Reading Body Language For Your Success
In any face to face communication, the conveyor talks or writes
while the recipient listens to or read the message. However,
what they didn't know is that actual verbal communication
accounts to only around 10% (or even less) of the overall means
of conveying a message.
However, there is another form of communication based on
gestures or body movements which determine their true inner
feelings and thoughts.This art of non-verbal communication is
better known as body language.
Reading Body Language
Although spoken communication is a direct way to convey a
message, it can be masked. By reading body language of the
conveyor, you will understand the message in a truer sense or
form. However, this depends on the interpretation of the
recipient of the message.
With this in mind, it is important to familiarize yourself with
this art of non-verbal communication. This art is the ability
and skill of reading body language and to interpret the message
correctly. Wrong interpretation may have drastic, dramatic
implications.
Given the chance to come face to face to communicate with each
other, you may be able to realize and verify the truthfulness of
the message being conveyed.
Let's pick a simple scenario to illustrate non-verbal
communication. Let us say a former officemate of yours called
you to propose a business partnership. This officemate is just
one of your casual acquaintances. He's not exactly a confidant
whom you would treat as a close buddy. He asked that the two of
you meet somewhere and you obliged.
So you wind up meeting him in a coffee shop. After the usual
handshake (this is one type of body language), both of you took
a seat and ordered coffee. After a few exchanges of pleasantries
and recalling past incidences while you were still officemates,
you touched on the subject of his business proposal. While in
the process of presenting the proposed business, you
occasionally interrupted him with questions that he readily
answered. Subconsciously, while you continued to listen to his
proposal, you kept touching your nose with your index finger,
rubbing it once in a while as if covering the nose with your
hand.
After the proposal has been made, he asked for your comment if
his proposal merits your acceptance. He's not asking for an
immediate answer or decision if you're interested or not, giving
you enough time to study it. However, your first impression of
the proposal was somewhat inclined on rejecting it. Your main
reason was that you are not familiar with the line of business
he's proposing, and to go into unfamiliar business simply does
not interest you.
But in spite of your negative perception of the proposal, you
didn't want to disappoint your former officemate, at least not
at that moment. Before you gave the final word that you would
seriously study the proposal, you made some initial comments
about it to the tune that it may seem to merit your approval
although it really didn't. While you were making your comment,
subconsciously and again, you touched your nose with one hand
while talking.
It's observed that during the entirety of your discussion, you
frequently made one move, touching your nose. Are you aware that
touching your nose is a gesture that means you're not saying
what you really felt or meant? Studies suggest that saying
something while touching the nose is not reflective of what's
being said. In this case, rubbing the nose is tantamount to
disapproval of the proposal presented to you.
Although there is no definite basis that this gesture is a sign
of disapproval or disagreement or rejection, it has a high rate
of probability. Only you know your real intention.
You may see this same gesture from other people if you were in
the shoes of your officemate. But keep in mind that there may be
other reasons. An itchy nose, a sinus that keeps bothering the
listener, mannerism, halitosis on either the part of the
conversationalist or the listener or both - anyone of these
could be the real reason.
Keep in mind that interpretation of body language has a high
probability rate but it may not necessarily be definite.