--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people look like they sound better…" description: "\"“Some people look like they sound better than they actually sound, because they look confident and have good posture,\" once musician, a veteran of many..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/malcolm-gladwell-348_auditions_some-people-look-like-they-sound-better_34036.png" --- # Some people look like they sound better than they actually… ![“Some people look like they sound better than they actually sound, because they look confident and have good posture," once musician, a veteran of many auditions, says. "Other people look awful when they play but sound great. Other people have that belabored look when they play, but you can't hear…” quote by Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/malcolm-gladwell-348_auditions_some-people-look-like-they-sound-better_34036.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/malcolm-gladwell-348_auditions_some-people-look-like-they-sound-better_34036.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/malcolm-gladwell-348_auditions_some-people-look-like-they-sound-better_34036.png) > ““Some people look like they sound better than they actually sound, because they look confident and have good posture," once musician, a veteran of many auditions, says. "Other people look awful when they play but sound great. Other people have that belabored look when they play, but you can't hear it in the sound. There is always this dissonance between what you see and hear" (p.251).”” [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perception of performance can be misleading; visual confidence doesn't guarantee auditory quality, and vice versa, leading to a mismatch between appearance and sound. **In simple terms:** Looks can deceive in music performance. Key Takeaway Visual cues often misrepresent actual skill. Themes Perception Performance Music Confidence Appearance Mood Reflective Analytical Type Observation Advice When to use this quote - Audition panels - Live concerts - Music lessons - Band rehearsals - Online music videos Key Concepts Sensory discordance Judgment bias Nonverbal communication Practical Applications - Improving evaluation criteria for musicians - Training performers to align visual presence with sound Questions to Reflect On - How can evaluators separate visual bias from auditory skill? - What strategies help performers project confidence without compromising sound? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auditions/) [First impressions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-impressions/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Instrument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instrument/) [Look Confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-confident-435501/) [Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melody/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Posture Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posture-musician-435500/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Sound Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-better-307173/) [Sound Dissonance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-dissonance-435499/) [Sound Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-look-435498/) ## Related quotes > [How you sound. How you look. Are you fat? Those are things that could be really irritating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/how-you-sound-how-you-look-are-you-fat-those-are-things-that-could-be/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [Neo-soul is really less about a sound than it is about a look, in my opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie/neo-soul-is-really-less-about-a-sound-than-it-is-about-a-look-in-my/) [India Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie/) > [I'm usually more concerned with how things sound than how they look on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-usually-more-concerned-with-how-things-sound-than-how-they-look/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I enjoy the videos with the sound off, where you can look at the belly buttons and everything. Really some pretty girls, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/i-enjoy-the-videos-with-the-sound-off-where-you-can-look-at-the-belly/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [My theory is that if you look confident you can pull off anything - even if you have no clue what you're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-alba/my-theory-is-that-if-you-look-confident-you-can-pull-off-anything/) [Jessica Alba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-alba/) > [“You can also teach your child simple social strategies to get him through uncomfortable moments. Encourage him to look confident even if he’s not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/you-can-also-teach-your-child-simple-social-strategies-to-get-him/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [I'm very uncomfortable about the way I look but confident as a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-goss/i-m-very-uncomfortable-about-the-way-i-look-but-confident-as-a-man/) [Luke Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-goss/) > [The works have to look like they're confident. But they also have to look sort of troubled. It's this weird thing: "Does that look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/the-works-have-to-look-like-they-re-confident-but-they-also-have-to/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [Some people think that confidence is something that some people just have. Even though I may look confident strutting in a two-piece on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catriona-gray/some-people-think-that-confidence-is-something-that-some-people-just/) [Catriona Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catriona-gray/) > [“It was important to look confident, he realized that very early on. After all, there was a terrible tendency among adults to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/it-was-important-to-look-confident-he-realized-that-very-early-on/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [You wanna know one way to sound better than me? Take the letter F from way.That's right there is NO F'n way !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cooly-justice/you-wanna-know-one-way-to-sound-better-than-me-take-the-letter-f-from/) [Cooly Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cooly-justice/) > [I'll kind of tend to beat myself up because I just want it to sound better than better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-ll-kind-of-tend-to-beat-myself-up-because-i-just-want-it-to-sound/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [Do things sound better in your head before you say them, or do you even run them through there first?