Effects of the Program for Developing Oral Communication Expressiveness on university radio announcers: a pre/post intervention study.
Denis de Jesus Batista, Aline Santos da Conceição
PMID 39936814WHAT IT FOUND
Eight university radio announcers reported better diction and voice sound after an eight-session communication program.
Judges rated half the post-training readings as superior, and acoustic analysis showed increased clarity. No control group was used, so these changes cannot be attributed solely to the training.
Key findings
01Participants reported improved self-perception of diction and voice sound after the program.
02Blind judges rated four of six pairs of readings as better after training, with diction being the most common improvement.
03Acoustic analysis showed a significant increase in Cepstral Peak Prominence (clarity) and a decrease in speech intensity, though smoothness measures did not change.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
There was no control group, so it is impossible to attribute the observed changes directly to the intervention rather than time or practice. The sample size was very small (n=8), limiting the statistical power and generalizability of the findings. The study was subject to the Hawthorne effect, where participants may have changed their behavior simply because they were being observed. Interjudge agreement for the auditory-perceptual ratings was low, leading the researchers to rely on data from only one judge. The intervention duration (16 hours total) may be insufficient to produce lasting changes in complex vocal behaviors.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial support and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the improvements in self-perception and acoustic measures as proof that this specific program causes better communication skills. The study had no control group, and the small sample size means these changes could be due to practice, natural variation, or the participants' awareness of being studied.