[SSG nudge Leadership] Instructor's Greatest Crisis: 'No Voice Comes Out on the Podium'

-Low Voice to Enhance the Clarity of Conversations and Instructions-

I conducted a lecture using only my breath, not my voice. Holding the microphone as close as possible and lecturing, the concentration of about 50 students actually increased, vividly recalling an incident from over 10 years ago when I overcame a crisis. “Everyone! Just after finishing dinner and taking a short break, my voice is gone. I have tried every possible method, but no words come out. I don’t know the reason. I am afraid I may unintentionally cause inconvenience during tonight’s 2-hour lecture.”

This happened when I was traveling nationwide giving lectures for university students on employment and leadership camps. It occurred at an employment camp lecture hall in a corporate training center in Yangpyeong. At that time, I had been pushing myself hard for several days. Almost every day involved 7 to 8 hours of lectures followed by 200 to 300 km of driving. On this day, a total of 4 hours of lectures were scheduled: 2 hours before dinner and 2 hours after. The pre-dinner lecture went smoothly, and the evening session was planned for students to conduct mutual mock interviews through role-playing.

“Everyone, please help me. You have already learned the theory and content of interviews. From now on, just follow the role-play guidelines step by step,” I said. During the 2 hours I conducted the lecture with only breath sounds, holding the microphone as close as possible, I cannot forget the students’ eyes. With hearing impaired, they were mobilizing all five senses. A faculty member watching nearby said it was the time of “highest immersion.”

The Magic of the Lecture Hall? Rapport and Cognitive Response

In the worst situation, what I trusted was the rapport formed between the students and the instructor. It was a human relationship of mutual trust built during the previous 2 hours. This term originally comes from the French word rapprter, meaning “to bring back.” It refers to a friendly relationship formed through benevolent conversation and consideration, where one person sends a message and the other responds. It was an experience that deeply impressed the importance of relationship building at the start of a lecture.

However, recent studies revealed another aspect. It is known as the Cognitive Reflection Test, CRT.

You may have encountered such quizzes. “It takes 5 machines 5 hours to polish 5 golf balls. How many hours will it take 100 machines to polish 100 golf balls?”

“A pond’s lotus flowers double every day due to their strong reproductive ability. If it takes 48 days to cover the entire pond, how many days will it take to cover half the pond?”

The answers are 5 hours and 47 days. However, many tend to answer 100 hours and 24 days. Those who give wrong answers are operating on an automatic thinking system. When a more cautious reflective thinking system is activated, the risk of falling into such traps disappears, resulting in higher scores. Therefore, studies show that if these questions are printed somewhat faintly and distributed, or asked in a low voice, or in a slightly noisy environment, the listeners’ concentration increases and the correct answer rate rises.

The crisis overcome that day was due to the rapport formed in the first 2 hours combined with stimulating the reflective thinking system that exhibits high concentration.

Overcoming Low Listening and Concentration with a Low Voice

Recently, I feel that communication effectiveness has hit rock bottom due to masks. Overall, listening and literacy skills seem to have declined significantly. You can tell quickly by the level of feedback after giving instructions or holding meetings. While the habit of taking notes on what is heard is important, the prior step is to listen properly. Generally, this phenomenon is caused by the development of numerous media and communication tools that reduce concentration. I even believe that allowing free use of cell phones during school lectures, where concentration is most needed, has a big impact. This phenomenon is especially common in interview rooms, where interview questions are not properly heard or understood.

In such cases, speaking in a low voice significantly improves listening ability. The more important the instruction, the more you lower your voice softly to make listeners perk up their ears.

There is a passage in the book Mafia Management (translated by Won Jae-gil, author unknown; 1996, Hwanggeumgaji Publishing) that I recently read. Regarding leadership qualities, “Strong managers who achieve success after many years mostly act quietly and slowly. When they speak softly, the other party cannot help but listen attentively. It is possible to develop this ability through effort.”

Park Chang-wook, CEO of Korea Knowledge Leader Association (Secretary General of Daewoo World Management Research Association)

◆ What is ‘Nudge Leadership’?

‘Nudge Leadership’ is not about coercive or directive oppressive methods but about leading organizational or personal change through small and gentle interventions or motivation. It also means improving human relationships through small changes in oneself and transforming into a person others want to follow. Ultimately, it breathes creativity and passion into organizations or relationships, creating new value and happiness.