Page 130 - Essentials of Human Communication

The Channels of Nonverbal Communication 109

something different from when you speak slowly. Even though the words are the same, if the
speed (or volume, rhythm, or pitch) differs, the meanings people receive also differ.

Judgments about people. Many people make judgments about people’s personalities on
the basis of their paralinguistic cues. For example, they might conclude that your colleague
who speaks softly when presenting ideas at a meeting isn’t sure of the ideas’ usefulness and
believes that no one really wants to listen to them. Or they might assume that people who
speak loudly have overinflated egos, or those who speak in a monotone are uninterested in
what they are saying and perhaps in life in general. All such judgments are based on little
evidence, yet they persist in much popular talk.
Research has found that people can accurately judge the socioeconomic status (whether
high, middle, or low) of speakers from 60-second voice samples (Davitz, 1964). Participants
also rated people whom they judged to be of high status as more credible than speakers
judged to be of middle and low status.
Listeners also can accurately judge the emotional states of speakers from vocal expression
alone. In these studies, speakers recite the alphabet or numbers while expressing emotions.
Some emotions are easier to identify than others; it is easy to distinguish between hate and
sympathy but more difficult to distinguish between fear and anxiety (Scherer, 1986).

Judgments about communication effectiveness. Speech rate is an important component
of paralanguage. In one-way communication (when one person is doing all or most of the
speaking and the other person is doing all or most of the listening), those who talk fast (about
50 percent faster than normal) are more persuasive. That is, people agree more with a fast
speaker than with a slow speaker and find the fast speaker more intelli-
gent and objective (MacLachlan, 1979).
Although, generally, research finds that a faster-than-normal speech
rate lowers listener comprehension, a rapid rate may still have the advantage
in communicating information (MacLachlan, 1979; Jones, Berry, & Stevens,
2007). For example, when speaking rate increases by 50 percent, comprehen-
sion level drops by only 5 percent. When the rate doubles, the comprehen-
sion level drops only 10 percent. If, however, the speeds are more than twice
that of normal speech, comprehension level falls dramatically.
Exercise caution in applying this research to all forms of communica-
tion (MacLachlan, 1979). While the speaker is speaking, the listener is
generating, or framing, a reply. If the speaker talks too rapidly, the listener
may not have enough time to compose a reply and may become resentful.
Furthermore, the increased rate may seem so unnatural that the listener
may focus on the speed rather than on the message being communicated.

paralanguage and culture. Cultural differences need to be taken into
consideration also in evaluating the results of studies on speech rate. In
one study, for example, Korean male speakers who spoke rapidly were ViewpOINts
given unfavorable credibility ratings, in contrast to the positive ratings gender Differences and Nonverbal communication
received by Americans who spoke rapidly (Lee & Boster, 1992). Researchers Here is a brief summary of findings from research on
have suggested that in individualistic societies a rapid-rate speaker is seen gender differences in nonverbal expression (Burgoon,
as more competent than a slow-rate speaker, but in collectivist cultures a Guerrero, & Floyd, 2010; Guerrero & Hecht, 2006;
speaker who uses a slower rate is judged more competent. Pearson, West, & Turner, 1995): (1) Women smile
more than men; (2) women stand closer to one
silence Just as words and gestures communicate meaning, so does another than do men and are generally approached
silence. (see Jaworski, 1993). Here we look at some functions of silence more closely than men; (3) both men and women,
and at a theory of silence that has important implications for society as a when speaking, look at men more than at women;
whole. (4) women both touch and are touched more than
men; (5) men extend their bodies, taking up greater
Functions of silence. Silence allows the speaker and the listener time areas of space, more than women. What problems
to think, time to formulate and organize the meaning of the message. might these differences create when men and women
For example, a lawyer may have many sophisticated points to make communicate with each other?