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Have you ever noticed that some of your colleagues are talking too loudly or moving around in video? Researchers have found the reason for such behavior, and it would be related to poor video quality…
Experienced in the exercise of video since the arrival of COVID-19, you find it difficult to tolerate the attitude of some of your colleagues who start talking very loudly and/or gesticulating in all directions, for no reason related. But think again: there may be an explanation for this somewhat exuberant behavior.
The worse the quality of the video, the louder the talk
A new study by Dutch cognitive scientists has looked into this curious, and presumably widespread, phenomenon. And the reason for this sudden commotion behind his computer screen turns out to be rather simple: the more the video quality of an online meeting deteriorates, the louder you start talking.
“It’s ultimately like the real world: if you’re talking to someone in a busy place where there’s a lot of background noise, you usually use gestures to emphasize your speech and you speak louder”found the authors of the research.
To reach such conclusions, the latter organized video calls with around forty participants. The volunteers sat in separate rooms and were asked to have an informal conversation for 40 minutes. During the call, the quality of the video gradually deteriorated, until the image became “extremely blurry”. Researchers carefully analyzed how participants spoke and moved throughout the call.
“Even when the image was barely visible, people didn’t suddenly stop gesturing. It’s a bit like talking on the phone: you don’t see each other and, during a conversation , we keep moving and gesticulating”noted James Trujillo, lead author of the study.
This research aims to demonstrate the close and reciprocal link that exists between gestures and speech, an essential axis of study in the sciences of language, in particular the communicative aspect. “Future research on speech should not be limited to factors such as loudness and tone of voice, but also include this parameter, in order to get a clear idea of how people behave”concluded James Trujillo.
In the meantime, why not suggest to your colleagues who are a little too restless to check the quality of their internet connection?