*Eric Hopton for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online*
Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Churchill all had the ability to enrapture those who heard them speak. What was their special gift? We know it as charisma, but how did they achieve it? We certainly recognize it when we see it or hear it, but there is no scientific way to measure charisma.
Now, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, have given us at least part of the answer. They have discovered that certain vocal qualities play a key role in the perception of charisma.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines charisma as “a gift or power of leadership or authority” and “the capacity to inspire devotion or enthusiasm.” This is a fairly nebulous concept at best. But one thing that most charismatic leaders have in common is their ability to deliver speeches that can capture and enthrall an audience, large or small. The great orators of the world, from priests to presidents, relied on charisma to hold their audiences and carry them along. This latest research helps us to understand how these great speakers used voice manipulation and changes in frequency to give a richer quality to their speeches.
Rosario Signorello, a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA's Bureau of Glottal Affairs, became fascinated by the connections between vocal qualities and the great charismatic speakers while he was working on his thesis. His subsequent studies found that orators with a wide range of vocal frequency variation were more likely to be perceived as dominant. In addition, speakers with a low fundamental rate of vocal fold vibration, called fundamental frequency or F0, are perceived as more dominant than speakers with a high fundamental frequency. (F0 is measured in Hertz and is the rate of vocal fold vibration). The size of the larynx and the length of the vocal fold both affect voice frequency, but the best speakers have additional control over frequency ranges.
Signorello found that charismatic voices exhibit two fundamental components, one biological and the other rooted in language and culture.
The biological component of charismatic voice is inborn and consists of a speaker's capacity to manipulate changes in fundamental vocal frequencies, which in turn allows him or her to be recognized as a group leader. By using a process of speech synthesis called 'delexicalization,' Signorello found it was possible to remove the subjective influence of a speech's content. This allowed him to study the biological component in a controlled fashion.
"You get rid of the words and try to keep the acoustic parameters," said Signorello. The F0 frequency, its intensity and duration, are retained “with no alteration to the other spectral and acoustic parameters.” These parameters can then be individually modified to gauge which has the largest impact on a listener's willingness to agree with a speaker or charismatic leader.
The research examined charismatic voice perception in different countries and included the politicians Luigi de Magistris from Italy, François Hollande (France) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Portugal). When the leaders used low F0 voice and wide pitch range, they were perceived as dominant or threatening. When they used higher F0 and a narrow pitch range, they came across as sincere and reassuring.
There were cross-cultural variations in the perception of charisma. "The Italians seem to prefer a low pitched voice, and the French a high pitched one, due to cultural reasons," Signorello said. It seems the Italians look for more dominant leaders while the French preference was for greater competence.
Signorello intends to extend his research to non-human primates to see if these results are replicated across species. He presented his findings at the 168th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), which was held October 27-31, 2014, in Indianapolis.
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*Follow redOrbit on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.* Reported by redOrbit 15 hours ago.
Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Churchill all had the ability to enrapture those who heard them speak. What was their special gift? We know it as charisma, but how did they achieve it? We certainly recognize it when we see it or hear it, but there is no scientific way to measure charisma.
Now, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, have given us at least part of the answer. They have discovered that certain vocal qualities play a key role in the perception of charisma.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines charisma as “a gift or power of leadership or authority” and “the capacity to inspire devotion or enthusiasm.” This is a fairly nebulous concept at best. But one thing that most charismatic leaders have in common is their ability to deliver speeches that can capture and enthrall an audience, large or small. The great orators of the world, from priests to presidents, relied on charisma to hold their audiences and carry them along. This latest research helps us to understand how these great speakers used voice manipulation and changes in frequency to give a richer quality to their speeches.
Rosario Signorello, a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA's Bureau of Glottal Affairs, became fascinated by the connections between vocal qualities and the great charismatic speakers while he was working on his thesis. His subsequent studies found that orators with a wide range of vocal frequency variation were more likely to be perceived as dominant. In addition, speakers with a low fundamental rate of vocal fold vibration, called fundamental frequency or F0, are perceived as more dominant than speakers with a high fundamental frequency. (F0 is measured in Hertz and is the rate of vocal fold vibration). The size of the larynx and the length of the vocal fold both affect voice frequency, but the best speakers have additional control over frequency ranges.
Signorello found that charismatic voices exhibit two fundamental components, one biological and the other rooted in language and culture.
The biological component of charismatic voice is inborn and consists of a speaker's capacity to manipulate changes in fundamental vocal frequencies, which in turn allows him or her to be recognized as a group leader. By using a process of speech synthesis called 'delexicalization,' Signorello found it was possible to remove the subjective influence of a speech's content. This allowed him to study the biological component in a controlled fashion.
"You get rid of the words and try to keep the acoustic parameters," said Signorello. The F0 frequency, its intensity and duration, are retained “with no alteration to the other spectral and acoustic parameters.” These parameters can then be individually modified to gauge which has the largest impact on a listener's willingness to agree with a speaker or charismatic leader.
The research examined charismatic voice perception in different countries and included the politicians Luigi de Magistris from Italy, François Hollande (France) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Portugal). When the leaders used low F0 voice and wide pitch range, they were perceived as dominant or threatening. When they used higher F0 and a narrow pitch range, they came across as sincere and reassuring.
There were cross-cultural variations in the perception of charisma. "The Italians seem to prefer a low pitched voice, and the French a high pitched one, due to cultural reasons," Signorello said. It seems the Italians look for more dominant leaders while the French preference was for greater competence.
Signorello intends to extend his research to non-human primates to see if these results are replicated across species. He presented his findings at the 168th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), which was held October 27-31, 2014, in Indianapolis.
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*Follow redOrbit on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.* Reported by redOrbit 15 hours ago.