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Debunking the Myths of Non-Verbal Communication
Written by: Ian BrodieArticle Overview: It's probably the most often quoted statistic in sales: "93 % of communication is non-verbal". But where on earth did it come from? And is it really true? The truth may well surprise you.
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Debunking the Myths of Non-Verbal Communication
93% of communication is non-verbal. Everyone knows that.
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve heard this in sales training sessions or read it in books, articles and blogs. Sometimes the stats are qualified further, for example:
“One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Another study indicated that the impact of a performance was determined 7 percent by the words used, 38 percent by voice quality, and 55 percent by the nonverbal communication.”
The trouble is - it’s not true.
Let’s think about it for a minute - how can you possibly get 93% of the communication without the words? If you watch a foreign-language film, and watch the body language and listen to the vocal tones - can you really understand 93% of it? I certainly can’t.
The truth is that the experiments at the source of this myth (carried out by researcher Albert Mehrabian in the 70’s) were focused on some very specific areas of communication - namely the communication of feelings and attitudes - not communication in general.
As Mehrabian himself points out:
“Please note that this and other equations regarding relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages were derived from experiments dealing with communications of feelings and attitudes (i.e., like-dislike). Unless a communicator is talking about their feelings or attitudes, these equations are not applicable”
In addition, the construction of the experiments was not an accurate reflection of real-world communication conditions. In one of the central experiments, for example, participants were read out single words (either positive words like “thanks”, neutral like “maybe” or negative like “don’t”) in either positive, negative or neutral voices. In another, the words were combined with photographs of people looking positive, negative or neutral. Participants had to judge whether the words were positive, negative or neutral based on the combined word/tone or word/picture combinations - which is where the statistics came from. It highlighted how the tone of voice or the facial expression often overrode the meaning of the word when it came to conveying a positive or negative feeling.
Of course, in the real world, we typically don’t communicate in single words. And we’re typically not just trying to communicate feelings either. But what has happened is that these important - but limited - findings from the experiments have been taken out of context, repeated, misunderstood, repeated, confused, etc. - up to the point where “93% of communication is non-verbal” has become accepted as reality.
So what does this mean for sales people?
Well, there’s no doubting that non-verbal communication is important - but don’t take the 93% rule too seriously. The words you use really are vitally important - they’re the core of your communication. Your non-verbals serve mainly to support what you’re saying by conveying your feelings - your passion, your empathy, your truthfulness. How do you make sure your non-verbals provide the right support? Well, critically - don’t fake it. Despite what some trainers may try to convince you of, it really is almost impossible to try to “technique” your way through body-language. Non-verbal communication is so complex - too complex to try to act out or replicate - yet most people are really good at reading it, so they will pick up any fakery very quickly. Instead - make sure you really believe in what you are saying - and the correct non-verbal communication will follow naturally.
And of course, if you find yourself on a training course, or reading an article, and you read the phrase “93% of communication is non-verbal” - then think twice about the credibility of the trainer or author. They haven’t done their homework properly on this - so what else have they skimped on?
Ian
Article Tags: accurate reflection, albert mehrabian, body language, books articles, communication conditions, communication effectiveness, dislike, feelings, foreign language, language film, myth, nonverbal communication, nonverbal cues, nonverbal messages, photographs of people, relative importance, researcher, voice quality, word picture, world communication
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About the Author: Ian Brodie RSS for Ian's articles - Visit Ian's website Ian Brodie is the Managing Director of Lighthouse Business Consulting - a management consulting and business advisory firm specialised in helping professional service firms achieve their growth objectives. Lighthouse Business Consulting is a management consulting and business advisory firm specialised in helping professional services firms (legal, accountancy, consultancy) achieve their business growth objectives. We work with the partners of law, accounting, consulting and other professional services firms to help them focus their strategies, get control of their sales pipelines, improve the way they sell, and get better results from their business development activities. Ian is the editor of Rainmaker Resources - the leading website for Professional Services Business Development. He also writes regularly on the topics of Sales and Business Growth strategy at the Sales Excellence Blog. Click here to visit Ian's website Challenging the 8020 rule Finding Your Own Selling Style A Key to Sales Success Beating your number one competitor the status quo Ask for that meeting and grow your sales Debunking the Myths of NonVerbal Communication |
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