Can a Simple Hello Ruin Your Job Interview?

Posted June 18, 2014 & filed under Interviewing, Job Search

Can a simple “hello” ruin your job interview? A psychological study at the University of Glasgow, Scotland found that first impressions begin to drastically take shape the moment you speak. So, is your voice helping you to make a good first impression?

Does your hello say “friend” or “foe?”

In the University of Glasgow psychology study, Dr. Phil McAleer recorded 64 men and women uttering a simple hello to gauge the way people make instantaneous assumptions about the personalities of others. Then, 320 additional participants were told to rate each voice based on 10 personality traits.

Snap judgments quickly formed as participants filtered each voice into different categories. After hearing a voice for less than two seconds, people were able to unequivocally label them as confident, aggressive, trustworthy, dominant, or any of the other 6 traits. Those vocal first impressions, whether or not they were accurate, massively influenced perception.

Job interviews aren’t any different. In this context especially, first impressions harden like quick dry cement: the shape your personality takes in the first few seconds tends to indefinitely stick in a hiring manager’s mind.

So, how do you help your natural pitch and intonation make a good first impression?

Pick the right pitch for your gender

First of all, know that men and women’s voices are evaluated differently. Both genders have different sized vocal cords, which causes their voices to emanate in different ways. A male voice is deemed more trustworthy if it registers at a relatively higher pitch. However, a female voice is deemed more confident if it drops down in pitch at the end of a word or statement. The University of Glasgow page for the study has a few examples.

Be clear and firm

Moreover, you want your voice to ring clear. To do that, speak from your diaphragm instead of the throat or nose. Make a “mhmm” sound to find your natural pitch level and keep yourself in that range. Any other pitch can give your voice a nasal quality that undercuts the way you are perceived.

It’s not a sprint…

Another approach to make a good first impression with your voice is to speak in an even-keeled and controlled way. Speaking too quickly can give the impression that you’re nervous or anxious, stripping the confidence from your thought-out responses. The first impression you make at an interview should give the hiring manager the idea that you’re prepared and ready for action.

by James Walsh