Persuading with your voice: Strategies for sounding credible | Emma Rodero | TEDxMalagueta

The voice has a powerful influence. In this didactic talk, Emma shows us the keys to using our voice for being more persuasive. She derives these keys from the last investigations she did herself. Emma has been researching and teaching on how to use the voice in public speaking for more than 20 years. She is a journalist and tenured professor in UPF's Communications Department, and has a PhD in both Communication and in Psychology. She is the author of more than 12 books and 70 scientific articles on the voice and speech, and has extensive experience working in radio.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

(Pre-recorded voice) In order
to get a job, convince a client,

win over our partner,
in short, to persuade,

the voice is a decisive factor.

Well, I think this way of speaking
wouldn't have been credible

or very convincing, right?

And that's because I haven't correctly
combined the qualities of the voice.

What a mess!

Meaning, I haven't played
the right piano keys.

The voice has a very powerful
influence in our day to day.

Basically, because it's the vehicle
conveying the message.

But what happens, since the problem arises
if we don't use it correctly,

what can happen is what's happening here:
the goods don't get there.

Meaning, in the end,
the message doesn't arrive.

That's why it's important to know it,
that's why it's important to exercise it.

And that's my goal today here.

explaining how you need to manipulate it
in order to achieve your goal.

That is, for the message
to arrive, to persuade.

And I'll give you some strategies
for being credible.

So, let's start at the beginning.

We'll get help
from our voice box over here.

The voice has four qualities, which are:

the intensity, the tone,
the timbre, and the duration.

Let's start with the first,
which is the simplest: the intensity.

What is intensity?

Well, it's the volume of our voice.

Meaning whether I speak more quietly
or whether I speak more loudly.

It's simple to understand.

On what does the intensity depend?

Very simply, it depends
on our breathing.

Yes, I said that right,
it depends on our breathing.

Breathing is the foundation of our voice.

And intensity is nothing more
than the force

with which we push air
towards the vocal cords.

It's as simple as that.

And who's responsible for pushing
that air, for creating that force?

Well, it's an organ we have
here in the abdominal area,

called the diaphragm.

And what are you going to see in action
right now, in this short video?

You are going to see,
this is an exhalation.

And when we inhale, the lungs
fill up and the diaphragm goes down.

Afterwards, the diaphragm is responsible
for expelling that air out of the lungs.

So that's what exerts
the force in the end.

For you to understand that force,
or for you to feel that force,

let's all do an exercise together.

First, I'll explain it to you and then
we'll see if we can all do it.

The idea is that we're going
to put our hands on the abdominal area,

here, where the diaphragm is.

And we are going to take a deep breath.

Trying to carry the air
to the lower part of the lungs.

Let's take a breath in a moment and
I'll count to three, we'll blow out.

Just like that.

Okay, are you ready?

Let's do it. It's easy.

Let's place our hands
on the abdominal area like this, everyone.

We're going to take a breath in a moment.

Good, pause. I count three...

One, two, three.

Well done! You did it perfectly,

without practicing.

That force that you've felt,
is the strength of the diaphragm

towards the vocal cords.

So, if that force is low, it's small,

then we are going to lower
our intensity to down here.

What we'll have as a result
is low intensity.

(Pre-recorded voice, low intensity)
The voice has a powerful influence.

If we lift the circuit board
up and go to high intensity...

(Pre-recorded voice, high intensity)
The voice has a powerful influence.

There is a small difference, right?

We've gone from 43 decibels to 79.

Intensity is measured in decibels,
no more than the volume of the voice.

With which there is
a perceptible difference.

Here comes the question:

If I want to appear credible,
what will I have to use?

Low intensity, or high intensity?

Well, if we think about the voice
reflecting our personality,

if we think about the voice
reflecting our state of mind,

and we think that, of course,
if I suddenly feel sad,

very sad, I'm going to use low intensity.

If I'm bored, too.

And people who are introverted
use low intensity.

So of course, if I want to seem credible,

of course that won't be
the intensity that I have to use.

I have to use an energetic intensity.
It has to sound loud and clear.

I'm not saying shout.
I'm saying an energetic intensity,

more or less this, what I'm doing now.

Therefore, this would be the first tip:
energetic intensity.

Let's go to the second of our qualities.

The second quality is the tone.

The tone of the voice
is difficult to manage,

but it's simple to understand.

Once the diaphragm pushes
the lungs, as you have seen,

what it does is expel the air.

Well, that air comes up here, to the neck.

Inside the neck is the larynx,
and inside the larynx

are the vocal cords,

which vibrate to the passage of that air.

