There’s an urgent message to be delivered
If you have fifteen minutes in hand, you might end up spending a solid few minutes drafting the message with the expectation of creating an impact with every word. Before tapping the ‘send’ button, you may also read it once over and edit it here and there to ensure your message is saying exactly what you want to convey.
What if there were no second takes, no drafts involved? The grammar to rely on would take on a completely new dimension – one that involves not only speech but also nonverbal cues that constitute body language.
How do you get it across?
Remember all those quotes about – it’s not just what you say but also how you say it that matters – they hit the nail on the head.
People are conflicted when they see someone with an inconsolably sad expression say they’re okay. Or, when they are asked to go in one direction but are pointed in the opposite direction. Such things are bound to confuse the mind. Verbal and nonverbal communication being out of synch is often to blame for deep gaps in communication.
Irrespective of whether you’re doing the talking or the listening, pay equal if not more attention to what is being said through body language. The process of communication is a sensory experience fully enjoyed with an open mind, ears and eyes.
It entails more of watching what you say!
Take action to deliver the goods
Actions speak volumes.
Knit brows can convey how urgent a matter may really be just as a shifting gaze can be a telling sign of a lack of interest. When someone leans towards you while you’re having a chat, it is a good thing. You can rest assured that they are receptive to your thoughts.
Nonverbal communication cues—the way you look, listen and react—tell the person you’re communicating with how invested you really are in that interaction.
Much before they connect with what is being said, listeners take note of subtle behaviours that affect them in some way – positive or negative. These are very personal observations that eventually determine levels of engagement in the communication.
The right signals can have a remarkable impact on people and can influence perceptions… for good.
Read (between) the response
An overwhelmingly positive reaction or dismal comebacks speak to how all important factors like facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, voice, touch, space, movements and posture are leveraged.
Unforgotten orators were more than aware of this fact. And they employed this heightened awareness to take their message to people.
Nonverbal communication is not something that remains unsaid or is explicitly written down somewhere; it is subconscious language that enriches the repertoire of those engaged in communication. Used resourcefully, it can make a conversation free flowing and full bodied.
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The Linking Tree organizes regular workshops to focus on and improve Nonverbal Communication. Learn all about it. Join the program that has contributed in the transformation of individuals into confident conversationalists and has helped taciturn professionals evolve into assertive speakers armed with public speaking skills.
For more details contact info@thelinkingtree.com