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Whispering: a Hidden Truth, or an Open Secret?



“If you want to capture someone’s attention, whisper”.

-TV commercial for Nuance by Coty, 1977


In our everyday life, we use several different types of speech. We, of course, adjust our vocabulary and level of formality when interacting with different people, but there is also much to be said about a more basic, almost primal quality of our speech. By this, I mean the very sounds that make up our language. The way we conduct soft-spoken conversations with close ones, scream out in anger, or, most importantly to this article, whisper, originates from physical aspects – our vocal tract. The anatomy and physics of speech are topics one could dwell on for the entire duration of articles much longer than this one, and rest assured, I shall try to provide a brief explanation of the physical phenomena responsible for the production of whispered speech. However, what will also be examined are the social aspects of whispering and such questions as “How do we whisper?”, “What effects does whispering have on our interactions?”, and “Why do we whisper in the first place?”


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The Whispering Treatment, Everyday Etiquette https://debretts.com/the-whispering-treatment/  Accessed 25 Nov. 2025.


The Speech Apparatus

Many readers are likely familiar with the general structure of the human vocal tract or speech apparatus and the process of voice production. At the anatomical level, the production of whispered speech is mostly determined by the movement of the vocal folds in the laryngeal cavity. During normal speech, these folds move freely over muscle tissue and vibrate. In contrast, whispered speech does not engage the vocal folds in such a way, and they instead remain in place, allowing the air from the lungs to pass through freely, creating the characteristic hissing sound of whispering. In the case of whispering, the vocal cords form a triangular opening for the air to pass through.


Why do we whisper?

If we once again examine the anatomical aspects of whispering, we can point to several involuntary reasons for the usage of whispered speech. Some temporary conditions, such as throat inflammation, are often at play here. Involuntary whispered speech may also be a permanent affliction for those struggling with certain degenerative neurological conditions or the loss of elasticity of vocal cords, coinciding with aging. The social conditions and intentions behind the usage of whispered speech are a topic that has been quite thoroughly researched by scholars of linguistics, phonetics, and sociology. One study on the topic titled “Communication by unvoiced speech: The role of whispering” compiled answers from questionnaires and interviews with a view to illustrating the social motivations for whispering. The most common reasons cited by those respondents who admitted to using whispered speech in public to the question “Why did you whisper in public?” were to “avoid disturbing someone” and “communicate a secret message to a specific person”. It may be deduced that the primary purpose of whispering is to withhold information from a wider audience. Whispered speech, therefore, acts as an essential societal norm in many circumstances. Public communication, schools, and places of worship are all examples of environments in which the two most common motivations for whispering mould our behaviour according to others’ expectations. However, there are cases in which whispering seemingly serves the exact opposite purpose.


From Bob Ross to ASMR

What was meant by the ending of the previous paragraph is that whispered speech often makes its way into acts of communication meant to be perceived by a large number of people instead of just one or a few of those “in the know”. Of course, whispering has other purposes and effects, especially on one’s emotional state, as it can be linked to sensations of tranquility and peace. Nevertheless, what I shall focus on is the aspect of restricting the scope of communication. One example of such a use of whispering appears in the 80s and 90s with the TV show “The Joy of Painting” hosted by Bob Ross. The show amassed great popularity, owing in large part to his soft-spokenness and semi-whispered style of speech. In more recent years, a trend of ASMR videos has been developing, in which whispered speech is prominently featured. It may seem surprising due to the triviality of such trends, but a considerable amount of research has been done on the topic by neuroscientists. In such research, the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is usually defined as a perceptual state or condition induced by (usually auditory) stimuli and characterised by a feeling of relaxation or tingling sensation in the scalp. The presence of whispering in the types of media mentioned elicits two conflicting interpretations. The first one dictates that whispering in this context is used, in spite of the findings of the previous study, to reach as wide an audience as possible. The second suggests that whispering is supposed to create a bond or a feeling of closeness between the speaker and the addressed person. In my view, the question of which interpretation can be viewed as correct depends entirely on the scale at which the phenomenon is viewed. When we observe it from a wide angle, it may indeed seem that the first of the two is more appropriate. However, the interpretation I am more convinced by is the latter.

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Blumberg Naomi, Bob Ross

American painter and television personality, Britannica  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Ross  Accessed 25 Nov. 2025.

In our modern age, increasingly focused on the individual as the primary social unit, the desire for human connection is one that feels more and more difficult to satisfy. Depending on who one asks, this may be caused by social media, competition on the job market, metaphysical shifts in the cosmos, or a plethora of other factors. What is undeniable is that younger generations consistently report high rates of loneliness. One of the purposes whispering serves, both in face-to-face exchanges as well as TV or online content, is also to “confirm affiliation to the addressee” (cited by 17% of respondents in the aforementioned study). I believe that the rise of ASMR-style content starting on a mass scale with such figures as Bob Ross and leading up to the current internet and media climate is indicative of both


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