While I am notoriously bad at remembering people’s names and, occasionally, faces, I do pride myself on being quite adept at picking out people’s voices. This is a good skill to have since I spend much of my day answering phones. A lot of the same people call repeatedly, asking to speak with the same people in my office, so my keen voice recognition saves me a lot of time figuring out who’s calling, and to whom they need to be connected.
Today I was particularly proud of my powers after this little exchange took place. There’s a casting director working out of my office now, for a film we’re gearing up. For our purposes, I’ll refer to her at “Kate Smith”:
ME: Hello?
VOICE: Hi. Can I can I talk to Kate Smith, please?
ME: Who’s calling?
VOICE: Burt Reynolds.
MY MIND: This isn’t Burt Reynolds. This sounds like Billy Bob Thorton.
ME: Hold on, please.
I buzz “Kate”.
KATE: Yes?
ME: I’ve got a Burt Reynolds for you.
KATE: That’s not really Burt Reynolds.
ME: I figured. It sounds like Billy Bob Thorton.
KATE: Wow, good ears. It is.
ME: Thanks.
I connect Kate and Billy Bob.
Score. A dozen words and I had him pegged cold. If only there were some way I use this skill to pick numbers at the roulette table.
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2 comments:
We should put you to work in a think tank...
Thinking about people's voices...
At Patina, I had Crispin Glover at "Hi, this is..."!
That reminds me of this classic bit: "C'mon! I'm White Michael Jai!"
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