Why do some people talk so loudly?

Wow, Just yesterday I was in a restaurant and placed a "to go" order. The lady calling people to the counter
to pick up their orders had the loudest, strongest voice I'd ever heard! When she called out a name,
I stepped back about six feet! Then she turned to talk to a colleague and this was her natural speaking voice!
Nothing wrong with a tremendously loud voice or anything. It just astonished me, I guess! Not used to it!
 

It seems when we go out to eat that frequently their is one table in the restaurant that has someone talking that has a very loud voice. It is a distraction to everyone in the restaurant, but no one at that table or other tables will ask the person to 'tone it down'...! How crazy is that...present company included?
 
Been There said:
How do you tell a stranger to tone it down, so the people at the next table doesn't hear your conversation?
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:) Not without hurting their feelings, I'm afraid. I know because I've been accused of it., interrupted mid-sentence and told to stop., I'm hurting their ears. Also told to "Stop! Slow down, you talk too fast". Still, I am glad I was told, because it is important. (I'm deaf in my right ear.)
 

I spoke loudly for years at home because spouse was in serious need of hearing aids.......
he finally got some but only wore them when he was out / at work etc ..because I talk too loud.......lol
It took time to break habit........ but if i talk in a quieter voice he asks me to repeat several times or worse yet makes assumptions on what i said ............ evidently he likes me semi ticked off all the time...
 
This is one of those items we pay attention to when interviewing a suspect or witness. If I speak with the person before going into the interview room, I pay attention to their tone and speed of their voice. When we start the interview, it’s usually personal things we may speak about or ask and then maybe a minute or so of conversation before the questions begin.

If the “witness” talks loud and fast, it’s usually excitement and is probably true. If their voice is low and they are speaking slowly with some repetition of their explanation, their statement is taken with a grain of salt. IOW, we need to corroborate his statement. It’s pretty much the same with a suspect, except some can get pretty excited and start pounding on the table, which is suppose to make me believe the person.
 
gruntlabor said:
:) Not without hurting their feelings, I'm afraid. I know because I've been accused of it., interrupted mid-sentence and told to stop., I'm hurting their ears. Also told to "Stop! Slow down, you talk too fast". Still, I am glad I was told, because it is important. (I'm deaf in my right ear.)
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Maybe he should have said ‘please use your inside voice.’
 
I was & still am reminded usually by my wife that I'm loud. Getting used to my latest hearing aid is an adjustment & still learning to lower my voice. Now if my barking Yorkie can learn to give a warning before he gets into his 'Rottweiler' imitation, I might survive the ensuing heart attack.
 
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Roadwarrior said:
I was & still am reminded usually by my wife that I'm loud. Getting used to my latest hearing aid is an adjustment & still learning to lower my voice. Now if my barking Yorkie can learn to give a warning before he gets into his 'Rottweiler' imitation, I might survive the ensuing heart attack.
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Sometimes, for men, it's the timbre or pitch of the voice. I knew a man with a beautiful bass voice whose every word could be understood over a large distance and over a terrific racket. He was not shouting, but was speaking softly.. may he rest in peace.
 
What drives me crazy in a public place like a restaurant is that donkey-like laugh some people have. I love to hear people laughing and enjoying themselves, but when it sounds like it's being projected from a bull-horn and they're doing it every 30 seconds, it gets old very quickly.

The last time we were at a "nice" restaurant, someone was doing that at a nearby table. Another patron must have complained, because I heard the manager speak politely to the laugher about lowering his voice. From the looks of the person, alcohol was apparently a factor in the problem.
 
One of the main reasons people talk rather loud is that they have a decreased ability to hear. People regulate the loudness of their speech, but by how loud their speech sounds to them. If they have some problem, which decreases they ability to hear themselves, (mild deafness, etc) they tend to speak louder to compensate for the loss.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
One of the main reasons people talk rather loud is that they have a decreased ability to hear. People regulate the loudness of their speech, but by how loud their speech sounds to them. If they have some problem, which decreases they ability to hear themselves, (mild deafness, etc) they tend to speak louder to compensate for the loss.
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Yes and no. When travelling in Europe, I had a very plugged ear. At the dinner table, I was talking and could hear myself in my head. It sounded loud to me, yet other people were leaning over to hear me. I realized after that this was probably the problem a friend had, no one could hear her.
 
