“Scientifically, it’s because that voice is vibration. So when it’s vibration, it needs a medium to be heard. Like, if we are in outer space, we hear nothing because there’s no medium to convey the sound. And then once we’re back on Earth, we have media. And when we are listening to ourselves, the sound is vibrating in the head. So, the medium, the media, they are liquid, they are solid, the bones, so that’s the medium that they are resonating in. But when we’re recording ourselves, the medium is air. And then of course, fortunately or unfortunately, when people hear us, the voice is also vibrating in the air. So that’s why I tell my clients, if you want to know how much suffering you’re putting people around you through, you must listen to yourself.” – Cynthia Zhai

This episode is the second half of my conversation with voice coach, TEDx speaker, and best-selling author Cynthia Zhai as we discuss the value of silence in public speaking, why our recordings never seem to sound like ourselves, and her insights into the trend of AI -generated narration.

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(00:00) – Understanding Gravitas

The second half of our conversation begins as Cynthia elaborates on the meaning of gravitas and how speakers can best convey a sense of it. “[Gravitas] just means that seriousness in the voice,” she says, “so when a leader speaks, if they are speaking with a voice that conveys this kind of seriousness, the heaviness that it gives people the impression that these leaders know what they’re doing.” We discuss the challenge of maintaining an engaging pace while speaking, and why speeches are as much about silence as sound. “One very simple example that I use in my classes,” she explains, “is when we announce the lucky draw winner. So we say, ‘The lucky draw winner is…’ After that, we pause, right? We pause so long that we are building up the suspense, building up people’s anticipation.”

(12:56) – The Role of Presence

Cynthia describes her four tips for speakers to keep in mind, such as the impact they have on listeners. “The first one is people have to know how their voice affects people physically,” she says. “Either they give people goosebumps or make people relax.” We discuss that age-old riddle of why our voices never sound like our real selves in a recording, and why she always asks for a recording of her clients as part of her teaching process. “When I hear myself in my head, ‘Oh, it’s so deep.’ But when it’s recorded, it’s not. Or they feel, ‘Oh, it’s so nice,’ and recorded, it’s not. They have to listen to themselves.”

(25:30) – The Impact of AI on Voice

Our discussion turns to AI and its growing role in narration, and how Cynthia’s recent encounter with a voice clone of a teacher who’d passed away quickly revealed itself as AI. “The way that they’re talking, you can tell,” she says. “The more you listen, the more you can tell it is by AI because, for example, humans, when we are talking, we can say, ‘Ah, I see,’ that there’s a certain emotion that we carry where the AI, when you listen, it doesn’t.” She tells listeners how they can get in touch and offers her parting tips on becoming a better speaker. “Even if they don’t end up working with me,” she says, “I hope that this opens up some window where they realize, ‘The voice I was born with can be changed.’"

Episode Summary

Cynthia explains what gravitas means and how it can be developed.
Techniques for effectively using silence and pauses in speech.
The growing impact of AI voice clones and where they still fall short.

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