How to Interpret Non Verbal Communication
Between 50 to 80 percent of our communication with others is non-verbal. We continuously send and receive wordless signals to each other conveying our true motives, meaning and mood. Neurolinguistic Programing practitioners refer to this as "unconscious leakage."
Body language, or paralinguistics, is a powerful tool and learning to understand it properly can vastly improve personal and professional communication skills. Facial expressions are the most obvious form of non-verbal communication. They're relatively easy to read and are cross-cultural and international. A smile, for instance, is the same wherever you are in the world.
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Instructions
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How to Interpret Non-Verbal Communication
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Read the tone in people's voices. As well as tone, look for pitch, volume and inflection to give subtle but strong clues to real feelings. A person can say one thing verbally but contradict their meaning with their tone. Though they are saying yes they could be meaning no.
When people lie, their voices tend to become tense and high-pitched. They also make fewer speech errors and, according to expert Colleen Collins, their "stories are too good to be true."
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Look for what kind of eye contact you're getting from other people. Although factors like light and medication can make pupils dilate, it's also linked to attraction. As an involuntary response, this kind of signal is impossible to fake. Someone's pupils will enlarge when they find you attractive and that in turn will attract you to them.
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Analyze the other person's use of personal space or proximity. Our individual needs for space vary from one person to another. Space can be used to intimidate as well as to initiate or indicate intimacy.
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Study other people's body movements. Spend time watching people interact in bars, restaurants and generally out and about. Be aware that the significance and meaning of non-verbal signs changes according to different situations so it's worth doing research in more than one type of place.
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Ask a friend to film you in conversation with someone else. Understanding your own non-verbal signals will help you to interpret other people's. Messages are sent both consciously and unconsciously. By studying your own body language on film you're becoming consciously aware of your unconscious communication patterns.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure you pay attention properly in a conversation. You won't be able to pick up on any non-verbal cues if you're busy thinking about your next question.
It is possible to create a good rapport with someone by mirroring their cues, in particular any voice pattern signals, eye contact or posture.
Be aware that as much as you're focusing on another person's non-verbal signals, they will be interpreting yours, either consciously or unconsciously.
Never rely on one isolated signal. Clusters of signals and context are vital indicators of true meanings, moods and feelings. If someone's rubbing their nose, for instance, it can be a sign that they're lying. But it can also mean their nose is itchy.
Understand that interpreting body language is not an exact science and resist the temptation to make important decisions on the basis of your findings.
References
- Photo Credit young women chatting image by forca from Fotolia.com
