At the time ofpersuade or convince others with our words, the speed of the speech influences. Specifically, researchers from the University of Michigan (United States) have found that, regardless of the arguments,speaking at a rate of about 3.5 words per second we convince much moreto the people who listen to us that if we speak faster or slower.
To reach this conclusion, José Benki and his colleagues at the Institute for Social Research studied about 1,400 telephone interviews conducted by 100 men and women who tried to persuade their interlocutors. After analyzing parameters such as fluency, tone, speed and inflections of the voice, they found that the main parameter to take into account is speed. Thus, people who speak very fast are perceived as insincere. And those who speak too slowly are considered unintelligent.
Another factor to take into account when convincing someone or making him change his mind are thepauses. The researchers found that taking frequent short pauses was more effective than fluent speech.Take about 4 or 5 breaks every minute, normally in silence, it sounds more natural.
Finally, as revealed in the study presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the scientists found thattoo much inflection in pitch sounds artificial, as if our interlocutor was trying too hard. Regarding the tone,male interviewers with deep voices were found to be more persuasive. In women, however, changes in tone of voice did not appear to have any effect.
