7 ways to make an impact without speaking
Any time someone can see or hear you, it forms and impression and a potential for loss or gain. If you maximise the number of positive impressions you leave – you maximise your strike-rate in getting what you want.
The number of non-verbal (non-word) communication channels listed below, described by body language researcher Judee K. Burgoon, might surprise you.
In your working life interactions, are you maximising the number of positive impressions you leave through these channels?
Let me elaborate on one of the channels – chronemics – and specifically the mention that –
time to respond, correlates with power.
* If you are perceived as rushing when you speak, that is junior behaviour. If you are perceived as ‘owning’ time, that is senior behaviour.
* Seniority is signalled by response time. Senior people take more time, than junior people, before they respond to questions.
(from Burgoon, J.K.) ++
‘These non-verbal channels encompass most of the codes or channels traditionally regarded as part of nonverbal communication but omit some included by others (e.g., olfactics) and include some ignored by others.
The seven channels (with my comments) are:
(1) kinesics (visual Nonverbal Signals 14 bodily movements, including gestures, facial expressions, trunk and limb movements, posture, gaze, and the like).
MAKE your gestures measured, smooth and broad.
(2) vocalics or paralanguage (use of vocal cues other than the words themselves, including such features as pitch, loudness, tempo, pauses, and inflection)
A HIGHER pitch correlates with politeness, and with subordination.
(3) physical appearance (manipulable features such as clothing, hairstyle, cosmetics, fragrances, and adornments; nonmanipulable features such as physiognomy and height are excluded)’
IS YOUR hairstyle or clothing dated? If yes, by association your ideas may be perceived as dated.
(4) haptics (use of touch)
PLEASE refer to last week’s post Is your hand shake letting you down?
(5) proxemics (use of interpersonal distance and spacing relationships)
OVERALL, many inexperienced presenters maintain too much space between themselves and their audience. Moving closer to the audience signals confidence.
(6) chronemics (use of time as a message system, including such code elements as punctuality, waiting time, lead time, and amount of time spent with someone); and – time to respond correlates with power.
PLEASE see above *
(7) artifacts (manipulable objects and environmental features that may convey messages from their designers or users).
THE QUALITY of your compendium, laptop bag may be undermining your impact
++ Here is Burgoon et al book Nonverbal Communication
Own the Conversation
Implementation idea
- Over the next seven days upgrade one of the above channels of your non-verbal communication
- After seven days reflect on the impact of the upgrade.
- If has paid off, start embedding the channel improvement in your communication.
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