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A series · 9 pieces

the experiments

The studies people quote about how we speak and how we are judged, explained honestly: what the researchers did, what they found, whether it held up when others tried again, how it gets misused, and what to try this week.

Evidence labels: Replicated Mixed or misquoted Did not replicate

  1. The ExperimentsReal study, misquoted claim5 min readis 93% of communication really non-verbal? what Mehrabian actually testedYou have probably seen the slide: words 7%, tone 38%, body language 55%. It is one of the most quoted numbers in communication training. The studies behind it are real. The way they are quoted is not. Here is what was actually tested in 1967, and what it means for how you speak.The 7-38-55 figures describe mixed signals about liking, not all communication. Your words still carry the message.
  2. The ExperimentsMixed evidence5 min readthe photocopier study: what the word because really doesA famous 1978 experiment at a university photocopier is often summed up as "just say because and people will comply". The real result was more interesting, and more useful. The empty reason worked only for a tiny favour. When the ask got bigger, people wanted an actual reason.An empty because can ease a tiny ask. Bigger asks need a real reason, stated plainly.
  3. The ExperimentsReplicated, with limits5 min readthin slices: can strangers judge you in thirty secondsIn 1993, two Harvard psychologists showed strangers a few seconds of silent video of teachers at work. Those snap ratings lined up closely with how the teachers' own students rated them at the end of term. The finding is real. What it does not show matters just as much.Quick impressions form fast but are not reliably accurate. Make your first seconds clear and warm.
  4. The ExperimentsMixed evidence5 min readsay I am excited: the study on turning nerves into energy, and what a replication foundMost of us are told to calm down before we speak. A 2014 study from Harvard Business School tested a different idea: instead of fighting the racing heart, give it a new name. Saying "I am excited" changed how people felt. Whether it changed how well they performed is where the evidence gets more interesting.Calling your nerves excitement can help you feel readier. Whether it improves the performance itself is less certain.
  5. The ExperimentsDid not replicate5 min readpower posing: what happened when science checked the superhero stanceFew psychology findings have travelled as far as power posing: stand like a superhero for two minutes and your body chemistry shifts in your favour. Then larger studies tried to repeat it. This is the story of what held, what did not, and how one of the original authors changed her mind in public.Power poses did not reliably change hormones or behaviour. Use posture to feel steady and breathe well.
  6. The ExperimentsReplicated, with limits5 min readthe tapping study: why your explanation sounds clearer to you than to anyone elseA graduate student at Stanford asked people to tap out well-known songs on a table while a partner tried to name them. The tappers were sure the tunes were obvious. They were not. The study became one of the most retold stories about expertise and explanation, and it is worth knowing what it did and did not show.Once you know something, you cannot easily hear it as a newcomer does, so test your explanation on one.
  7. The ExperimentsReplicated, with limits5 min readpsychological safety and Google's Project Aristotle: what the research says about teams that speak upA hospital study that seemed to show the best nursing units making the most mistakes. A factory study of 51 teams. A Google project on 180 of its own teams. Together they made "psychological safety" one of the most quoted ideas in management. The core idea is well supported. Some of what gets bundled with it is not.Teams learn faster when speaking up feels safe, and leaders build that safety through what they say and do.
  8. The ExperimentsReplicated, with limits5 min readthe Pygmalion effect: what other people's expectations really do to performanceIn the 1960s, a Harvard psychologist told teachers that certain children were about to blossom. The children had been picked at random. A year later, some of them had gained more on an IQ test than their classmates. The story is famous. The evidence behind it is weaker, and more interesting, than the legend.Expectations can shape performance a little, mostly when they are new, so make yours specific and fair.
  9. The ExperimentsMixed evidence5 min readdo listeners trust accented speech less? what the accent and credibility studies really foundIn 2010, two researchers in Chicago reported that listeners rated simple trivia statements as less likely to be true when they were read in a foreign accent. The finding spread fast. Since then, several careful attempts to repeat it have found no effect. Here is what the research says, and what it does not.Any accent effect lives in the listener's ear: listeners should check their judgement, speakers can aim for clarity.
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