Body Language and Tone
Discussion
1. Which speaker was more effective at keeping your interest? Why? What elements of the speaker's body language made you like them better?
2. If you're not a natural on camera and it's hard for you to focus on body language, how could you still make an effective video that was enthusiastic and promote a positive learning environment? In other words, if you aren't on camera, what do you REALLY need to focus on to make your video have an impact? What tools are available to create videos that don't require the instructor image?
The Research
TED Talks might not always be about delivering content, but this research on them provides some excellent insight on the importance of body language.
The speaker’s tone and body language also play a large role in how easy it for the viewer to watch it. Swartz (2012) cites a few best practices from his research on popular instructional videos on YouTube. First, scripts should be rehearsed. Those instructors who were well prepared had far fewer slips in speech, avoided rambling, and came across more smoothly than those who were not prepared. A few ums, stutters, and awkward pauses can have a negative effect on the video. Second, speak with an air of confidence. Effective YouTube videos had speakers who were calm and cool. Speaking this way caused the viewer to feel the same. While tone is greatly important, body language can also have a significant effect. Research done by Edwards (2015) cited the analysis of a multitude of TED Talks to see how the body language of the speaker affected people’s perceptions of them. People who watched the video without audio rated the speakers the same as those who watched it with audio. The point? Body language matters. Second, their research showed that people make their judgments about the speaker within seven seconds. That said, teachers should jump right into action from the start, using hand motions and exuding confidence. Finally, smiling make a big difference in how much students will respect you as an intellectual. When people were asked to rate a speaker’s intelligence level, the found that those videos with speakers who smiled often were perceived as smarter than those that did not smile.
Lastly, TED Talks teach us the importance of using a conversational tone when presenting narration (Romanelli, Cain, & McNamara 2014). Atkinson, Mayer, & Merrill (2005) studied the effects of a robotic voice and a human voice on learning. Students worked harder for the human voice rather than the robotic voice. Mayer (2009) summarized eleven other studies in which multimedia presentations that used a conversational style as opposed to a formal style. All forms of multimedia that used a conversational tone to present content outperformed those done in a formal style with an average effect size of 1.11. He guides multimedia creators with what he calls the Personalization Principle, which states that, “people learn better when a conversational tone is used in instead of a formal one.”
Lastly, TED Talks teach us the importance of using a conversational tone when presenting narration (Romanelli, Cain, & McNamara 2014). Atkinson, Mayer, & Merrill (2005) studied the effects of a robotic voice and a human voice on learning. Students worked harder for the human voice rather than the robotic voice. Mayer (2009) summarized eleven other studies in which multimedia presentations that used a conversational style as opposed to a formal style. All forms of multimedia that used a conversational tone to present content outperformed those done in a formal style with an average effect size of 1.11. He guides multimedia creators with what he calls the Personalization Principle, which states that, “people learn better when a conversational tone is used in instead of a formal one.”