The mouth is mightier than the pen

Original post:  June 29, 2015

When you really need a favor, what is your preferred method of asking? Would you lean towards an e-mail or a direct conversation?

If you answered a direct conversation, it seems that you would be much more likely to succeed. This article in the NY Times discusses some recent research into the topic.

It seems that even phone conversations are more powerful than letters or e-mails. Professor Nicholas Epley is a co-author of a recent paper "The Sound of Intellect". Here is a summary of some of their research:

In the first of a series of experiments presented in the paper, the researchers recruited 18 M.B.A. candidates from Booth. The students were asked to prepare a brief pitch to a prospective employer — a roughly two-minute proposal that the researchers recorded on video.

Separately, the researchers recruited 162 people who were visiting the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to evaluate these pitches. Some of these museumgoers watched the video, a second group listened to the audio without watching the video, and a third group read a transcript of the pitch.

What the researchers found was that the evaluators who heard the pitches — whether in the audio or video version — “rated the candidates’ intellect more highly” than those who read the transcript, the paper reported. Those who listened or watched also rated the candidates more likable and, critically, more employable.

Why would the oral presentations be received so well? Here is Epley's theory:

....Rather, he says, the results validate and expand upon previous research showing that the cadence and intonation of voice allows listeners to do a better job of gauging a person’s thoughts than the same information communicated in writing.

Here is a link to the full article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/business/the-mouth-is-mightier-than-the-pen.html?ref=business