VOICE

How to stop vocal fry

AI can write your interview answers. Your voice still has to say them. In a 2014 hiring study, the same line said in vocal fry made listeners less willing to hire the speaker.

Vocal fry is the low, creaky sound at the bottom of your voice. Linguists also call it creaky voice or creak, and speech therapists often call it glottal fry. It sounds like a slow crackle, and it often comes on the last word or two of a sentence.

Your voice makes sound when air from your lungs passes between your vocal folds and makes them vibrate. In fry the folds are looser and less air flows between them, so they vibrate slowly and unevenly. Speech therapists at Expressable name the usual triggers, including a low pitch, trailing off at the end of a sentence and running low on breath.

Most people slip into fry now and then, and it's a normal part of the voice. In an interview, what matters is what the person across the table hears.

What listeners heard in a hiring study

In a 2014 study led by researchers at Duke University, seven young women and seven young men each recorded "Thank you for considering me for this opportunity" twice, once in their normal voice and once in vocal fry. Then 800 US adults aged 18 to 65 listened to the pairs. For each pair they picked which speaker sounded more educated, competent, trustworthy and attractive, and which one they would hire.

The Duke team found that, on average, listeners chose the normal voice on all five, for men's voices and for women's. Fry cost women more on everything but attractiveness. Women listeners were harder on it than men. Listeners who had hired or fired staff didn't differ significantly from the rest.

The study has two limits. The speakers put the fry on for the recording, and the authors note it may have sounded unnatural. And each listener heard a single line from each voice.

How to tell if you use vocal fry

To check, record yourself. Answer a question out loud for about a minute, without notes. "Tell me about yourself" works. Talk it through instead of reading a script: a 2020 review of the research found creak tends to be more common in conversation than in reading aloud.

Play it back with headphones and listen to the last two words of each sentence. Mark each ending clear or creaky. A few creaky endings are normal. If you hear it on most of them, or on the words you want remembered, start with drill 1.

1. Hear the difference

Make fry on purpose once, so you can compare it with your clear voice.

Drill: say "Thank you for considering me for this opportunity." and let "opportunity" sink until it crackles. Then say it again and keep "opportunity" clear and at speaking volume. Record both and play them back to hear the difference.

2. Breathe before you run out

Running low on air is one of the usual triggers, so take a breath before you need it. A long sentence on one breath leaves little air for the last word.

Drill: say three sentences about your last job or class, and breathe in before each one. If you're squeezing out the last word, that sentence is too long for one breath. Split it in two and say it again.

3. Keep the last word as loud as the first

Trailing off is another trigger. Hold your volume all the way through the last word, without pushing.

Drill: say "I led the project from start to finish." and keep "finish" as loud as "I". Then try "That's why I want this job." and "I can start in June." Record them and listen only to the ends.

4. Hum, then talk

Expressable's speech therapists use gentle humming to find an easy, relaxed voice. Hum softly at a comfortable pitch and notice the light buzz around your lips and nose. Then carry that feeling into words.

Drill: hum softly for a few seconds. Without stopping, say "Mm, we hit the deadline." in the same easy voice. If "deadline" sinks into a crackle, come back up a little and keep it at speaking volume. Then try a sentence from your own answer.

5. Warm up with lip trills

Speech therapists use lip trills to work on airflow. Blow air through loose lips until they buzz, then add your voice.

Drill: do lip trills for 20 seconds, sliding up and down your range. Then say the first two sentences of an answer you'll give this week, with the same steady air through the last word.

A 10-minute routine

Do lip trills for 20 seconds.
Record a one-minute answer you'll actually give this week.
Play it back with headphones. Mark each ending clear or creaky.
Say each creaky sentence three more times. Breathe first, use the easy voice from your hum and keep the last word at speaking volume.
Record the whole answer again and compare the marks.

Repeat it a few days a week with a new answer each time, until you rarely hear the crackle on playback.

Keeping your volume to the last word is one of five habits in how to sound confident when you speak. If your sentences end on a rise instead, see how to stop upspeak.

Practice it in Charisma Lab

Charisma Lab is a speaking coach on your iPhone. It doesn't detect vocal fry. Its Train mode does measure your last word. Grounded Volume, in the Presence track, gives you a line like "The results speak for themselves." and compares the volume of your last word with the average of your words. A take passes when you say the line and your last word is less than 3 decibels louder or quieter than that average. If it dropped off or crept up, the app tells you which. Volume Lock, in the Conviction track, runs the same check. Each one opens once you reach 50% on The Declarative in its track, which is open from the start.

In Speak, tap the center and tell the coach what you're practicing for, like a job interview. Say your answer out loud in short chunks, since a pause of about two seconds ends a take. You hear each take played back, so you can listen for fry. Then the coach tells you what to fix and sends you back in. Warm-Up's Quick Boost includes 20 seconds of lip trills.

Setup is free and includes a short live session with the coach. After that, the app needs Pro, which is $14.99 a month in the US. See pricing.

Get the app

FAQ

What is vocal fry?

Vocal fry is the lowest register of the voice, a low creak made when the vocal folds vibrate slowly and unevenly. It's also called creaky voice, creak, glottal fry or pulse phonation.

What does vocal fry sound like?

A low crackle or rattle, often on the last word of a sentence. To hear your own, say "ah" and slide your pitch down as low as it will go. The popping at the bottom is fry.

Is vocal fry bad for your voice?

Using it now and then isn't known to damage your vocal folds, and speech therapists treat it as a normal register. Using it as your main way of speaking may tire your voice. See a speech-language pathologist or a doctor if speaking hurts or your voice stays hoarse, strained or tired.

Does vocal fry hurt you in a job interview?

In the 2014 study above, listeners were less willing to hire a speaker when the line was said in fry. That held for men's and women's voices, and more strongly for women's. They heard one line from each speaker, so think of it as a first impression. To practice whole answers, see how to practice for an interview by yourself.

Do men have vocal fry?

Yes. In a 2020 review of the ten studies that had measured it, the American ones that compared men and women found women using more creak on average; the one British study, of recordings from the 1980s, found the opposite. The same 2020 review found too little evidence to confirm or rule out the popular claim that young American women creak more than they used to.

Is vocal fry the same as upspeak?

No. Upspeak is a rise in pitch at the end of a statement, so it sounds like a question. Vocal fry is a creak at the bottom of your voice. When you practice ending down to fix upspeak, keep the last word at speaking volume. If it crackles, come back up a little.

Do singers use vocal fry?

Yes. Some use it on purpose to reach notes below their normal range. This guide is about speaking, where you usually want your last word clear.

More practice guides

Updated November 4, 2026.