How To Improve Non-verbal Skills And Reading Body Language
Good communication is the foundation of any successful relationship, whether personal or professional. It is important to recognize, however, that communication depends not only on what is said, but also on facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture and tone of voice, which is known as body language or non-verbal language.
The ability to understand and use non-verbal communication or body language is a powerful tool for connecting with others, expressing what we really want and building better relationships.
What is non-verbal communication and body language?
When we interact with others, we continually give and receive wordless signals. All of our non-verbal behaviors and gestures, such as how we sit, how fast or how hard we speak, how close we are to each other, our eye contact, also convey intense and constant messages. These messages don’t stop when you stop talking, because even when you’re silent, you’re still communicating non-verbally.
Often what comes out of our mouths and what we communicate through our body language are two different things. When faced with these mixed signals, the listener has to choose whether to believe the verbal or the non-verbal message, and in most cases he will opt for the non-verbal one, because it is a natural, unconscious language that transmits our true feelings and intentions.
Why is non-verbal communication important?
Just like listening, looking, moving, reacting, and telling the other person whether you care or not, if you’re telling the truth, they’re listening. When your nonverbal cues match the words you are saying, it increases your confidence, clarity, and sympathy, but when these don’t match, tension, distrust, and confusion are created.
To become a better communicator it is important not only to be more sensitive to the body language and non-verbal cues of others, but also to your own way of communicating on a non-verbal level.
How to promote non-verbal communication effectively?
Nonverbal communication is a fast flow that requires all your concentration and attention. If you’re thinking about what you’re going to say next, or thinking about something else while the person is talking, you’re sure to miss nonverbal cues and other subtleties in the conversation. You need to focus on the experience from moment to moment in order to fully understand what is happening.
To improve non-verbal communication you must learn to manage stress.
Learning to manage stress in times of nervousness is one of the most important things you can do to improve your nonverbal communication. Stress compromises your ability to communicate. When stressed, you are more likely to misinterpret others, send out confusing or unpleasant nonverbal signals, and fall into undesirable behavior patterns.
Also, emotions are contagious, and if you’re upset it’s likely to trigger other discomfort, so an already bad situation can get even worse.
If you feel overwhelmed by stress, you’d better take a “break”. Take a moment to calm down before continuing the conversation. Once your emotional balance has improved, you will be better prepared to handle the situation in a positive way.
Emotional intelligence strengthens non-verbal communication.
To send accurate nonverbal signals, you must be aware of your emotions and how they can influence your behavior. Also, you will be able to recognize the emotions of others and the true feelings behind the signals they are sending you. This is where emotional intelligence comes into play.
Emotional intelligence allows you to:
– Accurately read others, including the emotions they are feeling and the non-verbal messages they are sending.
– Build trust in relationships by sending non-verbal signals that match your words.
– Respond in a way that shows others understanding and usefulness.
– If the relationship is not meeting your emotional needs, this gives you the option to fix the relationship or move on.
Tips for reading body language and non-verbal communication
Once you’ve developed your stress management and emotion recognition skills, you can better read the nonverbal signals sent by others.
– Pay attention to inconsistencies. Nonverbal communication should reinforce what is being said.
– Look at non-verbal communication signals as a whole.
– Trust your instincts.
