Examples Of Non Verbal Communication

• Communication skills involves more than just speaking words!
• Words can account for as little as 7% of the impact of your message!
• Different situations call for different communication skills.

Ever since the birth of television we have been living in an increasingly image conscious world. As a result, the way we look and the way we act, are often more important than the words we say.

This is known as non verbal communication, and is one of the main communication skills you must master to become an effective communicator.

Importance Of Good Non Verbal Communication Skills

A good example of the importance of non verbal communication skills can be found with research done after the 1960s Kennedy Vs Nixon debate.

When people were asked who had won the debate, those listening via radio awarded the victory to Nixon. However, those watching the debate on television awarded Kennedy the victory.

This example clearly showed how having good non verbal communication skills (body language) and the way you look, has a big influence on the overall message you convey to your listeners.

Whilst Nixon may have been a good persuasive speaker over the radio, his shifty and uncomfortable body language made television viewers suspicious and distrustful.

Consequently his message was far less persuasive on TV than it was on radio, simply because of his poor nonverbal communication skills.

On the other hand, Kennedy displayed excellent nonverbal communication skills with his confident body language that matched what he was saying. This made his message more believable and therefore more persuasive.

Types Of Communication Skills

From the Kennedy Vs. Nixon study, it was concluded that overall communication is perceived in 3 main ways.

55% Visually

This includes body language, and how you look.

38% Vocally

How you sound, and how you speak.

7% Verbally

The actual words you speak.

When you add the visual and vocal components of communication together, you can see that nonverbal communication accounts for 93% of the impact of your message! By contrast, the words you use only account for 7%!

Mastering Communication                

Does this research mean that if you look good, and sound good, you can talk complete rubbish and still have excellent communication skills.

No. But it does mean that if you want your message to be as powerful and persuasive as possible, you need to seriously work on improving your visual and vocal communication skills, if they are not already excellent.

This is an extremely important point to grasp, because the findings of the study suggest that it’s not really what you say that matters, but how you say it. 

Despite this fact many people tend to neglect the visual and vocal components of communication, focusing primarily on the words they use. As a result, their communication skills are often far less effective than they could be.

Developing Effective Communication Skills

Whilst this research does provide a good example of the importance of nonverbal communication skills, the messages you speak are not always perceived 55% visually, 38% vocally and 7% verbally.

This is because different circumstances will place emphasis on different communication skills, for example:

Visual Communication

If you were making a presentation in which you were trying to establish credibility, make a good initial impression or build up a relationship with your listener, then body language will tend to be the most important factor as shown by the Kennedy Vs Nixon debate.

Verbal Communication

However, should you change this to a more intimate face to face communication, such as making a sale or negotiation which is primarily information focused, then words tend to have the greatest impact.

Vocal Communication

But if you are speaking where people can’t see you such as on the radio, an audiobook or a podcast, then the vocal component (how you sound) will be the most important factor in communicating successfully.

Communicating Effectively

As you can see, different circumstances will place emphasis on different forms of communication. However, it is important to note that whilst a certain situation may call for a certain form of communication (i.e. vocal) the other forms of communication should not be ignored.

For example, if you are speaking to someone confidently (vocal), but your body language suggested you were uncomfortable being where you were (visual), then you will send a conflicting message to your listener.

This will result in a less persuasive message, and/or a complete rejection by the listener of what you are saying.

So always make sure your communicational style does not send out a conflicting message. In cases where you do send out conflicting messages, your message will usually be judged on your body language.

Communicate Visually, Verbally And Vocally

A good example of communicating effectively can be found with telephone operators. During training, salespeople are told to smile while they are on the phone because this smile will be conveyed through their voice to the listener.

They are taught that in order to speak convincingly, their body language must match the words of their intended message. In other words, they are taught not to send conflicting messages.

So always remember, we communicate visually, verbally and vocally. If you want your message to be as persuasive as possible, choose the correct communication style for the situation you are in. And make sure you don’t send a conflicting message by ignoring one or more communication styles.