Quantified Communications’ New Scientific Analysis of Top Financial Communicators Pinpoints How Speakers Build Trust, Influence Audiences
It’s Not So Much What They Say As How They Say It
CHICAGO, May 21, 2012 –
What makes a good communicator? Whose presentations do we trust? We know that an effective speaker can influence and impress an audience, but what makes them effective? Quantified Communications, a new communications analytics company,has created the first objective rating system to evaluate the communication skills of financial spokespeople, and the results challenge conventional wisdom. Combining a methodology developed at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management with newly developed video-analysis technologies and expert feedback from world-class communications coaches and high-net worth investors,Quantified Communications analyzed media appearances by 120 top financial communicators.
“Our research has demonstrated that listeners were influenced far more by non-verbal cues than by verbal ones, with passion and credibility accounting for over 50% of presentation effectiveness” said Noah Zandan, president of Quantified Communications. “A speaker’s tone, appearance and demeanor proved nine times more important in making a strong impression on potential investors than the actual content the speaker presented.”
“Common intuition suggests that content drives communications effectiveness,” said Kellogg Graduate School of Management Professor Harry Kraemer, an executive partner at Private Equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and former CEO of Baxter International. “It’s interesting to see that the Quantified Financial Spokesperson results are driven by emotions, which implies that leaders need to work hard to establish trust and personalize their content for their audiences.”
In its first annual Quantified Financial Spokesperson Rankings, released today, Quantified Communications determined that the most effective financial spokesperson is Richard Davis, CEO of US Bancorp. Davis succeeded because he appeared “genuine, emotionally connected to his audience, and relaxed in front of the camera,” said Zandan. The second most effective spokesperson is Michael Maboussin, the Chief Investment Strategist at Legg Mason, who “excelled in his ability to appear approachable, authentic, and honest while delivering a personalized message.”
“Effective communication moves high-stakes markets,” Zandan said. “Investors, financial analysts and asset management firms are relying more and more on video and online communications, and we can provide them with the most accurate methodology for measuring the effectiveness of those communications. These new rankings are a unique way to assess what people are actually hearing and seeing from investment management firms, and will potentially revolutionize the industry’s use of video-based communications.” For more information or to purchase the results, email info@quantifiedcommunications.com.
About Quantified Communications
Quantified Communications, LLC is the leading global provider of analytics and expert feedback for evaluating the effectiveness of video-based communications. Through extensive research, innovative technology and advanced statistics, Quantified Communications provides executives, professionals and enterprises with scientifically-based evaluation scores and qualitative feedback that allow presenters to objectively assess their communications skills, compare their presentation abilities to their peers, and optimize their potential as modern professional communicators.