Even those of us who are sensitive to the implication of body language do not always realize the importance of what the scholar call paralanguage, the sound of the voice. Consider for example the four ways you might say this sentence.
Voice can tell you a great deal about the speaker's emotional state. Even when the speaker's words are muffled so listeners can follow only the pitch, rate and volume the listeners can still ascertain the speaker's emotions. The most important aspect of voice seems to be inflection variations in volume, rate and pitch that make you sound more expressive. One study showed that good inflection increases your audience's comprehension.
The subjects listened to the same material, presented either with good intonation or with mono-pitch. Multiple choice tests revealed that the mono-pitch decreased comprehension by more than 10 percent. Another researcher developed a persuasive speech and had it recorded by actors in two different styles, one dispassionate with consistent rate and pitch and little change in volume or infection, the other more emotional with more pauses and variations in the voice. Although listeners judge the two as equally competent the more emotional speaker ranked higher in terms of trust, dynamism, honesty and people orientation.
Voice can tell you a great deal about the speaker's emotional state. Even when the speaker's words are muffled so listeners can follow only the pitch, rate and volume the listeners can still ascertain the speaker's emotions. The most important aspect of voice seems to be inflection variations in volume, rate and pitch that make you sound more expressive. One study showed that good inflection increases your audience's comprehension.
The subjects listened to the same material, presented either with good intonation or with mono-pitch. Multiple choice tests revealed that the mono-pitch decreased comprehension by more than 10 percent. Another researcher developed a persuasive speech and had it recorded by actors in two different styles, one dispassionate with consistent rate and pitch and little change in volume or infection, the other more emotional with more pauses and variations in the voice. Although listeners judge the two as equally competent the more emotional speaker ranked higher in terms of trust, dynamism, honesty and people orientation.