# "70% How You Look, 20% How You Sound, 10% What You Say" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655 "2002-06-12T15:19:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/1 "2002-06-12T15:19:14Z")
I’ve seen this quote, probably in someone’s signature here, that goes something like “70% how you look, 20% how you sound, 10% what you say”. Who said this? Under what circumstances was it said?? While I don’t doubt this is true, I wonder if there have been any studies to support this statement. How would they determine the percentages? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/2 "2002-06-12T15:43:00Z")
In regards to what? Picking up women? Arguing a case before the Supreme Court? Frankly I think this is likely one of those off-the-cuff ‘truisms’ that have no basis in fact. If there is any truth to it likely it only applies in the first few minutes of dealing with someone. After that I think the numbers could get skewed all over the place. I don’t think Hitler was a looker but what he said certainly got a helluva lot of people all jazzed up. Abraham Lincoln was definitely not a good looking person and by all accounts his voice wasn’t all that melodic but again, what the guy had to say was pretty powerful. ---
**Author:** ![scotth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/3 "2002-06-12T18:29:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Surreal \* > \*\*I’ve seen this quote, probably in someone’s signature here, that goes something like “70% how you look, 20% how you sound, 10% what you say”. Who said this? Under what circumstances was it said?? > > While I don’t doubt this is true, I wonder if there have been any studies to support this statement. How would they determine the percentages? > > Thanks. \*\* An example I know: Comedian Eddie Izzard in his “Dressed to Kill” stand up show for HBO said the line. He used it twice. Once to say that it didn’t really matter what exactly you said as the words to the US National Anthem. As long as you looked like you knew what you were saying and said it confidently, you could away with almost anything. Later on, he told a story about Kennedy in Germany. During a speech, he big famous line was supposed to be “I am a Berliner” in german, but the actual translation was “I am a doughnut”. The crowd appearently appreciated the speech and heard what they expected to hear, instead of what was actually said. Don’t know how accurate that story really is. Last note on this, if you see the show coming up on HBO, watch it. It is brilliant. Very intelligent stand up. The best show I have seen in the last couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Heretic\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Heretic\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heretic_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/4 "2002-06-12T19:03:47Z")
[hijack] Eddie Izzard rules! The fool has me rolling on the ground holding my sides. If you want some other great comedy, check out Carlos Media on HBO. Makes me cry laugh-tears every time. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/5 "2002-06-12T20:04:27Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by scotth \* > \*\* > Later on, he told a story about Kennedy in Germany. During a speech, he big famous line was supposed to be “I am a Berliner” in german, but the actual translation was “I am a doughnut”. The crowd appearently appreciated the speech and heard what they expected to hear, instead of what was actually said. Don’t know how accurate that story really is._\* It was when Kennedy visited shortly after the Berlin Wall was errected. He wanted to indicated his solidarity with the people of Berlin by saying he, too, was a Berliner. Some translator must’ve messed up, because auf Deutsch: “Ich bin Berliner”=“I am a resident of Berlin” “Ich bin ein Berliner”=“I am a jelly doughnut” You see, “Berliner” was slang for a donught, and in German, you don’t need an indefinite article ahead of an adjective that describes your nationality/place of origin. It’s a small error, and I’m sure the people who listened to his speach understood what he meant and appreciated his sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![CJank\_Extreme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@CJank\_Extreme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJank_Extreme)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/6 "2002-06-12T20:26:46Z")
As much as I love Eddie Izzard myself Kennedy never said he was a donut. It sounded like it because he spoke crappy German. It’s a pretty popular belief he said it but he didn’t. [swat]I just wacked me some ignorance[\swat] ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/7 "2002-06-12T21:49:52Z")
The 70 / 20 / 10 claim is much recycled by people who promote courses on ‘body language’ and similar pseudo-sciences. Of course, the way in which we inter-act wth one another invlves many factors, with the words we speak only being part of the whole picture. However, I have never seen any serious attempt to actually caculate these percentages, and I suspect it’s just a catchy phrase with very little substance to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/8 "2002-06-12T22:27:15Z")
Kennedy’s German was rendered correctly. He did **not** say “I am a jelly doughnut”. See this post and the next one for links: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2037625&highlight=kennedy+berlin#post2037625](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2037625&highlight=kennedy+berlin#post2037625) ---
**Author:** ![sirjamesp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@sirjamesp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirjamesp)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/9 "2002-06-13T07:40:57Z")
Actually, it is **right** to claim that Kennedy’s actual words meant “I am a jelly doughnut” - or to be precise, as correct as claiming that they meant “I am a citizen of Berlin”. He actually said “Ich bin ein Berliner” - _strictly_ speaking, the use of the definite article (“ein”) turns the sentence from “I am from Berlin” to “I am a doughnut”, no two ways about it. The sentence was _not_ rendered correctly, grammatically speaking. However, allowing a bit of slack with the grammar is in order (the translation was provided by a German, after all) - it was obvious from the context what Kennedy meant. So: urban legend - NO. Exaggerated tale - yes. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/10 "2002-06-13T10:59:13Z")
So I assume that in German, the jelly is implied? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/11 "2002-06-13T15:08:59Z")
\>\> the jelly is implied yep, it’s called a “continental breakfast” ---
**Author:** ![sirjamesp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@sirjamesp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirjamesp)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/12 "2002-06-14T07:14:05Z")
**Achernar** - kind of. What Americans call a “jelly doughnut” (or “jam doughnut” for Brits) is known as “ein (gefüllter) Berliner” in German. “Berliner” means “doughnut”; the “gefüllter” means “filled”. Commonly, though, a jam-filled doughnut is just refered to as a “Berliner” - we expect the jam to be there! ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/13 "2002-06-16T04:29:20Z")
The 70/20/10 equation sounds like it would apply to a job interview. ---
**Author:** ![HoldenCaulfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@HoldenCaulfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldenCaulfield)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/14 "2002-06-16T06:54:02Z")
My German teacher taught me that a Berliner is called such because it originated in Berlin as the Hamburger is called such because it originated in Hamburg. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-how-you-look-20-how-you-sound-10-what-you-say/113655/15 "2002-06-16T07:11:01Z")
And of course in English, the ham is implied.