The college process is a daunting one; however, it can be substantially more helpful if you apply one simple tool: your own voice. “The Science of Sounding Smart,” a report from “Harvard Business Review,” by Juliana Schroeder and Nicholas Epley, shows that while many people believe their ideas and intelligence will come across better in written form, using your voice can make you sound even more resourceful.

According to the article, speaking thoughts and ideas is an excellent way to showcase the most important aspects of a person. An interviewer is able is able to see first hand any emotions, dialect and body language, things that will not necessarily come across in a written transcript.

In this specific study, 18 MBA students were asked to prepare a spoken speech, that would be videotaped, a written speech and an audio recording of the speech to their employees detailing why they should be hired. Each type of speech was sent off to 162 evaluators to watch.

Overall, the results were similar. The evaluators who watched the videotapes and listened to the audio recordings viewed those students to be smarter and more rational. The article quotes, “They also liked the individuals more, had a more positive overall impression and perhaps most important – were more interested in hiring the candidates.”

This same theory, that people are more likely to hire someone if they can visually see them speaking, can be applied to Staples students preparing and going on college interviews.

“The interview won’t make or break an application, but it is an opportunity for the student to share aspects of their high school experience and who they are as a person that wouldn’t otherwise be included in the application. We do generally recommend that if given the opportunity, students interview with the schools they’re applying to,” Staples guidance counselor, William Plunkett said of college interviews.

A college interview not only gives the college a heads up on who you are as an individual, but it can help you see how you might fit into the school.

“It’s not so impersonal like a written paper, you actually get to show the people who will be choosing your fate/future and your personality,” Mackenzie Lavoie ’16, said. “They can really get the feel of who you are and if you’re a right fit for their school.”

Not only can an interview indicate if the school is a good fit, but it can benefit people who are are better speakers than writers. “They give people who may not be able to express themselves as eloquently in writing a way to show off their skills. It is easier to articulate ideas and answers orally, whereas written transcripts have word counts and restraints that make it difficult to express one’s opinion in completion,” Vig Namasivayam ’16 said.

College interviews are an important way to broadcast your thoughts, nonetheless, they do require effort to prepare for them.

“Students can prepare by brainstorming possible questions to ask the interviewer, (ones that wouldn’t just be found on the web site), as well as any ideas of things that they’d like to make sure to weave into the conversation, then practice by role playing with an adult,” Plunkett said.

A voice is a true way to convey a person’s thoughts, feelings, and passion, all important qualities to showcase in an interview. As said in the article, speaking is a valuable tool in any circumstance because only you have the power to control how other people will perceive you.