演說臺前的魅力從哪兒來

To be a *charismatic leader, it helps to have speaking skills that convey strength, experience, and *likeability. Contrary to popular belief, a speaker’s message might not matter as much as the style in which the speech was delivered. A new study finds it’s a leader’s tone of voice that actually assembles the masses.

要想成爲一個有魅力的領導者，擁有能展現說服力、經驗和親和力的講話技巧至關重要。與大家普遍認爲的正相反，演講的風格其實比演講者所傳遞的信息更重要。新的研究表明，一個領導者講話時的音調纔是能否吸引聽衆的關鍵。

Researchers from the University of California analyzed the vocal stylings of four US politicians–Hillary Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. They found that while all of them presented wildly different messages, they altered their voices in similar ways, depending on the audience.

加利福尼亞大學的研究者對四名美國政客——希拉里•克林頓、卡莉•費奧莉娜、伯尼•桑德斯及唐納德•特朗普的聲音模型進行了分析。他們發現雖然四個人傳達的信息大相徑庭，但他們都會根據不同的聽衆羣來改變音調。

“Politicians use voice as a very powerful behavior to convey their charisma,” Rosario Signorello, one of the researchers behind the work, said at a recent briefing.

“政客們用聲音作爲強有力的手段來展現個人魅力。”該項目的研究人員羅薩里奧•希諾納雷洛在近期的發佈會上說。

When it comes to politics, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. There’s a good reason that some of the most successful politicians, for better or worse, are also known as outstanding *orators, able to persuade large and diverse crowds with powerful speeches. But it’s not just about the words they choose; the same paragraph on chopped carrots might sound boring in a monotone speaker’s voice but *riveting when recited by a Shakespearean actor. *Seasoned politicians know this all too well.

對於政客來說，關鍵不在於你說的是什麼，而在於你怎麼去說。一些最成功的政治家，無論是好是壞，在人們心中也都是傑出的演說家，他們能夠用強有力的演講來說服人數衆多且各種各樣的聽衆。但這並不單單是因爲他們選擇了哪些詞彙。同樣一段關於“切胡蘿蔔”的段落，用一成不變的音調讀出來聽上去百無聊賴，而讓一個莎士比亞戲劇演員朗誦出來就能引人入勝。老練的政客們深知這一點。

Addressing large crowds

對羣衆演講

“When the candidates addressed [an] audience of perceived and assessed lower status, lower social status, they would use a high vocal pitch range, a high vocal pitch average and a wide loudness range,” Signorello said.

“當競選人推斷聽衆的社會地位較低時，他們會將聲音保持在高音域，音調高、音響範圍大。” 希諾納雷洛說。

This makes sense given the audience, he added.

這種方式也的確對此類聽衆奏效，他補充道。

“They have to diversify in their speech because they address an extremely diverse audience, so it’s like they’re focusing on subgroups of their audience and trying to fulfill each one’s expectation” of what a charismatic leader sounds like, said Signorello.

“他們需要以多種多樣的形式演講，因爲他們的聽衆是形形色色的人，這就好比他們要照顧到聽衆中的不同羣體，並試圖滿足每個人的期待。”希諾納雷洛講道，在不同羣體心中，一個有魅力的領導者的聲音是不一樣的。

Addressing fellow politicians

對同僚政客演講

When the politicians were addressing other politicians, such as when Clinton spoke to a United Nations commission, when Sanders spoke to the US Senate or when Trump and Fiorina spoke at the New Hampshire Republican Leadership Summit, the candidates limited their pitch to low and medium frequencies. That’s a pattern that’s meant to signal power and dominance – and it’s a well-worn strategy across the *mammalian kingdom. A politician may lower their pitch range in this context because they want to hold their own among perceived equals, said the scientist.

當政客給同僚們演講，比如當克林頓在聯合國委員會、桑德斯在美國參議院、又或者特朗普和費奧莉娜在新罕布什爾州共和黨領導人峯會上講話時，他們都將自己的音調控制在中頻或低頻。這是一種暗示權力及支配力的模式，而且是一種哺乳動物慣用的策略。據科學家所說，一位政客在此類環境下會降低他們講話的音調，因爲他們想在同僚前堅持自己的立場。

“When they address leaders, the audience diversity is very, very restricted,” he pointed out. “They’re probably mostly male listeners of a certain age. So this is why the vocal behavior is adapted to that.”

“當他們對領導人講話時，這樣的聽衆羣就非常單一了。” 希諾納雷洛指出，“他們基本上都是特定年齡段的男性聽衆，因此音調也就相應地做出了調整。”

When on a talk show chatting about nonpolitical things, however, the politicians all used their normal pitch range, without “stretching” their frequencies or loudness, he added.

“然而當在脫口秀節目上談論一些與政治無關的事情時，政客們就全都用平常的聲調來說話，而不會特意拉高或降低嗓門。”他補充道。