The importance of visual and vocal cues of organizational spokespersons in times of crisis

There is an increasing interest in nonverbal aspects of crisis communication. Some studies have examined the impact of visual cues (e.g., facial expressions), while one study has examined the impact of vocal cues (voice pitch). Findings from social psychology indicate that visual cues may be more dominant than vocal cues in affecting the perception of a speaker. Two studies therefore explored the relative importance of visual and vocal cues of spokespersons in crisis communication. Each study examined the effects of deceptive visual cues, while one study focused on their interaction with speech disturbances and another on their interaction with voice pitch. The results show that the impact of visual cues dominates the effects of vocal cues. In study one, visual cues affected consumers’ attitudes towards the organization and study two illustrates that visual cues also affect purchase intentions. In both studies, the impact of vocal cues depended on visual cues.