Tonal Voice Nuances and Effective Higher Education Leadership Communication: The Case of WhatsApp Messages

Abstract

Effective leadership is crucial in higher education as it promotes innovation, drives institutional growth, and shapes the future of academia. Effective leadership is achieved through effective communication of information of what needs to be done when, where and by whom. The tone of the communication determines how the information being communicated is received, perceived and acted upon by the recipients. However, it is often overlooked as an aspect of communication. Tonal voice nuances can be easily and clearly marked and discerned in spoken discourse through suprasegmental features. But in higher education leadership, most communications are done through emails, memos and most recently through WhatsApp messages, which are written. These, as forms of communication, also express tonal voice nuances. But how? Adopting a descriptive design and basing on Moran (2016) tone of voice dimensions framework, this paper describes tonal voice nuances in written communications originated by university leaders to members of staff in the form of WhatsApp messages. The findings show intricate patterns of tonal voice nuances and their correlation with leadership effectiveness, decision-making processes and organizational dynamics that contribute to an understanding of the complexities surrounding effective leadership communication and organizational performance in academia.