Followers of this blog might recall my March 16 post “You say potato, I say potahto – why attitudes and accents matter for researchers.” For those who want the abridged version, I suggested that research might be more successful if the interviewer sounded similar to the interviewee and that there could be an untapped opportunity to market to the various regions in the U.S. using each region’s own accent and vernacular. (Still waiting for more of you to send in your dialect videos!)
Shortly after writing that entry a colleague of mine shared a press release with me from U.K. telemarketing company Phruit Call Centre Services that detailed a survey on accents conducted by Oslo, Norway, research company Confirmit. The release states that “politeness, courtesy and good manners remain the most important factor in a successful telemarketing campaign despite the myth that specific regional accents are essential.”
Gosh. Well this is embarrassing!
(Only kidding.)
This isn’t a redaction because I still believe there is merit in the case I made – no matter if the interviewing is being done for research or for telemarketing – but I thought it only fair to play the devil’s advocate. Which is more important: manners or accent? I don’t know that the two can be separated entirely, especially when research shows that the New York accent is perceived as rude on its own. But would a rude person who doesn’t sound like you somehow seem worse than someone who does? Is someone who sounds like you who has impeccable manners the ace in the sleeve?
Maybe it is as simple as interviewees simply wanting the person on the end to be pleasant, but I’m not ready to discount the importance of accents just yet!