Persuasiveness of virtual news anchors: Unveiling the influence of gestures, speech rate, and attire

This study investigates the influence of gestures, speech rate, and attire of virtual news anchors on their persuasiveness and examines the underlying mechanisms. Three experiments were conducted to test these effects. In Experiment 1, 406 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to 2 (with gestures vs. without gestures) × 2 (male vs. female) conditions. Results show that adding gestures enhances persuasiveness for male anchors but has no significant effect for female anchors, indicating a moderating role of gender. In Experiment 2, 552 participants were randomly assigned to 3 (fast speech rate vs. medium speech rate vs. slow speech rate) × 2 (male vs. female) conditions. This means that faster speech rates increase persuasiveness compared with slower rates. Experiment 3 recruited 407 participants who were randomly assigned to 2 (formal attire vs. casual attire) × 2 (male vs. female) conditions and found no significant difference in persuasiveness between formal and casual attire. The mechanisms through which these design features influence persuasiveness are also discussed. This study extends persuasion theory to the context of virtual human design and provides theoretical and practical insights for the development of virtual news anchors.