Experts have claimed that Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been coached to speak slowly.
According to Cate Madill, director of the voice research laboratory, University of Sydney's faculty of health sciences, the 56-year-old politician not only speaks 100 words a minute slower in media interviews than he did in opposition, but also speaks in a more monotone voice, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Madill, who had reviewed Abbott's interviews and news conferences, said that the changes in his delivery were "absolutely significant" and was the result of voice coaching.
She said that since Abbott has become the PM, his speech rate has dropped considerably, he repeats phrases two or three times in close proximity and he's far more fluent.
Madill added that the politician's speech is far less interrupted, slower and more monotonic, and her analysis has found that his interview responses dropped from 216 words a minute to 108 words a minute.