Last Wednesday, October 3rd, President Obama and Governor Romney of Massachusetts went at it for the 1st round of presidential debates this year. Romney made a stronger impression in polls and on social media platforms as being the candidate that “won” the debate. How people measure success in these debates seems largely to be based on the competitor’s use of rhetoric and even body language!
As a translations company, we make it our business to know each and every language we work with as expertly as possible. So we ask questions like what subtleties in a speech’s delivery make it more or less appealing in the context of something like a political debate?
One striking presentation on how body language affects communication conveyed that how a message is gotten across in face-to-face communication is 50% body language, 40% tone of voice, and 10% words! What do we take away from this?
Being aware of how the use of language and tone can sway a speaker’s effectiveness, or even a reader’s impression of a document, helps us to be more intricate in our translation work. It shows that knowing a language and its native culture are key components to producing translations that not only preserve the information of the original document, but also the subtleties of tone and rhythm!
Let us know what you think!
