If you want to be more convincing, try adjusting the speed at which you speak and how many pauses you take while talking.
Photo by Erin and Joe.
In a recent study on speech, researchers analysed the speed, pitch, and fluency of 100 interviewers and compared how effective they were in persuading people to take a survey over the phone. They found that those who spoke at “a nice comfy pace”—three-and-a-half words per second—were more persuasive than slower or very fast talkers.
Also of note: those who took big pauses while speaking were always more successful than the perfectly fluent talkers.
So, the next time you want to convince your boss for a raise or be persuasive for another reason, sprinkle in some pauses and try talking at that “just right” speed.
How to Speak Persuasively [Scientific American]
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