For a small person, I have a large set of vocal chords noticeably bulging a bit from in front of my neck that can indeed be loud. I might have become a rock singer had I not suffered a pseudoaneurysm at age 20. My hearing except for constant low level ringing noise from rock music as a young adult, is normal.

So in most social or corporate work situations have tended to be purposely aware by habit of keeping my non-emotional voice level down at a reasonable level. In group situations my voice can easily boom if not throttled and am a confident speaker with strong elocution.
 
I worked with a woman a long time ago who talked very loudly. I got a big kick when she told me she once had a job in a warehouse taking orders. She said she did not have to use the intercom system; she would just stand up and yell out the order to the person it was intended for.
 
Been There said:
Interesting topic. OK, so when I was in the military, we had several men come though that were "loud talkers." One reason why this was happening was because some people have hearing difficulties and although, every recruit must pass a hearing test, it's not all that difficult to fake it. Some were sent to a treatment facility for further evaluation and this is how it was discovered men were getting by.

My concern is "Why do some people feel a need to almost shout into a cellphone?" My Colonel was a habitual 'offender' of this practice. I probably told him 50 times that he didn't need to talk so loud. He wasn't a loud talker, except when he was on the cellphone. I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

Also, I dated 3 different women while in Florida. One of them was a loud talker. How do you tell a stranger to tone it down, so the people at the next table doesn't hear your conversation?
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Actually, you can often achieve that by talking quietly yourself. The shouter then hopefully adjusts their volume down too.
 
Lawrence said:
I worked with a woman a long time ago who talked very loudly. I got a big kick when she told me she once had a job in a warehouse taking orders. She said she did not have to use the intercom system; she would just stand up and yell out the order to the person it was intended for.
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I am fascinated at just what big mouths some people really have. I knew someone like that once and she really was a very coarse woman.
Personally I refuse to shout as I consider it unladylike - now there's a term that is old fashioned.
 
My stepfather was a kind man. He had a 20 yr. US Army career and came up through the ranks. He spent a few years as a drill sergeant. He could be very soft spoken, especially if he was talking to my mother or me. But sometimes everything might be quiet with no one having said anything for awhile and he would suddenly roar out something so loud that it would make you jump right off your chair. Usually he would be laughing about whatever he was saying. I don't know if those sudden loud outbursts were from being a drill sergeant or if that ability to be loud just made him extra good at his job for that part of his career. :)

I was never afraid of him but he sure did startle me and embarrass me sometimes. I miss him. He was a very good man and he taught me a lot.
 
gruntlabor said:
:) Yes, but that would have been speaking to me as if I were a child, ie talking down to me. But it would have been okay, sometimes we have to be tough, when we're in the wrong we need to accept and move on..
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I think he made the right choice of not saying anything. I have found that rather than criticize sometimes, it’s best to keep quiet. OTOH, if she was so loud the other table can hear you and if they should look over, it may be time to say something. Maybe use the word “We need to talk lower. We are drawing attention from other tables.” What do you think?
 
Rose65 said:
I am fascinated at just what big mouths some people really have. I knew someone like that once and she really was a very coarse woman.
Personally I refuse to shout as I consider it unladylike - now there's a term that is old fashioned.
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:) Yes, ladylike is very nice, but a good strong set of lungs can be useful in an emergency or in survival mode, so maybe that's okay too.
 
I think sometime it’s cultural. Ever been to an airport and overheard someone speaking loudly in a foreign language?
Dave and I were waiting for a flight to Athens a few years ago. Waiting area was, naturally, filled with Greeks. They all seemed to be talking at once, rapidly, loudly, and nonstop. Not a criticism, just a fact. Thank god for noise cancelling headphones.
 

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