Specific vocal changes map to specific emotional states:

• Anxiety — higher pitch, faster pace, more filler words, and reduced vocal variety
• Anger — lower pitch, louder volume, clipped consonants, and tighter articulation
• Sadness — slower pace, lower volume, narrower pitch range, and trailing-off sentences
• Confidence — moderate pace, lower pitch, downward inflections, and comfortable pauses

These patterns are recognized above chance across cultures, pointing to a strong biological basis. Even so, people read emotion most accurately within their own language and culture, so the voice is shaped by both physiology and learning.