Abstract
The present study deals with a key factor of speaker charisma: prosody or, to put it less technically, speech melody. In a contrastive analysis, we investigate the extent to which computer-aided real-time visualizations of acoustic-melodic parameters in a self-guided training task help speakers use these parameters more charismatically. Fifty-two speakers took part in the experiment, subdivided into four equally large, gender-balanced groups. Each group received the same introduction and instruction, but then trained their melodic charisma with a different software tool. One tool – the “Pitcher” – was specifically developed for visualizing melodic parameters and providing feedback on their proper use in charismatic speech. The other software tools serve language- or singer-training purposes. Results show that three out of the four tools in fact support speakers in adopting a more charismatic speech melody after training, whereby the “Pitcher” outperforms all other tools by more than 25%. We discuss the implications of our findings for refining speech-melody visualization strategies (also for L2 training) and for digitizing rhetorical speaker coaching.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Speech and Computer - 22nd International Conference, SPECOM 2020, Proceedings : 22nd International Conference, SPECOM 2020, St. Petersburg, Russia, October 7–9, 2020, Proceedings |
Editors | Alexey Karpov, Rodmonga Potapova |
Publisher | Springer |
Publication date | 4. Oct 2020 |
Pages | 357-368 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-3-030-60275-8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 4. Oct 2020 |
Event | International Conference SPECOM - St. Petersburg, Russian Federation Duration: 7. Oct 2020 → 9. Oct 2020 Conference number: 22 |
Conference
Conference | International Conference SPECOM |
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Number | 22 |
Country/Territory | Russian Federation |
City | St. Petersburg |
Period | 07/10/2020 → 09/10/2020 |
Series | Lecture Notes in Computer Science |
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Volume | 12335 |
ISSN | 0302-9743 |
Keywords
- Charisma
- Pitcher
- Voice
- Prosody
- Public speaking
- Rhetoric