Help! I sound like a Kardashian!

[CuckooCuckooClock]

I did not know what vocal fry was until seeing it mentioned on here and I now realise I do it all the time.
I asked dh and apparently I’ve had a croaky voice the whole time he’s known me - almost 20years.
How do I change it? Has anyone had vocal coaching to change their voice ?
I’m a teacher so I cringe at how many people have been irritated by my voice over the years.
I have not done this consciously - I am not trying to sound like a kardashian - so how do I get rid of it?

Do you really think this is neccessary?
There are things like voice training (speech therapists are helpful for getting information)
What if your nose turns out to be like the nose of sb that iritates you?

What’s the nose of sb?
I don’t know if it’s necessary to change.

I’m not sure if it was vocal fry (never heard that description before) but I used to work in a role which required a lot of (small group) public speaking, so maybe not dissimilar to your teaching environment, OP. Over several years my voice became noticeably croakier. I found that focusing on speaking in a slightly higher pitch helped.

Thanks fantailsfly Yes I have been trying to speak at a higher pitch and it is helping but it feels forced. Did you manage to change the habit so you started speaking at a higher pitch automatically, without having to be consciously trying all the time?

I had to consciously try - but once I started a presentation at a certain pitch I could continue that way easily enough. (I’ve changed roles now so less talking!) Good luck Cuckoo

When you want to change your speech, you need to do lots of mindful practicing, then just let it go. Don't let it make you self conscious during your usual day, but practise in the car, in the shower etc.
Often it's a postural thing, do you tuck your chin back into your neck? There's a character on 'Episodes' who noticeably does that.

Thanks fantails
I will start practicing pickle I do think there’s a postural element

Must stand up straighter too

What is vocal fry / sounding like a Kardashian?

You could pay for a few sessions with a private speech and language therapist. As a teacher, your voice is so important, that it would definitely be worth having a private assessment. A friend of mine permanently damaged his voice through using it badly, and had to leave teaching.

Do relaxation exercises, to relax the neck. Maybe sing and feel the difference when it's all free v clamped down.

Yes that’s one of my concerns littlefish I know lots of teachers end up with permanent damage.
pickle I will try some relaxation. I’m quite an anxious person so I do tend to tense up and clench my jaw. I wonder if that’s related.

Go to youtube.com and type in vocal fry and you'll find it yourestandingonmyneck

The number of people here (island where I live) with vocal fry makes me want to load a gun to be honest, but mostly because it's intensely forced. Everyone wants to sound like a Kartrasian, that's the problem! I find that vocal fry ratio is directly proportionate to the amount of reality bullshit TV watched. Not by you OP personally, I'm speaking anecdotally and geographically where I live it is hugely US influenced.

To clarify, I don't mean being heavily US influenced is a negative thing, I meant the reality TV.