176 REFINE AND REHEARSE
sink in. Most presenters sound as though they are trying to rush
through the material. In many ways, they are, because they
scripted more material than the time allows. Jobs never hur-
ries. His presentation is carefully rehearsed to give him plenty of
time to slow down, pause, and let his message take hold.VOLUME
Jobs will lower and raise his voice to add drama. He typically does
this when introducing a hot new product. He often lowers his voice
as he builds up to the announcement and then raises his volume to
hit the big note. He’ll do the opposite as well. When he introduced
the first iPod, he raised his voice and said, “To have your whole
music library with you at all times is a quantum leap in listening
to music.” He then lowered his voice and delivered the knockout:
“But the coolest thing about iPod is your entire music library fits
in your pocket.”^6 Just as inflections and pauses keep your audience
riveted to your every word, so does the volume of your voice.RATE
Jobs speeds up the delivery of some sentences and slows down for
others. Demonstrations are typically delivered at his normal rate
of speech, but he slows down considerably when he delivers the
headline or key message that he wants everyone to remember.
When Jobs introduced the iPod for the first time, he lowered his
voice nearly to a whisper to emphasize the key takeaway. He also
slowed the tempo of his sentences to build the drama. Table 14.3
offers highlights.^7Act Like the Leader You Want to Be
Do not make the mistake of believing body language and vocal
delivery are unimportant, “soft skills.” UCLA research scien-
tist Albert Mehrabian studied expression and communication
for his book Silent Messages.^8 He discovered that nonverbal cues
carry the most impact in a conversation. Tone of voice—vocal
expression—was the second most influential factor. The third,
and least important, were the actual words spoken.