|  We all pause at the end of our sentences; at the end of our phrases and at natural breath points. These natural pauses and the tonality we adopt when we pause accounts for the overall tone-of-voice that is projected toward the listener.
In effect, the listener either hears a child-like speech pattern, a neutral speech pattern or a parental speech pattern. Only the parental pattern is effective for persuasion techniques.
In fact, the child-like pattern works against the speaker in a big way. Did you ever hear a child whine and complain about something? Would anybody be inclined to follow a suggestion that sounded like that? Of course not.
And yet, when an untrained person is put into a stressful situation, the tendency to sound like a little child is pervasive because when we are nervous we tend to end our sentences with our voices up about a half tone; the way a child sounds when it's whining. Like we were asking a question. This is the child-like tone that is deadly to persuasiveness. Children don't convince adults about much.
Note: This knowledge has always been transferred in a classroom setting where it can be heard and easily understood. Here on the Internet, we must use examples that you can hear by yourself in your own environment.
Start listening to the way people speak. Listen to the news announcers on TV. They almost always use the parental tone of dropping their voices about a half tone at the end of their sentences, phrases and breath points.
The tonality sends a message of confidence, composure and competence; because it unconsciously reminds the listener of their parent's voices when their parents were angry with them.
The tone creates the impression of an "authority figure" an expert in a field whose purpose is to help, teach and guide -- The parent's role... kindly, lovingly and firmly, the tone tells them to listen and obey (for their own good). From this ground of being, persuasion is not only possible, but likely.
It is imperative that the concept of using the Parental Tone be grooved with as much practice as it takes because stress causes the untrained voice in the child-like sounding direction. |
