With a talent for articulating 586 words per minute, actor and pitchman John “Motormouth” Moschitta Jr. made a career out of speaking really fast. But research from Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger shows that speaking slowly also has benefits.
In social interactions, speaking a little more slowly makes people seem more empathetic, which leads others to like them more and be more satisfied with the interaction. That’s the finding in “The Power of Speaking Slower,” a study co-authored by Berger and Giovanni Luca Cascio Rizzo, marketing professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.
“When you’re talking to someone, and respond a little more slowly, it signals that you’re thinking about what to say and not just rushing,” Berger said. “It suggests that you care more about the person you’re interacting with, and as a result, has positive consequences.”
“Turns out there’s a simple tip that can improve your social interactions, and that is speaking more slowly.”— Jonah Berger
The professors analyzed hundreds of customer service calls and conducted five controlled experiments, all with the same conclusion: A slower articulation rate boosts listener satisfaction. And it doesn’t take much of a reduction to make a difference. In customer service interactions, for example, slowing speech from 5.22 to 4.63 syllables per second, which is still within normal range, resulted in a 7.1% increase in customer satisfaction.
“We are not suggesting that service agents should speak extremely slowly. Indeed, doing so might convey hesitation and lack of confidence. Rather, we are simply suggesting that, within a normal range of speaking speeds, speaking more slowly can be beneficial,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
A Different Take on Consumer Behavior
The paper offers a new angle on speech because previous studies have focused on the detriment of speaking too slowly in passive situations, such as reading a passage from a book.
“Speaking too slowly while you’re reading something may make it seem like you’re not very competent,” Berger said. “But in social interactions, it suggests you’re more empathetic.”
“When you’re talking to someone, and respond a little more slowly, it signals that you’re thinking about what to say.”— Jonah Berger
The study also used the automated audio analytics to gain insights into social interaction and consumer behavior, which the professors highlight as a unique contribution. Their methodology parsed not just the words used, but the auditory features of the speakers. Given the prevalence of modern consumption in the form of interactive videos, it’s an area worthy of more exploration.
Yet perhaps the most practical takeaway from the research is that speaking a little slower is easy to do and costs nothing to implement, Berger said. It may not land the speaker in the Guinness Book of World Records like Moschitta, but it will reap rewards.
“Regardless of your job, everyone would like to be a more effective communicator,” he said. “Turns out there’s a simple tip that can improve your social interactions, and that is speaking more slowly.”
