Apr 13

Speakers who rate high on likableness radiate goodness and goodwill, which inspire audience affection in return. Audiences are more willing to accept ideas and suggestions from speakers they like. A smile and direct eye contact can signal to listeners that you want to communicate. Likable speakers share their feelings as well as their thoughts. They enjoy laughter at appropriate moments, especially laughter at themselves. Being able to talk openly and engagingly about your mistakes can make you seem more human and appealing as well as more confident.
The more likable speakers seem, the more audiences want to identify with them.Identification is the feeling of sharing or closeness that can develop between speakers and listeners despite different cultural backgrounds. When these backgrounds differ, speakers can invite identification by telling stories or by using examples that help listeners focus on the experiences, values, or beliefs they have in common. Speaking before a class that included students from all sections of the United States, Marie D’Aniello invited identification in her self-introductory speech by developing a theme everyone could share, family pride. At one point in her speech, Marie pointed out how she had drawn inspiration from her brother’s athletic accomplishments: When I think of glory, I have to think of my brother Chris. I’ll never forget his championship basketball game. It’s the typical buzzer beater story: five seconds to go, down by one, Chris gets the ball and he drives down the court, he shoots, he scores! … I’ll never forget the headline, “D’Aniello saves the game!” D’Aniello, hey wait, that’s me. I’m a D’Aniello. I could do this too. Maybe I can’t play basketball like Chris, but I can do other things. A This impression, combined with other favorable impressions of her competence, integrity, and confidence, created respect for her point of view.
Likableness can also be enhanced by appropriate touches of humor. Marcos White, a point guard for the University of New Mexico basketball team, endeared himself to listeners during his first speech. Marcos introduced himself as the son of an African American father and a Mexican mother: “I guess,” he said, “that makes me a blacking.”
Audiences often identify with speakers who talk or dress the way they do. Audiences prefer speakers who use gestures, language, and facial expressions that are natural and unaffected. You should speak a little more formally than you do in everyday conversation, but not much more. Similarly, you should dress nicely for your speech, but not extravagantly. You do not want to create distance between yourself and your listeners by language or dress that seems either too formal or too casual.