About Nonverbal Communication

What is nonverbal communication?

Non-verbal communication simply refers to using body language and unspoken words to communicate, deliver, and convey a message.

How do you communicate?

You express your thoughts and feelings through your eyes, your body posture, hand gestures, facial expressions, and by producing sound.

Many people deliver this unspoken language unconsciously. Their body stance, eye movements and facial expressions automatically respond according to what is in their minds.

There is meaning in a moan and a sigh. Hand gestures and body movements as well as face expressions tell a lot about the state of a person's mind and his moods.

The eye movements are the most telling of a person state of mind. You can detect if he is remembering something, talking to himself or creating something in his mind.

Knowing when a person is listening or feel bored, for example, is a feedback you can use to change a subject, stop your conversations or proceed. Watching a person's facial expression will allow you to know what's in his mind.

Although you can't judge a person fully from his gestures or nonverbal suggestions, every one of us have developed a habit or expression that we repeatedly do without thinking about it. You can tell a lot from watching and observing the nonverbal communication and cues especially from people that you normally interact with.

Click on this link to learn how to create a powerful nonverbal message that will support your verbal content, how to interpret and use body language to deliver the message you intend and how to project a vocal quality that matches your message.

Become aware of your own eyes, body movements, expressions and tones. The next time you are talking to yourself, pause and notice where your eyes are focused. See how many hand movements you make when you are talking. What does your face show when you are bored?

Each time your partner mind reads you, ask him what makes him assume what you were thinking. See if it matches. You will learn about your own nonverbal cues.

You can practice using eye contacts by looking directly in a person's eyes when you talk. Don't stare. Do it subtly.

Being able to convey a message through your eyes without saying a word is a skill. People who are in love are good at this. They don't have to learn to do it. Their eyes show what's in their hearts.

Mirroring is a term used in NLP to describe adopting other people's behaviors as though you were a "mirror image" while matching means adopting parts of another person's behaviors such as particular gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice and so on. (Adapted from Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins).

The ability to do this develops rapport, which is an unconscious human interaction. That means you can take advantage of people's nonverbal communication to subtly gain his interest and trust and then influence him to your thinking.

There are various meanings in nonverbal communication but you only need to know several that are useful to your daily interactions. You can find the knowledge and information from books written by experts in this skill.

You can also learn by watching others and model those who impress you. Motivational speakers are skilled at this. Watch their presentations and learn how they communicate.

Words spoken alone do not produce a profound effect to a person's state of mind or his feelings. When you add gestures, eye movements and facial expressions you create congruency to the message that you are delivering.

When you say "I love you to someone" and either touch or hug him and look in his eyes, you become believable. You can use gestures and eye movements without words to influence but words alone are not convincing enough to persuade. That is why it is harder to convince with written words without seeing face to face.

Click on this link to learn more on how to create a powerful nonverbal message that will support your verbal content, how to interpret and use body language to deliver the message you intend and how to project a vocal quality that matches your message.

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