---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, if you ever listen to your…"
description: "\"You know, if you ever listen to your voice on an answering machine everyone thinks we sound dreadful. That's sort of the way I think when I hear myself..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/curt-smith-5967_communication_you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voic_1605645.jpg"
---

#  You know, if you ever listen to your voice on an answering…

![“You know, if you ever listen to your voice on an answering machine everyone thinks we sound dreadful. That's sort of the way I think when I hear myself speak.” quote by Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/curt-smith-5967_communication_you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voic_1605645.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/curt-smith-5967_communication_you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voic_1605645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/curt-smith-5967_communication_you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voic_1605645.jpg)

> “You know, if you ever listen to your voice on an answering machine everyone thinks we sound dreadful. That's sort of the way I think when I hear myself speak.”

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker feels that hearing his recorded voice sounds terrible, reflecting low self‑esteem about his speech.

**In simple terms:** He thinks his voice sounds bad on recordings.

Key Takeaway

Accept that recorded voice may differ from live perception.

Themes

self‑criticism confidence communication

Mood

introspective insecure

Type

personal motivational

When to use this quote

- public speaking
- phone messages
- audio recordings
- media appearances

Key Concepts

psychology self‑image

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you judge yourself harsher than others?
- How could you improve your confidence in recorded speech?

A Different Perspective

Self‑perception may be biased by anxiety.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Answering Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answering-machine/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Listen Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-voice-402681/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Sound Dreadful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-dreadful-6113830/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Think Hear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-hear-476684/) [Thinks Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-sound-6113829/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/)

## Related quotes

> [“She had started driving past his apartment to see whether or not his car was out front. She had looked up his phone number,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-pascal/she-had-started-driving-past-his-apartment-to-see-whether-or-not-his/)

[Francine Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-pascal/)

> [I don't think what you hear on talk radio is representative of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-colmes/i-don-t-think-what-you-hear-on-talk-radio-is-representative-of-america/)

[Alan Colmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-colmes/)

> [“...For can you think how it would be, to never, never hear a meadow lark sing again...?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-streeter-aldrich/for-can-you-think-how-it-would-be-to-never-never-hear-a-meadow-lark/)

[Bess Streeter Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bess-streeter-aldrich/)

> [Music should be judged on what you hear, not what you think you might hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlene-carter/music-should-be-judged-on-what-you-hear-not-what-you-think-you-might/)

[Carlene Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlene-carter/)

> [“How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/how-do-i-know-what-i-think-until-i-hear-what-i-say/)

[Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/)

> [“You have two voices: the one you speak with and the one you think with. While the former is the one others hear, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/you-have-two-voices-the-one-you-speak-with-and-the-one-you-think-with/)

[Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/)

> [“At times I think I can hear my brain screaming, "I am reading here, so please, all other body parts, do your best to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camron-wright/at-times-i-think-i-can-hear-my-brain-screaming-i-am-reading-here-so/)

[Camron Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camron-wright/)

> [I often think of that when I hear people say that they haven't time to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-often-think-of-that-when-i-hear-people-say-that-they-haven-t-time/)

[David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/)

> [You think I will never hear about the lies and things you say about me, but just to let you know I'm standing here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-think-i-will-never-hear-about-the-lies-and-things-you-say-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think I'd rather hear from him... But,------ I love you still. than the line I love you still,------ but. See the difference? \*.\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-i-d-rather-hear-from-him-but-i-love-you-still-than-the-line-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I used to stick my head out the window when I was a kid and sing at the top of my lungs and think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-pierson/i-used-to-stick-my-head-out-the-window-when-i-was-a-kid-and-sing-at/)

[Kate Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-pierson/)

> [It makes me think about how you hear these young people say, "I see you, man." Or even if you go and watch some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/it-makes-me-think-about-how-you-hear-these-young-people-say-i-see-you/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [“Are you in love? What makes your heart beat faster? What do you want people to think about when they hear your name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/are-you-in-love-what-makes-your-heart-beat-faster-what-do-you-want/)

[Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/)

> [But I don't even think you hear me at all Under your medieval ceiling behind your biblical wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/but-i-don-t-even-think-you-hear-me-at-all-under-your-medieval-ceiling/)

[Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/)

> [I can't get you out of my head. My friends are sick of hearing about you, and I think my brain might almost be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-can-t-get-you-out-of-my-head-my-friends-are-sick-of-hearing-about/)

[Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/)

## More by Curt Smith

> [I guess because we're essentially a two-man band, we're attracting Wham's crowd. But Wham! are more of a businessman's band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-guess-because-we-re-essentially-a-two-man-band-we-re-attracting/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [It's definitely a joy when you make a record to know you are doing it for the right reasons: You want to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/it-s-definitely-a-joy-when-you-make-a-record-to-know-you-are-doing-it/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [You find it hard to deal with certain things and as you get older it becomes easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/you-find-it-hard-to-deal-with-certain-things-and-as-you-get-older-it/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [At the height of our fame, we didn't see anything. We didn't leave the hotel because we were doing interviews all day. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/at-the-height-of-our-fame-we-didn-t-see-anything-we-didn-t-leave-the/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [My kids don't really buy albums. They buy singles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/my-kids-don-t-really-buy-albums-they-buy-singles/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [When I get some time off, I don't even want to see people half the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/when-i-get-some-time-off-i-don-t-even-want-to-see-people-half-the-time/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [I have two kids and they were by no means blank slates. One is exactly like me, one is exactly like my wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-have-two-kids-and-they-were-by-no-means-blank-slates-one-is-exactly/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [You never stop trying to make progress as a musician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/you-never-stop-trying-to-make-progress-as-a-musician/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [Tears For Fears is my ultimate passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/tears-for-fears-is-my-ultimate-passion/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [I have this TV pilot I was writing for and a couple of films. It's just a different way to express myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-have-this-tv-pilot-i-was-writing-for-and-a-couple-of-films-it-s/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [A lot of songs we've written have been political, but they're also personally political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/a-lot-of-songs-we-ve-written-have-been-political-but-they-re-also/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [I couldn't deal with the fame, the pressure and everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-couldn-t-deal-with-the-fame-the-pressure-and-everything-else/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [To preserve my sanity I had to leave England and move to New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/to-preserve-my-sanity-i-had-to-leave-england-and-move-to-new-york/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [We've never considered ourselves overtly political, but when it comes to English politics - people like Margaret Thatcher - you cannot just stand by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/we-ve-never-considered-ourselves-overtly-political-but-when-it-comes/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

> [My father always worked away, and died when I was 17, but I hated him by that point. It hit me later in life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/my-father-always-worked-away-and-died-when-i-was-17-but-i-hated-him/)

[Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

[Explore all 100 Curt Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

[Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/)

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "You know, if you ever listen to your voice on an answering machine everyone thinks we sound dreadful. That's sort of the way I think when I hear myself speak.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Curt Smith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voice-on-an-answering-machine/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voice-on-an-answering-machine/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/curt-smith-5967_communication_you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voic_1605645.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/curt-smith-5967_communication_you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voic_1605645.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/curt-smith-5967_communication_you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voic_1605645.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You know, if you ever listen to your voice on an answering machine everyone thinks we sound dreadful. That's…” — Curt Smith",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Curt Smith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "You know, if you ever listen...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voice-on-an-answering-machine/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/you-know-if-you-ever-listen-to-your-voice-on-an-answering-machine/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
