流暢さと話の進め方4:非言語コミュニケーション上達法

ジェスチャー、アイコンタクト、表情、姿勢などの非言語コミュニケーションの上達に着目します。

Introduction

Gestures, eye-contact, and other non-verbal signals are just as important in speaking as are the right words. In fact, 70% of communication is non-verbal! How good do you think you are at non-verbal communication?

Warm Up

Here are a few phrases. What gestures would you use to communicate these phrases? 

  1. I don’t know! 
  2. I have two ideas for this project. 
  3. No, I haven’t had the time to finish yet. 
  4. Yes, you’re absolutely right. 
  5. I want that one, not the other one. 
  6. Let’s think about this together and come up with a solution.
Language

There are multiple methods of non-verbal communication. A few are:

  1. Eye contact

Straight eye contact shows confidence, but it also shows that you’re telling the truth. People usually look away when they’re uncomfortable, lying, or not sure about what they’re saying.

  1. Hand gestures

“Talk with your hands”—people often perceive those who talk with their hands as being warm, inviting, and agreeable. It also helps the listener understand what the person is trying to say. 

  1. Facial expressions

Show the facial expression that matches what you’re saying. For example, don’t smile when talking about something you failed in! 

  1. Physical appearance 

Think about your posture. For example, if you’re sitting slouched over, your head resting in your hands, and arms on the desk, you’ll look bored. If you cross your arms and your legs, you might be perceived as being closed off and shy. On the other hand, sitting up straight, using gestures, and smiling, could all show earnestness.

Practice

You are pitching a project to your manager. Read the following dialogue along with your teacher. Use as much non-verbal communication as you can.

Manager: So, tell me about your problem. 
You: Well, I was speaking with Steven yesterday. He said some rude things about our clients. I don’t believe this attitude contributes to a respectful workplace. To be fair, we’ve had issues with these clients, but speaking about them in such a tone and attitude can really hurt the deal. 
Manager: I agree with you on that. What do you think I should do? 
You: Well... Could we hold a discussion with the whole team where we could air our grievances and then talk about solutions? 
Manager: That’s a great idea. I’ll send out an email. 

How did it go? Did you use as much non-verbal communication as you did verbal?

 

At-home study: Watch Nick Morgan talk about non-verbal communication on "Take Control of Your Nonverbal Communication", from Harvard Business Review