Ladies, what is the key to male sex appeal? Turns out, telling a good story can improve your love life — well, if you’re male at least. Recent research has emerged revealing that strong storytelling skills make guys more attractive to women. The secret to male sex appeal? It has nothing to do with a particular body spray or ripped muscles. Male sex appeal all comes down to this surprising secret. Have you ever crossed paths with a storyteller that swept you off your feet? Find out more about the study's surprising findings below.
The secret to sex appeal. Published in the journal Personal Relationships, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Buffalo have found which specific trait they believe is the best way for a man to attract a woman. And contrary to popular belief, it’s not having a large package or the most money— rather, it’s having a silver tongue.
The secret to sex appeal. The team found that men’s ability to storytell is a major factor in their perceived status and attractiveness to the opposite sex. In other words, when it comes to finding a partner with long-term appeal, women want a man who has perfected the gift of gab.
The secret to sex appeal. Using three different studies, the researcher examined gender differences in how storytelling ability affected an individuals’s
The secret to sex appeal. Altogether, the researchers looked at 388 U.S. undergrad college students. Out of this pool, 55 percent were woman. Each participant was asked to rate a potential partner’s level of attractiveness based on a “biography" that he or she wrote.
The secret to sex appeal. Overall, the findings broke down pretty sharply by gender. For women, a man’s storytelling ability played a big role in their assessment of whether or not he would be a good long-term match. Conversely, for men, while storytelling ability in women seemed to indicate greater IQ, it did not translate to them being perceived a more suitable match.
The secret to sex appeal. In an email to CBS News, study co-author and associate professor at the University at Buffalo's Department of Communication, Melanie Green, revealed that the researchers were surprised at how “consistent” and “specific” the findings were. She added that the team initially considered storytelling as an ability that would appeal to both genders equally.
The secret to sex appeal. She wrote: "We were surprised at how consistent and specific the effect was. We had originally thought that there might be a gender difference, since there's a long history of research showing gender differences in what is considered attractive, but we thought it was equally likely that storytelling might be appealing to both genders (similar to traits such as intelligence and kindness). But the ‘only for men and only for long-term relationships’ pattern kept replicating in our data.”
The secret to sex appeal. In addition to the “biographies,” the researchers also had their participants read stories penned by members of the opposite sex. In spite of the quality of the writing, the individual’s attractiveness depended more on his or her oral delivery.
The secret to sex appeal. So, why are women drawn to men who can tell a good story? It’s hard to say for sure, but as Business Insider points out, the authors suggest that "storytelling ability reflects a man's ability to gain resources. Good storytellers may be more likely to influence others or to gain positions of authority in society.”
The secret to sex appeal. In other words, the authors believe that storytelling prowess is a desirable quality in a man because it signals that they’re high-status. The general idea behind this is that if you can spin a mean yarn, you must be powerful.
The secret to sex appeal. While a guy is considered more attractive and charismatic if he can deliver a good narrative, what about the ladies? Green told CBS News that while storytelling is definitely an appreciated trait among women, it doesn’t really do much for them in attracting a potential mate.
The secret to sex appeal. "In our data, men just don't seem to care whether women are good storytellers or not," Green wrote to CBS News. "Of course, there's other evidence suggesting that communication skills are important generally for individuals of both genders, but this doesn't seem to play out in judgments of attractiveness when men are judging women. (It's possible that other kinds of communication skills are valued by men, but we didn't study those directly.)”
The secret to sex appeal. As Business Insider points out, the study adds to a growing pool of research on the impalpable characteristics that can make men more attractive to women, such as mindfulness and altruism. What’s more, in some cases these traits seem to be even more important than a man’s physical looks.
The secret to sex appeal. It’s important to note that further research needs to be done to better gauge if watching and listening to a guy tell a story right off the dome is as attractive as him reading a story he’s written down.
The secret to sex appeal. That said, the researchers are currently turning their focus to the “status piece of the puzzle.” Green told CBS News, "We're considering exploring the storytelling and status link in other situations (for instance, the workplace) to see if similar findings emerge."
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