Oh, my God! Those are vocal cords?

If the image impresses you a little,

I can swear to you that you all have
ones like these in your body,

that vibrate like this.

Alright.

What does having a deeper tone
or a more high-pitched tone

depend on?

Easy to understand.

I have two ropes here.

If I move them with the same force,

that is, with the same intensity,

which one moves faster?

This one, right?

It moves faster because it is shorter

and because it's thinner.

So, what does you having an average tone
of voice or another depend?

Well, it's simply the length and
thickness of your vocal cords.

When they're shorter,
they will vibrate faster,

so, you'll have a higher pitched tone.

And for larger ones,

men generally have a deeper tone,
they will speak more deeply.

It's as simple as that.

But of course, we don't speak
in just one tone.

This is our middle tone,
let's say it's the one we use

in our day to day, most frequently.

But of course, we use
a range of tones when we speak.

There are differences between them.

We'll see what happens
if I lower the tone.

Let's see what it sounds like.

(Pre-recorded voice, low tone)
The voice has a powerful influence.

On the other hand, if I raise it up...

(Pre-recorded voice, high tone)
The voice has a powerful influence.

There is also a perceptible difference.

We have gone from 100 to 190 Hz.

It's simple to understand.

It's simply that the vocal cords vibrate

more slowly if it's deep,
or more quickly if it's high-pitched.

So, what do you think?

If we want to sound credible,
what kind of tone do we have to use?

Low, or high-pitched?

Well, all the studies we've done

indicate that, in order to be perceived
as attractive and credible,

we have to use, as you see in the graph,

a low tone rather than
a high-pitched tone.

And because of that, many professionals

and many politicians
train their voice specifically

to lower their voice, to use that
lower tessitura of your voice.

I've brought to you the case
of Margaret Thatcher,

who trained her voice for a long time,
to achieve that goal.

Margaret Thatcher: (high-pitched tone)
Oh, very much so. I've done a good deal,

but speaking in the House of Commons is
quite different. It's a unique experience.

Margaret Thatcher: (low tone) I think
we shall have to make up our minds

about the Cabinet very quickly

because, otherwise, the press
will discuss it all for me.

Because of course, an Iron Lady
talking like this--

It wouldn't make much sense.

And this is what she did,
trained her voice for this.

Whenever we train the voice,
we must use an expert,

because if we don't, we can damage
the vocal cords.

So, we have a range of tones,

we have a piano, we have to
play them in different ways.

When we talk, we use
that combination of tones,

and that combination of tones
is what we know as intonation.

Intonation is relatively
complicated to understand,

but I'll give you two tips.

The first is

that you can't be monotonous
when you speak,

because if you're monotonous,
then no one will listen to you.

Basically.

In order to try to modify that monotony,

let's try to start the phrase
in a high-pitched tone

and end in a low tone.

As you can hear in this example.

(Pre-recorded voice, high-pitched to low
tone) The voice has a powerful influence.

Good. It's a way
of changing the tones.

What we can never do
when we speak in public,

when we have a presentation,

is sing, because if I sing,

I leave everything up,

and that doesn't sound credible.

It's simple to understand.

And you'll see it in this example.

(Pre-recorded voice, higher intonation)
The voice has a powerful influence.

It's as if something is missing!
Why are you staying up there?

We always have to lower
the message down, to be credible.

(Pre-recorded voice, lower intonation)
The voice has a powerful influence.

And here is where it is competent,

it is credible, sounds sure, right?

Let there be no doubt about this.

So, always remember
not to be monotonous,

let's try going up to the higher pitch
at the beginning,

going down to the low pitch at the end.

And of course, the idea is not to sing.

Well, when it comes to tone,

what happens is
many people say,

"Having a low tone, I'm already
perceived as credible."

And I'm not sure that's true.

(Low pitch, closed timbre)
It must have been making you sleepy.

I believe that this
is not an attractive voice.

But it is a voice in a low tone.

And that's because Marge Simpson
lacks our third quality:

timbre.

The timbre of the voice
is very easy to understand.

It is the combination of the sound
that comes out of the vocal cords,

plus the one that comes out
from our sound box.

What is this sound box?

The face, for hearing
ourselves, this face we have.

Having a bigger nose,
a smaller mouth, etc.

That, in the end, gives a specific
result in your voice.

And that's why your voice is unique.
The sound of your voice is unique.

It's like your fingerprint, in a way.

So, if my voice is unique,
I'm not going to change my nose,

so this is the way my voice is.

And no, obviously not.

