voice inflection
Speech pitch changes
Voice inflection is the rise and fall of pitch when speaking—the melodic contour that conveys meaning beyond words.
A rising inflection turns a statement into a question.
Flat inflection sounds bored or robotic.
Skilled speakers use inflection to emphasize key points: Her voice inflection made clear she wasn't really asking.
- pitchFrequency of sound
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
- angerIntense hostile emotion
- toneQuality of sound
accent · prosody · speech patterns · joy · phrasing · modulation · emphasis · cadence · volume · sadness · code-switching · register · surprise · resonance · excitement · timbre · sarcasm · passive aggressive
- nonverbal cuesbody language, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture
- verb grammarconjugation, tense, verb form, infinitive, verb tense