Are you trying to become more confident and persuasive in your personal or professional life? The key may not be what you’re saying, but how you’re saying it.
Research from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology has found that speaking at a slightly higher volume can make you sound more confident and persuasive. We’re not saying you should start yelling your points across, but humans naturally deflect contradiction, so stating your point clearly and audibly might be the solution to making an impact. When we hear someone speaking loudly, we subconsciously associate them with authority and legitimacy.
There is the added factor that in order to speak louder, you need to be speaking directly to someone. This is part of the reason stating your point in person is more effective than email or text. The face-to-face nature of an in-person conversation will also help you convey your information.
So, the next time you spend hours agonizing over how to vocalize your thoughts or opinions, take a pause to practice how, not what, you are going to say.