Because if I modify
the resonance organs,

meaning my lips,
my mouth, my tongue, etc.

I'm going to get
a completely different sound.

Let's focus on that. Let's do
a closed timbre, meaning

that the speaker closes his mouth a lot.

(Low pitch, closed timbre)
The voice has a powerful influence.

And we're just going to open it later.

(Pre-recorded voice, open timbre)
The voice has a powerful influence.

Only the width of the mouth
has been modified.

And that already influences the sound.

What do we need to have to be credible?

Obviously, open our mouths enough,
so that our voice resonates well.

So, what can we do?
Well, we can do some exercises.

Let's see. First, let's
inflate the cheeks...

Right.

Left.

Very good.

Now, let's make another!
More fun, more optimistic.

Let's make a big smile, pulling
the corners of or mouths backwards.

Let's smile.

And let's close.

You're very handsome.

Just like that, perfect.

We can also pull on
the corners directly.

Like this.

And this is how we stretch.

It's important to warm up these
facial muscles for speaking.

They're the ones
that have to move in the end.

So think about it.

And the last and most complicated,
please do this at home, alone,

so that no one sees you.

I'm going to put four fingers
in my mouth.

Yes, I'm sorry,
the fingers, in the mouth.

Vertically, like this.

And we are going count from 1 to 10.

Count with me:

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven,

eight, nine, ten.

Very good. Perfect.

You're all lovely, really, but
don't do it with anybody around.

Do it at home.

Try it before and after.

You'll see, really, I promise,

that, just before, the voice
is very muffled,

very closed.

And then suddenly,
you hear everything great.

So, quite simply, do this
before placing yourself

in front of an audience,
making a presentation,

or speaking publicly, in general.

Perfect!

Let's go with our last quality,

which is the duration.

Duration is not an acoustic quality,
but an expressive one.

It's important that I speak
slowly or that I speak fast.

And if not, let's test it.

I'll lower the terminal
here to the slow one.

(Pre-recorded voice, slow duration)
The voice has a powerful influence.

And we'll raise it to the fast one.

(Pre-recorded voice, fast duration)
The voice has a powerful influence.

What do you think?
To be credible, what do we need?

Well, we think that
a person talks slowly

when they're bored.

On the other hand, if I'm
super excited, I speak quickly.

Okay, you get the idea.

The studies we've done,
and many others worldwide,

indicate that a person,
in order to be perceived as credible,

has to use a speed
tending toward fast.

People who speak
a little faster than usual

are perceived as more
intelligent, more dynamic,

more extroverted.

And note that I said a little
faster than usual.

I didn't say very fast.
If you talk very fast,

I don't understand you,
you make me nervous.

I didn't say very fast.
I said tending to fast,

or a little bit faster,
which is what I am doing now.

Maybe the best advice I can give you,

in this context, is that you alter
your speed when you speak.

The most important thing is said slowly.

What is unimportant is said fast.

That contrast is what makes listeners
pay more attention

and also helps them understand.
So that is important.

Okay, we now have our four qualities.

Let's assume now, and this is
an important point,

because the voice is not just one,
as I've been saying,

it's a set, it's a combination.

Let's suppose that we
we would like to express joy.

Actually, you see here that
we have the perfect combination.

We have a high intensity,
we have a sharp tone,

we have an open timbre,
meaning we smiled.

The smile is very perceptible,
and a quick duration.

And this would be the result.

(Pre-recorded voice) The voice
has a powerful influence.

Let's suppose now, that
we would like to express sadness,

which is the complete opposite.

In this case what we would do to begin
with, would be to lower the intensity.

We had to lower the tone to deep.

We'd have to close our mouths.

And moreover,
we would have to talk slowly.

And this would be the result.

(Pre-recorded voice)
The voice has a powerful influence.

You're already wondering,
this is the crux of the issue:

What do I have to do to be credible?

We have already seen it.

We must have an energetic intensity,

like we said.

We must have a rather serious tone

with modulated intonation.

We need an open timbre,

and also a speed tending toward fast.

The result could be more or less this.

(Pre-recorded voice)
The voice has a powerful influence.

Once we've already established

that we have the credibility combination,

let's see if we can fix that
bad start we had

in this presentation.

(Pre-recorded voice) In order
to get a job, convince a client,

win over our partner,
in short, to persuade,

the voice is a decisive factor.

I hope we've achieved it.

The voice is the most important instrument
that you have for communicating.

It's the one that has the most influence
on your being perceived as competent

and credible.

Today, I hope that you know
how to do that a little bit better.

Thanks so much for your time.

(Applause)