Sound of Intellect: The Psychology of the Elevator Pitch

The Huffington Post:

Richard Nelson Bolles, a former Episcopal pastor, decided to self-publish his advice for job hunters in 1970, in the midst of a tough job market for newly minted college graduates. The handbook, What Color Is Your Parachute?, immediately gained popularity by word of mouth and was soon on its way to the bestseller list. In the decades since, it has become the bible for young professionals entering the world of work. It has been revised almost every year and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

The career guide is known for its original and strategic job-hunting advice, including the so-called “informational interview.” The author recommends that job seekers set up brief meetings with seasoned professionals and recruiters, even when there is no specific job opening, just to explore the field in general and learn about a corporation’s culture. The informational interview is a way of getting a foot in the door and begin networking. The idea is to put a human face on one of many unsolicited resumes that cross the typical employer’s transom.

And perhaps a human voice too. Psychological scientists Nick Epley and Juliana Schroeder of the University of Chicago believe that there is something about speech itself that conveys not just the content of a person’s mind but the basic capacity to think — the capacity for reasoning, thoughtfulness and intellect. Changes in tone and cadence and pitch may act as cues, the scientists say, revealing a lively, active and capable mind in action.

Read the whole story: The Huffington Post

Wray Herbert is an author and award-winning journalist who writes two popular blogs for APS, We’re Only Human and Full Frontal Psychology. Follow Wray on Twitter @wrayherbert.