Prof. Albert Mehrabhian’s discovered that only 7% of what we communicate to others comes from the words that we use. The tone we use when speak accounts for 38% of what we communicate and a massive 55% comes from our body language.
Communication specialist, Prof. Judee Burgoon, discovered there are seven categories of non-verbal communication. Ranging from your body movements, through to the pitch of our voice and how we make use of personal space.
In this post, we have honed in on nine adjustments within the working environment which you can adopt to ensure you’re communicating what you intend to.
Tip 1: Adjust your volume
Hone in on the volume of your voice. Ask yourself “What is my natural tendency?”. For example, do you tend to speak quite softly or loudly most of the time?
Adjusting the volume of your voice, when used in moderation, can be a clever way of emphasising a point – such as consciously switching to low volume to convey intimacy and draw people in, or adding a quick burst of a higher volume to increase the impact of a key message.
Don’t forget, you’re in control of the volume of your voice – not the situation.
Tip 2: Slow down
Speaking quickly can often the norm when you feel like you have so much that you want to say but only so much time. The risk is that the 1 or 2 points that are important get lost in a sea of words.
Slowing down your pace helps your audience to stay on the journey with you and can signal the need for respect.
Tip 3: Make sure you pause
We often feel uncomfortable with silence, but the time that is spent not speaking is hugely valuable.
In particular, there is a tendency when we ask a question of someone else to rush in and fill the gap rather than await their response with patience.
When used with intention, a bit of breathing space can be helpful to ensure you have given the other party the time they need to reflect and sort through their own thoughts.
Tip 4: Speak with authority
The pitch of your voice, e.g. how high or low it sounds, can convey a great deal about yourself to others. We all have a natural pitch to our voice – some deeper than others; however, we can also adjust our pitch to create different outcomes.
For example, a deep voice is often associated with being more sincere and authoritative than a higher pitched voice which can sound more light-hearted.
Variety is the spice of life, so harness both to invoke the intended response within your audience.
Tip 5: Develop awareness of tone
The tone you use, i.e. the emotion you convey in your voice, can dramatically change the meaning behind your words.
Chris Voss, ex-FBI negotiator and author of ‘Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on it‘ encourages you to ’employ your voice’ to navigate conversations effectively, and in particular suggests that you develop an awareness of when your tone is:
- Assertive (usually counterproductive)
- Playful or accommodating (your default tone)
- Soothing but affirmative (when making a key point)
At first, it will require a concerted effort to develop an awareness of what tone you are adopting and practice to do it on cue, but it is worthwhile.
Tip 6: Make eye contact even on video
We are all aware that this is an important aspect of establishing rapport with others; however, it’s a behaviour you need to be particular aware of with the increased use of video conferencing.
To help you with this, place the speakers window just underneath your webcam to make sure you are more likely to look in the direction of the people you are talking to – or put a sticker there to remind you!
It also helps to hide your own video so you can focus on just them. It’s unnatural to be looking at yourself all day and can create a distraction that the person you’re speaking to will pick up on.
Tip 7: Use gesture for emphasis
Well trained public speakers will often use their hands to signal meaning to their audience – for instance, gesturing left when talking about the past, centrally when talking about the present and right when talking about the future (though you need to not only know your left and right, but flip it so it’s the right way round!).
When used well, gesture can add dynamism and be really effective; however, it can also be distracting and undermine your composure if you are in the habit of gesticulating at every opportunity.
The best way to develop your own gestures is to observe others who use gestures appropriately, and to film yourself speaking to see how yours come across.
Tip 8: Watch your facial expression
Most of us tend to have a ‘resting facial expression’, for some of that resting face can be giving off signals that you’re completely unaware of!
For some, our inner emotions tend to become mapped across our face, or worse our expression might be conveying an emotion that doesn’t reflect how we feel.
The ‘mirror’ effect of video conferences mean you have the opportunity to check in every so often and see how we look to others.
It’s particularly worth checking in on those moments when you’re listening as that tends to be your ‘resting’ face.
Tip 9: Beware of the vibes you’re giving
We are taught techniques such as adopting the ‘power pose’ before doing a presentation or making sure your body language is open and engaged at interviews; however, what about the general energy you are giving off to others when sitting at your desk or on remote team calls?
Energy or emotional contagion describes the phenomenon where one person’s emotions and related behaviours directly trigger similar emotions and behaviours in those around them.
When you’re in a positive energy space, this can be beneficial to those around you, as your positivity will rub off on them, but if you are feeling nervous, disengaged, frustrated, demotivated – it is likely more apparent to those around you than you know. Don’t drag them down with you!
If any of this has been of interest and you would like further information on how this can be used for your own development, or that of your colleagues, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
