In the previous US and Australian national elections the winners Barack Obama and Kevin Rudd clearly had better vocal skills than their opponents John McCain and John Howard. Though the spoken voice may not be the determining factor in the result of this election, it’s a vital feature that reveals many insights into the candidates.

Take Julia Gillard’s campaign moment when she lifted herself away from the script and spoke from the heart about the cabinet leaks. Indeed Gillard’s speaking abilities have been far more important to her ascension to the top job of the Labor Party than Tony Abbott’s were in his rise in Liberal Party ranks. Here’s an assessment of the vocal performances after two weeks of the 2010 federal election campaign.

CONFIDENCE

Gillard: 7.5. The energy of her voice shows that she’s taking this contest very seriously. She is sensitive to friendly fire, and is fearful of losing. Her speaking manner has a confidence that would not be easy to shake.

Abbott: 8. His voice indicates that he has discovered the scent of an unlikely victory. He projects the kind of energy that if he were to win, it would be miraculous.

PERSUADE-ABILITY

Gillard: 9. Has an exceptional ability to be persuasive. She seems willing to use everything including subtlety to back her content.

Abbott: 5.5. Not so persuasive. Seems to appeal to a specific set of values rather than logic.

ARTICULATION

Gillard: 9. She articulates with ease and has a light tongue for dexterity and accuracy. Her public speaking manner is deliberately careful indicating that she probably speaks faster when not speaking privately. She has command over the skill of articulation.

Abbott: 6.5. He is a competent articulator that doesn’t always meet his intended articulations. Sometimes he seems to have a heavy tongue that doesn’t move as easily and is therefore less dexterous. Seems to need to be conscious of trying to articulate well.

SPEECH RATE

Gillard: 9. She has established an exceptionally good rate leading to good articulation, fluency and clarity. Her fairly slow and rhythmic speech rate combines with a quick thinking rate to enable good word choice and quality delivery.

Abbott: 5.5. His very slow speech rate means his clarity is excellent but fluency is not. His thinking rate appears to be slower than Gillard’s. He seems to be guarded about making gaffes and is conscious of the need to address a history of past errors.

TONAL RESONANCE

Gillard: 5.5. Most of her speech components are outstanding but she is badly weighed down by her heavy drawl which can dominate perceptions about her talking. This seems to come from the back of the tongue.

Abbott: 6.5. His main resonant drive is from his throat and he doesn’t fully utilise the resonant spaces inside his vocal apparatus. He is inclined to open his mouth too wide and miss out on his better resonant possibilities.

BODY LANGUAGE

Gillard: 8.5. She uses her body language and eye contact to good effect. Her body language strongly supports her vocal expression and adds impact to it.

Abbott: 5.5. His body language seems wooden by comparison.

FITNESS

Gillard: 6. Gillard doesn’t appear anywhere near as physically fit as Abbott but she is mentally fit. Yet the ferocious work ethic established by Mr Rudd may be responsible for many of the current Labor government’s short-comings. The fatigue factor becomes evident in the voice and in poor decision making, especially if major decisions have been made during the evening.

Abbott: 9. He is very fit and this will be helpful during a long, drawn out and grueling election campaign. Abbott has the kind of voice that shows when he’s tired or straining. It gets more croaky and raspy. He looks as though he can last the distance.

FINAL SCORE: Gillard — 54.5 / Abbott — 46.5

Gillard is not a natural vocalist but is a very good speaker. For a short time after becoming PM, her vocalising sounded exciting and refreshing. But as the media microscope honed in and her media air-time dramatically increased, the appeal of her speaking manner quickly declined. She gets the best out of her vocal skills. Expression, composition, word structure, thinking rate, speech rate, articulation clarity, body language, subtlety, nuancing, quick responses, engagement. But there’s one clear weakness — a heavy drawl that sounds far worse than most people when she repeats herself.

Abbott’s vocal skills have improved several notches since becoming opposition leader. This may be because of a terrific boost in confidence or it may be because he is working harder on his speaking voice. His strengths are his clarity, confidence and passion; he enjoys competition and is able to connect with his ideological base with a strength of purpose and good resonant pitch with an un-harnessed natural voice. He is smarter than he sounds — his intellect doesn’t come through his speaking manner. He’s not proficient at speaking off the cuff and his speaking voice lacks melody and rhythm.