Quick Talk Communicates Better
Around 1980, the Lexicon Time Compressor was introduced. The electronic device could expand or compress audio without changing the tone or pitch of the voice. It could take a 35 second commercial and make it into a 30 second spot without the voice sounding like a cartoon character. Does fast-talk communicate better? Somebodys have studied that.
Watch the video on YouTube: Radio Drops #25: Talk Quickly
Say It Quickly and Get Out of the Way
I coached and critiqued a lot of disc jockeys in my day, and I would say, “Guys, you got to be quick. Whenever you open the microphone, know where you’re going, what you’re going to say, and say it quickly.” Slow talk on the radio is a bore.
When you open the mic, sound alive. You got to sound like you got energy. Nobody wants to spend time with a guy who’s sleepy. We’re in the communication business as well as the entertainment business, and if you want to communicate better, talk quicker.
How come? In the late 1970s and early ’80s, the Lexicon time compressor was invented. It could electronically change the duration of audio, taking a 32-second commercial down to 30 seconds without changing the pitch or tone of the voice. Quite a remarkable thing. You can probably do it with your phone now.
The brain scientists started saying, here’s something we can study. What are the effects of sped-up or slowed-down speech on the brain? Would the listener understand and retain the message better if the speed was increased, or slowed down?
The first study I saw indicated that if we talked about 10 to 15% quicker than people were used to hearing, they would retain the message a little more.
I associated that with all those fast-talking car dealer commercials I had to record. The auto dealers would give us 70 seconds’ worth of copy for a 60-second commercial, or 40 seconds’ worth for a 30. I had to do a lot of editing, and I had to talk fast.
And there are those car dealers, still around everywhere, who insist on doing their own commercials. Nearly every one of them is a fast-talking son of a gun. Those guys sell a lot of cars. Their message is getting through.
Other studies since then have indicated that the spoken message is retained and understood when the voice is speaking up to 20% quicker than normal.
So whenever you open the microphone, know what you’re going to say first. Say it quickly and get out of the way. You’re on the radio. Talk quick.
SW
Written by
Steve Warren
Steve Warren has programmed radio since 1964. He built MdB, the first music scheduler for the Mac, in 1987 and Music 1 for Windows in 1994, and is a founding partner of MusicOne.
