The Power of Body Language

The first-ever televised presidential debate was held in 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. If you were watching television that night, you probably thought that Senator Kennedy had won that night's presidential debate. However, if you listened to the event on the radio, Vice President Richard M. Nixon was the clear winner.

How could that be? Every citizen heard them make the same opening statements and arguments, right?

Body language was the differentiator that gave Kennedy the edge he needed to win the election with less than 55,000 votes.

60 Minutes founder and producer-director of the debate, Don Hewitt said that in the end, Kennedy triumphed due to appearances: Kennedy, "looking tan and fit...this guy was a matinee idol," vs. Nixon looking "like death warmed over," sweating and in pain, and pale from a recent hospitalization.

In a study conducted by Albert Mehrabian, he explains that 55% of communication is body language, 38% is the tone of voice, and 7% is the actual words spoken. These numbers represent the percentages of importance that varying communication channels have. There are varying opinions on whether or not the percentage for body language should be even higher. In addition, on the flip side, with the digital and dispersed business environment that many of us function in, the percentages for words and voice may change based on our use of email and phones.

Body language is not only powerful, it's usually reliable, too. Body language comes through most of the time whether you intend to reveal it or not. However, you need to be careful when assessing someone else's body language. What means one thing to one person might mean something entirely different to someone else. In the 2012 Eddie Murphy movie, A Thousand Words, it takes over a minute to place a coffee order nonverbally and the order isn’t even filled accurately!

It's nonverbal language that emphasizes or alters the meaning of the direct language we use. We speak to others through our body movements, posture, eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures, tone and volume of voice. Our body language has a huge impact on how someone relates to and interacts with others.

Let’s look more closely at a few of these.

Facial expressions. Think for a moment about how much a person is able to convey with just a facial expression. A smile can indicate happiness or excitement, while a frown can signal disapproval or unhappiness. In some cases, our facial expressions may reveal our true feelings about a particular situation. I am the first to admit, I do not have a poker face. Whatever I’m thinking shows up on my face.

Eye Contact. The eyes are frequently referred to as the "windows to the soul" since they are capable of revealing a great deal about what a person is thinking or feeling. When speaking with someone, notice whether or not they’re making direct eye contact or averting their gaze, how much they’re blinking, or if their pupils are dilated.

Posture. Posture may reflect an individual’s degree of confidence, status or receptivity to another person. Is the person you’re communicating with learning forward towards you? Laid back and relaxed? Shoulders back? Standing tall? Head held high or slightly down? When interacting with others, you can give the impression of an active and confident person, one who knows how to hold their body. Poor posture, on the other hand, reflects poor self-image and negative feelings, it can be temporary state when we feel down, or it can the result of bad habits accumulated over years.

Gestures. Gestures can be split in a variety of different ways, but the two of great focus are emblems and illustrators. 

Emblems are nonverbal acts that have a direct verbal translation. It’s a movement that tells the whole message. Example: Waving to someone, flashing the peace sign or giving someone the thumbs up.

Illustrators are action gestures directly tied to and accompany speech that are used in an intentional way to illustrate what is being said verbally. Example: Making a chopping motion when making a specific point or holding up the number of fingers that correlate with the number you’re speaking about.

Understanding body language can go a long way toward helping you communicate better with others and interpreting what others might be trying to convey to you.

While it may be tempting to pick apart signals one by one, it's important to look at these nonverbal signals in relation to what’s being said as well as other nonverbal signals and the situation as a whole.

If you’d like to find out more about how UNC Charlotte’s Customized Training can help your organization make an impact, reach out to me at [email protected] so we can set up a time to chat.