The Sound of Authority

Before anyone fully weighs your argument, they have already started reading your voice. In the first few seconds of speaking, listeners form a fast impression of how sure you are — strongly influenced by how you sound, not only by what you say.

The opposite is just as loud. A voice that rises at the end of statements, races through ideas, fades to a whisper, or pads silence with "um" quietly broadcasts doubt — no matter how much you actually know.