31 Jan 2008
Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit
Women don't chatter any more than men – OfficialForget the stereotypes; University of Arizona researchers have the facts. Men and women do an equal amount of talking – 16,000 words a day on average, give or take.
To arrive at this conclusion the researchers rigged up 400 students with a listening device called an EAR (yes, an EAR, but not your everyday human ear; an Electroncally Activated Recorder). Then they eavesdropped. The result was what the researchers called a “lexical budget” or what the rest of us might call a chat count.
There were, by the way, big differences in different people’s lexical budgets. One bloke, for instance, spoke barely 500 words in a day. Another topped 47,000. Either way, the whole exercise caused the researchers to conclude that “the widespread and highly publicised stereotype about female talkativeness is unfounded”.
Paul Hill, our Voice Coach, had this to say.
“Whether you talk a lot or a little, what matters is that A) your content makes sense and B) you say what you have to say CLEARLY. Otherwise there's no point. A) is your problem – but Working Voices can certainly help with B). Whether it’s your pace, articulation or diction, whether it’s an accent you want to work on, or whether you just want to know more about the ways your voice can help you get your message across better than you ever thought possible, we have the answers.”
Paul is a true expert. He coaches everyone from leaders of the Business Community to members of The Royal Shakespeare Company.
Want help with any aspect of your vocal delivery? Have a look at our Voice Coaching pages and contact Tina @ Working Voices.
(Image ©iStockphoto.com/Tammy 616)