Juliana Schroeder of the University of California at Berkeley and faculty at the University of Chicago recently conducted several experiments on the way controversial news is received when it’s delivered verbally versus in writing. Her research suggests that controversial news is received more favorably when it’s delivered verbally, rather than in writing. Communispond, a global communication training company, couldn’t agree more.
“Because another person’s mind cannot be experienced directly, its quality must be inferred from indirect cues,” said Schroeder. Those cues, involving the many characteristics of the human voice, are absent in written communication.
As she explains to The Washington Post, in one experiment she conducted, a person read a speech excerpt from a politician and the reader strongly disagreed with the politician. A week later, the same person heard the same speech on the radio and he was shocked by how differently he reacted towards the same message. When he heard the speech, he no longer disagreed with the politician, but rather, found his message much more reasonable.
Communispond agrees wholeheartedly with what was found in these research studies. In fact, they had an article published by the American Management Association stating the exact same thing—that if you have bad news to share, you can expect a more favorable response if the news is delivered in person, rather than in writing. The article, “Delivering Bad News and Getting Good Results” can be downloaded by clicking here: https://communispond.com/insights/news/2017/11/08/706/delivering-bad-news-and-getting-good-results/
About Communispond
Since 1969, Communispond has helped more than 800,000 professionals worldwide improve their presentation, writing, sales, leadership, and interpersonal communication skills. Every Communispond program is designed to teach proven, practical skills that can be used immediately back on the job. For more information, please visit www.communispond.com and connect with Communispond on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
