A raised voice can make a clear point harder to receive accurately.

GRATITUDE

WHAT THIS MEANS

Volume competes with content rather than reinforcing it. Past a certain level the listener stops weighing the argument and starts managing the situation, watching for what happens next, and nothing you say lands as a claim any more. The better your point actually is, the more a raised voice costs you. Force and clarity work against each other here.

If you are right, say it quietly, which also makes it sound more like something you have thought about. If somebody else raises theirs, wait rather than matching them. The pause does more than any reply, and the second attempt is usually the one that gets heard.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

When did volume cost you the point you were making?

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