Donald Trump (second from right) speaks as Jeb Bush (left) Marco Rubio (second from left) and Ben Carson (right) look on during the CNBC Republican presidential debate at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, Oct. 28, 2015.
According to a new study, politicians sound alike. They all have similar ways of speaking.

Scientists recently analyzed the speech patterns of four presidential contenders in the 2016 race. They studied the speeches of Hillary Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. They found that the four candidates all changed their voices in similar ways, depending on the audience.

The research was described at the Acoustical Society of America meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. The findings reveal a bit about how political speakers use their voices to help them win support.

"Politicians use voice as a very powerful behavior to convey their charisma," Rosario Signorello said. Signorello works at UCLA's Department of Head and Neck Surgery and is one of the researchers behind the work.

The Power Of Persuasion

When it comes to politics, it's not what you say, it's how you say it. Some of the most successful politicians are outstanding speakers, and with good reason. Skilled political speakers can persuade large crowds of very different people with powerful speeches. Their success is not only due to the words they choose. A paragraph on chopped carrots might sound boring in a dull speaker's voice but riveting when recited by a Shakespearean actor. Seasoned politicians know this very well, but this year's unsuccessful presidential hopefuls may have learned it the hard way.

Signorello said that politicians are the best public speakers because they face every type of audience, addressing everyone from elementary school students to very old people.

Signorello wanted to try to identify what makes politicians good speakers based on the way they use their voice. He analyzed the fundamental frequency, a measure of sound, of the voices of the four candidates. Sound is a vibration, or wave, that moves through matter and can be heard. A sound wave is constantly moving up and down, and the frequency of the wave tells how fast it is moving. A high frequency means the wave is moving quickly and will make a sound with a high pitch, like a flute. A low frequency means the wave is moving slowly and will make a sound with a low pitch, like a bass.

Speech Habits Similar

The researchers studied the speech of the candidates in three different settings. They looked at political rallies, talks with other political figures, and talk show interviews where politics were not discussed. The scientists analyzed three different speeches by each candidate in each scenario. The study found that the four candidates shared certain similar voice behaviors. This was true for the men and the women and for both political parties.

When speaking to large crowds of people, all of the politicians used wide pitch ranges. They spoke in a high pitch at times and in a low pitch at other times. Signorello and his fellow researchers have found that this strategy helps speakers to be seen as charismatic and likable.

Candidates used a high vocal pitch range when speaking to general audiences of voters, rather than other politicians and leaders. On average, candidates used a high pitch, and they mixed loud and soft volumes with these audiences.

Appealing To The Audience

This tactic makes sense for this type of audience, Signorello said. General audiences include a variety of people. Candidates adjust their speech often to appeal to many different groups at the same time. The candidates try to match each group's idea of what a charismatic leader should sound like, he said.

However, when the politicians were speaking to other politicians, they kept their voices at low and medium frequencies. This was the case when Clinton spoke to a United Nations commission and when Sanders spoke to the U.S. Senate. The same was true when Trump and Fiorina spoke at the New Hampshire Republican Leadership Summit. Low and medium frequency pitch patterns are meant to signal power and dominance. Politicians may lower their pitch range in these situations to show that they are comfortable among other powerful people, Signorello said.

When candidates speak to other politicians, they speak differently. Politicians are generally similar to each other. Most of them are males of a certain age, Signorello said. Low and medium pitches are used most with this audience.

No Curves In Their Pitches

All of the politicians used their normal pitch ranges when they chatted about nonpolitical subjects on talk shows. None of the candidates stretched their frequencies or loudness in this situation, Signorello said.

Politicians may share some speech tactics for impressing an audience, but they don't behave exactly the same. The researchers found that the candidates all have individual quirks. For example, Clinton and Fiorina lowered their voice pitch when addressing large crowds. Trump did the opposite.

Sanders had a wide pitch range over the course of a speech. This made sense to Signorello. Sanders speaks to audiences of men and women, people of all ages and many cultural backgrounds. He has to adjust his speech often because he wants everyone to see him as charismatic.

In his next study, Signorello wants to see if politicians in other countries have similar behavioral patterns to those in the United States.

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