Attract Your Audience: Build Your Voice Charisma
Ever wondered why Martin Luther King had so many supporters and followers? How about Hitler or Napoleon, Michelle Obama or Angela Merkel and so many others like them? Those leaders influenced hundreds and thousands of people to follow their cause, regardless whether they called for peace or war. How did they manage to do so?
In some cases, a few factors like good looks, money, power or even family tree could have played a role, but we definitely cannot deny that those individuals possessed a list of character traits that made them leaders. Some of those factors could be the ideas they strongly believed in, their plan of action, and most importantly, their voice usage skills. By that, we mean what is known as Voice Charisma or the ability to manipulate one’s voice when needed to inspire, influence and lead others.
What does research tell us about voice charisma? In the past few years, many studies were conducted to investigate what acoustic parameters or vocal traits contributed to making voices more charismatic. Those parameters are as follows:
– Voice hygiene: A healthy voice is perceived as more charismatic than an unhealthy one.
– Variations in intonation: When addressing a large group, leaders and public speakers sound more charismatic when using variations in their intonation contour and their pitch. In fact, this will contribute to arousing listeners’ emotions, making them more impactful and interesting to listen to.
– Sound pressure levels: It is extremely important to use a wide range of sound pressure levels. Changing the volume while addressing your audience makes you sound more charismatic.
– Pauses: Short pauses before an important key word or message are a powerful way to grab the audience’s attention and keep them engaged.
– Type of speech: Using incitation is more charismatic than using rhetorical questions or assertions. The speaker is perceived as more competent, exuberant and communicative.
In conclusion, when you want to inspire others, you must convey confidence, power, determination, and strength through your voice so that you could influence your audience and gain credibility. Similarly, when conducting a sales pitch at work, presenting on TV, acting on a theater stage, or performing any activity where voice usage is a fundamental element, you must possess voice charisma so that you attract your listener’s attention and get your message across in the intended manner.
References:
Aung, T., & Puts, D. (2020). Voice pitch: A window into the communication of social power. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 154-161. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.028
Beanziger T, Scherer KR. The role of intonation in emotional expressions. Speech Commun. 2005;46:252–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.specom.2005.02.016.
Derrico, F., Signorello, R., Demolin, D., & Poggi, I. (2013). The Perception of Charisma from Voice: A Cross-Cultural Study. 2013 Humaine Association Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction. doi:10.1109/acii.2013.97
Klofstad, C. A. (2017). Looks and Sounds Like a Winner: Perceptions of Competence in Candidates’ Faces and Voices Influences Vote Choice. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 4(3), 229-240. doi:10.1017/xps.2017.19
Signorello R. et al., (2019) Fundamental frequency and sound pressure level in charismatic speech: a cross gender and language study. Journal of voice 34 (5) doi:10.1016/j.voice.2019.04.007