Improve your Non-Verbal Communication
Improve your Non-Verbal Communication
What is non-verbal communication? Basically, itâs everything you do that isnât verbal. For example, how you listen, facial expressions, posture, expression, tone of voice, and anything that sends a message when you arenât speaking. Non-verbal communication plays a huge role in how we communicate and how we read and respond to others. For example this is a way we can tell when people are lying to us and itâs also what separates an amazing public speaker from a boring one. Below are some ways you will learn how to improve your non-verbal communication so you can share your ideas and messages more effectively.
In âThe Importance of Effective Communicationâ Dr. Edward Wertheim shares five roles non-verbal communication plays in our daily conversations.
1)Non-verbal communication helps with repetition, it repeats and strengthens what youâre saying.
2)It can be contradictory, sometimes what weâre saying doesnât match our facial expressions and body language, and that can help to tell when someone is lying. 3)
3)Non-verbal communication can be a substitution, and you can show something rather than saying it out loud.
4)It can also be complementing, and connect with what youâre saying verbally.
5)Finally, it can also accent what youâre saying, such as hitting your fist against a table when youâre really angry.
Non-verbal communication is something we do all the time, without even really thinking about it! I move my hands a lot when I talk, especially when Iâm on a stage. I move around a lot, I wave my hands around, and I make crazy expressions. This is something that people notice and remember about me. When people do these things theyâre more fun to watch. (However, we need to be careful and not let it become a distraction and take away from our message.) We may not even notice specifically what theyâre doing, but it does register and we read the expression behind it.
Are you ready to improve your non-verbal communication? First weâll look at intonation and inflection, which is the way youâre saying things. Controlling the way you say things will help the way what youâre saying is perceived. If you sound sarcastic or bored when talking about something you want people to start doing, they probably are not going to do it and will think youâre not being genuine.
The second thing is eye contact. I used to struggle a lot with eye contact back when I was in the beginning of high school, I rarely ever looked anyone in the eyes. My parents finally told me that I had to make eye contact with people, because it shows that youâre actually listening to them and that youâre engaged in what theyâre saying. If youâre looking away it can come across as if you donât care about the people youâre talking or listening to.
Posture is another aspect of non-verbal communication you should be aware of. This is another thing I learned about around the beginning of high school or late middle school. Back then when I was talking to people I used to cross my arms a lot, but it sends a message that you arenât interested in other peopleâs messages. To other people it may seem like you are blocking other peopleâs messages from entering your heart or mind. When you drop your arms you come across as more accepting to what other people are saying.
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