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Time to Pop the Cork? : The Cork Exercise and Its Effects on Rhythm and Melody in a Public Speaker’s Presentation Task

Niebuhr, Oliver ; Taghva, Nafiseh and Svensson Lundmark, Malin LU orcid (2026) p.428-456
Abstract
Almost no seminar, book, or YouTube tutorial on successful public speaking is without the established and traditional “cork exercise.” It is supposed to enhance speakers’ rhythm and intelligibility, for which there is, however, no scientific evidence so far. Our experiment addresses this gap. Twenty speakers performed a presentation task three times: (1) before a cork exercise intervention, (2) immediately after it, and (3) some minutes later after having completed a distractor questionnaire. The intervention was a video recorded by a professional media trainer. Results show significant rhythmic (and related melodic and articulatory) differences between presentations (1) and (2), suggesting a positive effect for speakers in (2). However,... (More)
Almost no seminar, book, or YouTube tutorial on successful public speaking is without the established and traditional “cork exercise.” It is supposed to enhance speakers’ rhythm and intelligibility, for which there is, however, no scientific evidence so far. Our experiment addresses this gap. Twenty speakers performed a presentation task three times: (1) before a cork exercise intervention, (2) immediately after it, and (3) some minutes later after having completed a distractor questionnaire. The intervention was a video recorded by a professional media trainer. Results show significant rhythmic (and related melodic and articulatory) differences between presentations (1) and (2), suggesting a positive effect for speakers in (2). However, in presentation (3), all measurements revert to the baseline presentation (1) level. Thus, the "cork exercise" basically works and yields positive effects; however, they are short-lived. The chapter ends with suggestions for further research and practical ideas for a more sustainable design of the cork exercise. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
rhythm, prosody, public speaking, cork exercise, jaw movement, speaker charisma, rhetoric
host publication
Rhythms of Speech and Language : Physiology, Cognition, Culture - Physiology, Cognition, Culture
editor
Meyer, Lars and Strauss, Antje
pages
29 pages
publisher
Cambridge University Press
ISBN
9781009295888
DOI
10.1017/9781009295888.029
project
Exploring jaw articulation: Acceleration, displacement and timing of segmental articulations
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ccada30b-a187-4244-b49a-c3a7b4d50309
date added to LUP
2026-05-11 14:44:38
date last changed
2026-05-21 14:51:19
@inbook{ccada30b-a187-4244-b49a-c3a7b4d50309,
  abstract     = {{Almost no seminar, book, or YouTube tutorial on successful public speaking is without the established and traditional “cork exercise.” It is supposed to enhance speakers’ rhythm and intelligibility, for which there is, however, no scientific evidence so far. Our experiment addresses this gap. Twenty speakers performed a presentation task three times: (1) before a cork exercise intervention, (2) immediately after it, and (3) some minutes later after having completed a distractor questionnaire. The intervention was a video recorded by a professional media trainer. Results show significant rhythmic (and related melodic and articulatory) differences between presentations (1) and (2), suggesting a positive effect for speakers in (2). However, in presentation (3), all measurements revert to the baseline presentation (1) level. Thus, the "cork exercise" basically works and yields positive effects; however, they are short-lived. The chapter ends with suggestions for further research and practical ideas for a more sustainable design of the cork exercise.}},
  author       = {{Niebuhr, Oliver and Taghva, Nafiseh and Svensson Lundmark, Malin}},
  booktitle    = {{Rhythms of Speech and Language : Physiology, Cognition, Culture}},
  editor       = {{Meyer, Lars and Strauss, Antje}},
  isbn         = {{9781009295888}},
  keywords     = {{rhythm; prosody; public speaking; cork exercise; jaw movement; speaker charisma; rhetoric}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  pages        = {{428--456}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  title        = {{Time to Pop the Cork? : The Cork Exercise and Its Effects on Rhythm and Melody in a Public Speaker’s Presentation Task}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781009295888.029}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/9781009295888.029}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}