If you try to sound professional by flattening your voice into a "newscaster" tone in your podcasts or videos, you are actually making it harder for people to listen. Science shows that listeners physically mimic the tension in your voice. Basically, if you feel nothing, then they feel nothing.

This episode looks at Simulation Theory and Emotional Contagion. I go over how your vocal prosody triggers the mirror neurons in your listener's brain. This biological link is why that "NPR Voice" thing often doesn't work all that well in podcasting, and why you need to use techniques to connect.

Get better at communication and public speaking to improve your next episode.

Key Takeaways:

1. Why listeners physically mimic the emotions they hear in your voice.
2. Why sounding objective or impartial creates a barrier to connection.
3. Mirror Neurons: How to trigger the "audio-motor link" in your audience's brain.
4. A simple script analysis and practice drill to inject genuine emotion into your episodes.

1. Emotional Contagion: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/mirror-neurons-critical-development-empathy
2. Simulation Theory: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2865077/
3. Prosodic Cues: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4588126/
4. Deep acting: https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/deep-acting-at-work/
5. Newsletter: https://stereoforest.com

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Written, edited, and hosted by Jen deHaan.

Find this show on YouTube at https://youtube.com/@jdehaan

Website at https://stereoforest.com/lab

Get StereoForest’s newsletter for podcasting resources at https://stereoforest.com/newsletter

Produced by StereoForest https://stereoforest.com

Contact Jen at https://jendehaan.com

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Your support will help this show continue. Funds will go towards hosting and music licensing for this show and others on StereoForest. This show is produced by an independent HUMAN artist directly affected by the state of the industry. StereoForest does not have any funding or additional support.

You might remember the red Swingline stapler from the movie Office Space. All these years later. You can apply that principle to your episodes to stop sounding like every other show.

This episode explores Dual Coding Theory and Concreteness Fading. This science explains why abstract phrases like "an efficient workflow" are forgettable while concrete details like "fast editing with Stream Deck" stick in the brain better.

Key Takeaways:

1. Dual Coding Theory: Why your brain processes images and text separately and how to trigger both.
2. Concreteness Fading: Why memory fades over time and how concrete nouns act as "handles" for the brain.
3. The Problem with Jargon: Why "safe" business words and AI make you sound kinda generic
4. The "Zoom In" Drill: A simple editing exercise to turn more of your words and phrases into specifics.

Dual Coding Studies:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312316469_Concrete_vs_Abstract_words_-_What_do_you_Recall_Better_A_Study_on_Dual_Coding_Theory
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301008223001120
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/dual-coding-theory (multiple studies)

More information about dual coding

1. https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/dual-coding/
2. https://plato.stanford.edu/archIves/sum2020/entries/mental-imagery/theories-memory.html

Concreteness fading

1. https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2018/2/1-1 (general)
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959475221000839

Random word (suggestion) generators

There are many! Here are two options

1. https://www.impromuse.com/
2. https://www.andismith.com/games/improv-suggestions/

Join the Lab &...

If you feel awkward staring into a camera lens, you are fighting your own biology. Your nervous system interprets the unblinking stare of a lens as a threat or rejection, even if your brain doesn't. This can lead to many things, including causing your facial muscles to go flat and turn into what actors might call "Dead Eyes."

In this episode, we use Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory and the Still Face Experiment to explain why your face goes numb when you hit record, and you'll learn how to override it using a specific acting drill.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Anatomy of "Dead Eyes": Why your Social Engagement System shuts down when looking at a lens.
2. Why the camera lens triggers a subconscious threat response.
3. Stanislavski’s Circles: How to use the "Medium Circle" to trick your brain into feeling safe.
4. The Drill: My "Talk to the Face" drill to warm up your on-camera presence.

Join the Lab & Get the Newsletter: https://stereoforest.com

Polyvagal Theory (Dr. Stephen Porges): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12302812

Stanislavski Circles of Attention: https://www.theatreworkout.com/post/stanislavski-3-circles-of-attention

The Still Face Experiment (Dr. Ed Tronick): https://www.gottman.com/blog/research-still-face-experiment

Why Still Face was game changer - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/tech-support/202307/why-the-still-face-experiment-was-a-game-changer

Still Face Experiment and connection - https://psychhelp.com.au/what-does-the-still-face-experiment-teach-us-about-connection/

Eyes as a Threat: https://psychcentral.com/health/identifying-psychopathic-stare#what-is-it

Research on Eye Contact with the Camera: https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2810811

"Dead Eyes" Podcast by Connor Ratliff: https://headgum.com/dead-eyes

00:00 The Disconnect: Why You Feel Awkward Recording

01:25 Welcome to the Podcast Performance Lab

01:47 Polyvagal Theory: The Social Engagement System

03:25 The "Still Face" Experiment Explained

05:35 Biology: Why the Lens Looks Like a Predator

06:33 Acting Theory: Stanislavski's Circles of Attention

08:41 The Personalization Technique: Speaking to One Person

11:22 Drill: "Talk to the Face" (Using a Photo)

14:36 Advanced Drill: Visualization & Scanning

18:22 Recommendation: The "Dead Eyes" Podcast

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Written, edited, and...