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/do-things-sound-better-in-your-head-before-you-say-them-or-do-you/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I've never made a record that didn't sound better than what was in my head - that's sort of my rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-harper/i-ve-never-made-a-record-that-didn-t-sound-better-than-what-was-in-my/) [Ben Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-harper/) > [The first generation of CDs sounded terrible. Any chance to remaster would make the music sound better than what was already out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/the-first-generation-of-cds-sounded-terrible-any-chance-to-remaster/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) ## More by Malcolm Gladwell > [When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. And this drives me crazy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/when-i-go-to-my-health-club-and-it-s-in-the-basement-you-have-to-take/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“The scholars who research happiness suggest that more money stops making people happier at a family income of around seventy-five thousand dollars a year.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-scholars-who-research-happiness-suggest-that-more-money-stops/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [We need to be clear when we venerate entrepreneurs what we are venerating.They are not moral leaders. 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But they are ruined by wealth as well because they lose their ambition and they lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/people-are-ruined-by-challenged-economic-lives-but-they-are-ruined-by/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The single most important thing a city can do is provide a community where interesting, smart people want to live with their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-single-most-important-thing-a-city-can-do-is-provide-a-community/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [ \[Norden\] said, with the Mark 15 Norden bombsight, he could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/norden-said-with-the-mark-15-norden-bombsight-he-could-drop-a-bomb/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The willingness to be self-critical in England is much greater than the willingness to be self-critical in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-willingness-to-be-self-critical-in-england-is-much-greater-than/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The conventional explanation for Jewish success, of course, is that Jews come from a literate, intellectual culture. They are famously "the people of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-conventional-explanation-for-jewish-success-of-course-is-that/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“An archway to one side leads to a church, the Madonna del Carmine—Our Lady of Mount Carmine. Narrow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/an-archway-to-one-side-leads-to-a-church-the-madonna-del-carmine-our/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [People are experience-rich and theory-poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/people-are-experience-rich-and-theory-poor/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Most psychologists believe that nature—genetics—accounts for about half of the reason why we tend to act the way we do. His point is simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/most-psychologists-believe-that-nature-genetics-accounts-for-about/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The world is not a meritocracy, as much as we may like to pretend that it is. And we have a long way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-world-is-not-a-meritocracy-as-much-as-we-may-like-to-pretend-that/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) [Explore all 647 Malcolm Gladwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) ## More Auditions quotes > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Ed Koch once said that New York City is where immigrants come to audition for America. That's what happened to my parents; that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/ed-koch-once-said-that-new-york-city-is-where-immigrants-come-to/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [I have had to give auditions for every film I had done until 'Dedh Ishqiya.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huma-qureshi/i-have-had-to-give-auditions-for-every-film-i-had-done-until-dedh/) [Huma Qureshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huma-qureshi/) > [When preparing for auditions, I have no rituals. I just try to be as prepared as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-basco/when-preparing-for-auditions-i-have-no-rituals-i-just-try-to-be-as/) [Dante Basco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-basco/) > [I have a large watch collection, and classic watches are especially important to me. I had a silver Rolex, and I actually gave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-have-a-large-watch-collection-and-classic-watches-are-especially/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [I got into acting in high school mainly because I wasn't doing anything else and started to hit a few bumps in the road.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-letscher/i-got-into-acting-in-high-school-mainly-because-i-wasn-t-doing/) [Matt Letscher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-letscher/) > [Always my fallback is - I'm gonna move to a poor town and open a scone shop... Sometimes after some bad auditions I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-rannells/always-my-fallback-is-i-m-gonna-move-to-a-poor-town-and-open-a-scone/) [Andrew Rannells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-rannells/) > [I would go to different production houses everyday for auditions and they would reject me saying you cant talk, smile, dance, or act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-tamboli/i-would-go-to-different-production-houses-everyday-for-auditions-and/) [Nikki Tamboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-tamboli/) > [Like every audition I go on, I do my best, but after that, I let it go because, you know, the rejection rate is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-ziering/like-every-audition-i-go-on-i-do-my-best-but-after-that-i-let-it-go/) [Ian Ziering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-ziering/) > [Life beats down and crushes our souls and theatre reminds us that we have one. 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My mom was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-emerson/when-i-was-six-years-old-my-friend-was-auditioning-for-annie-and-i/) [Jacqueline Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-emerson/) > [I managed to get onto 'The Hobbit,' which is a story in itself. I missed the main round of auditions but managed to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-stevens/i-managed-to-get-onto-the-hobbit-which-is-a-story-in-itself-i-missed/) [Conan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-stevens/) > [There are no shortcuts, and you can't wing your way through real hard work. I learned the hard way by not taking auditions seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hoffman/there-are-no-shortcuts-and-you-can-t-wing-your-way-through-real-hard/) [Rick Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hoffman/) [Browse all 789 Auditions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auditions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Some people look like they sound better than they actually sound, because they look confident and have good posture,\" once musician, a veteran of many auditions, says. \"Other people look awful when they play but sound great. Other people have that belabored look when they play, but you can't hear it in the sound. 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