How to Present Like You’re Giving a TED Talk
This post originally appeared on my blog: SimplifiedMind.com
A week ago, I watched the second most viewed TED Talk of all time… and something amazing happened.
The talk is Amy Cuddy’s Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are. Amy is a PhD psychologist with intimidating (to me, at least) names like Princeton, Northwestern and Harvard Business School on her resume.
At the beginning of the talk, my perception of Amy was someone emotionless, cold and even slightly shut-off. I’m sure the big university affiliations sparked a sense of inferiority deep within me. My automatic response was to associate her with things I felt towards those big schools.
Anyways, this isn’t a psychoanalysis about me. Back to what matters.
After the first couple of minutes, I was completely absorbed into the talk. Amy had my full attention. I won’t spoil the ending, but around the 18:00 mark Amy struck a chord deep inside me.
There I was, sitting in the University of San Diego library, face inches from my laptop screen with tears welling up in my eyes.
I didn’t even witness Amy’s talk in person. I viewed it in an un-intimate setting, and I still had a strong emotional response. I couldn’t imagine what that response would have been if I had heard her speak in person.
Now, as I’m recounting the experience, the question I’m asking myself is: why?
Why did Amy’s talk elicit such strong emotions within me? I’m not just a softie either, other people are on the same page.
So, an even better question: why does Amy’s talk hit home for so many people (so many being 35,792,215)?
Sound Matters
Amy not only taught me a lot about body language and “Power Posing,” but also about the importance of voice sound.
If Amy sounded rough and raspy like someone who takes down packs of cigarettes on a daily basis, I don’t think I would have made it to the 18:00 mark. If she sounded weak and timid, or ended every statement as a question, I wouldn’t trust in her as a credible source.
Amy’s voice was strong, confident and clear. As a result, I was laser-focused, attentive and invested.
As always, don’t take my word for it… after all, what does my opinion matter anyway? Enter the notorious research reference.
Austin, Texas based company, Quantified Impressions, analyzed 120 “executive” speeches. Combining software, panel experts and 1,000 listeners, Quantified Impressions discovered the sound of someone’s voice is slightly more than twice as important as the content coming out of someone’s mouth.
And for the people who sound like your long lost redneck aunt notorious for her cigarette breath? According to a study by the Journal of Voice, people with rough, weak or strained voices are viewed as negative, passive or tense.
Luckily, that same study revealed people with normal-sounding-voices are seen as successful, sexy, sociable and smart.
Yes, this information suggests the hours you spend memorizing scripts and lines before presentations or speeches are a waste. Regardless of what’s coming out of your mouth, the sound of your voice dictates the perceived quality of what you’re saying.
The issue is determining how we can manipulate the sound of our voice to in turn manipulate how we’re being perceived.
Enter Vocal Variety
Alright, great… the sound of our voice matters when it comes to delivering high quality presentations and speeches. But, what the hell does that even mean?
The sound of our voice. Isn’t that just a thing that remains fixed? How can we manipulate and change the sound of our voice? Well, for one — stop smoking so many cigarettes. Seriously.
Second, a complete analysis of all 2010 15-to-20 minute TED Talks helps answer the question. Basically, a crowd-sourced study of more than 700 people was completed in which participants rated TED Talks on a variety of different factors.
The study participants evaluated TED presenters on the amount of fluctuation in voice tone, volume and pitch. The TED presenters with more vocal variety were perceived as more charismatic and credible, according to the research evaluators. Not surprising, the more vocal variety a TED presenter had, the more views the video had.
To get real specific, the most popular (measured in video views) TED presenters displayed 30.5% more vocal variety compared to the less popular TED presenters.
If vocal variety helps explain the difference in popularity among some of the world’s most interesting and talented speakers, I’m willing to wager vocal variety can work for you.
It most certainly can for me.
The 4 Ps of Vocal Variety
If you’re new to the study of presenting and speaking, this should be new to you. If you are or have been a student of presenting and speaking, you may have seen this before.
If you’re in the latter half of the population, don’t replace me with YouTube just yet… this is a great refresher.
The 4 P’s vocal variety framework is popular within Toastmasters, the non-profit club aimed at helping people improve public speaking and leadership skills. The framework provides a focus for tweaking the sound of our voice to increase the quality of our presentation or speech.
The 4 P’s are:
- Pace
- Pitch
- Power
- Pauses
Pace
- Quick definition: Pace is how fast or how slow you’re talking.
- How to leverage: Important points warrant a slower pace to help our audience fully absorb the significance of our statement. On the other hand, the pace can speed up for not-so-important points.
Pitch
- Quick definition: Pitch is how high or how low the tone of your voice is.
- How to leverage: End your statement on a high note for exciting, fun or good topics. End your statement on a low note for sad, somber or sensitive topics. Think about the tone of your voice as a neutral musical note and either bringing it higher and lower, typically towards the end of your statement.
Power
- Quick definition: The volume of your voice.
- How to leverage: To increase the odds of being perceived as an authority figure, speak louder than normal. Research suggests loud speakers are often simultaneously perceived as people of power.
Pauses
- Quick definition: The moments of silence you incorporate into your speech in between statements.
- How to leverage: Research suggests pausing during speeches and presentations helps very important points sink in for your readers, increase understandability andconvey emotion.
Deliver Like Amy
Completing the research for this post helped me realize why Amy made me cry (in a good way). Her voice drew me in via vocal variety. And, in her case, the content coming out of her mouth was top-notch.
Vocal variety and high-quality content is the recipe for making grown men cry in public… and delivering a speech worthy of more than 35 million views.
There is proven significance behind the sound of our voice, and there are more than many ways to manipulate our voices to our advantage. I just gave you four.
Remember these strategies next time you’re pitching investors, selling your client or trying to score a date (this last scenario is where I need help the most).
The sound of your voice matters more than the words you say. Sound your best.
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