing as well.  This rising pitch suggests to our listener urgency, calamity, this is a really bad and stressful situation.

 

Names in questions

Lastly, if we use someone’s name at the end of our message, like in the question, “Did you really want to go Mary?”, our pitch will rise.  We’ll start of low, modulate in between, and then end with our pitch high as we say the person’s name.  We are asking our listener, through our words and our pitch, for them to respond to us.  Rising pitch in this case also helps to gain their attention and indicate they to respond to us.

 

Our pitch moves up and down, in predictable patterns depending on the purpose or function of our message.  Pay attention to your messages and be sure that the pattern of your pitch matches the intent of what you are asking.

Talking tip #10: Pitch in questions can rise or fall at the end of our message depending on the type of question we ask.

In our last post, we talked about pitch in our statements, that our pitch starts low, rises up and down, goes to its highest level on the most important word and then falls back to where we started. That’s the pattern for statements, declarations, opinions and facts. But what about questions? Is there a pitch pattern for that? Well, the answer is it depends on the type of question we ask.

When we ask questions to get information, ones that typically start with a “wh” word, our pitch follows one pattern. “Wh” words are who, what, where, when, why, and how. Those are the types of questions we ask to get information or to confirm information we already know. When we ask questions beginning with these words, our pitch pattern follows along very similarly to that of our statements. We start low, modulate in the middle, rise up on the most important word, and then drop down at the end.

In contrast, if we ask questions where we aren’t sure of the answer, maybe where we have a little doubt, our pitch does something different. Take for example this type of a question “He jumped pretty far, didn’t he?” If I’m asking that question because I’m not sure or I have a little doubt, I’ll start off low, modulate in the middle, rise on the important word, and then slightly rise at the end. By doing that, I’m telling my listener that I’m not sure and I’d like their input.

Still in another situation, our pitch will rise up fully at the end of our question. This occurs when we are expressing shock or disbelief. Take for example the question “Did he make it out of the burning house?” In this situation, the speaker is asking an emotionally charged question, something where they might be in shock over the situation. Pitch is rising and summiting on the last word of the question. Most likely loudness is increasing as well. This rising pitch suggests to our listener urgency, calamity, this is a really bad and stressful situation.

Lastly, if we use someone’s name at the end of our message, like in the question, “Did you really want to go Mary?”, our pitch will rise. We’ll start of low, modulate in between, and then end with our pitch high as we say the person’s name. We are asking our listener, through our words and our pitch, for them to respond to us. Rising pitch in this case also helps to gain their attention and indicate they to respond to us.

Therefore, our pitch moves up and down, in predictable patterns depending on the purpose or function of our message. Pay attention to your messages and be sure that the pattern of your pitch matches the intent of what you are asking.