Body Language

What I amsaying is that you can tell a lot about people’s mood, attitude, and

state of mind by observing how they hold their bodies. Observing and regis-

tering what you notice about how people move and position themselves

gives you an insight into how best to communicate with them.

Before beginning an encounter with another person, observe her posture to

help you determine how best to engage with her.

Showing high and low status through postural positions ............

If you think of people in authority you think of them in elevated terms. They

don’t have to be tall to show that they’re top of the pecking order, they just

have to carry themselves as if they were. Open and confident posture is the

norm for individuals in high status positions. Conversely, people with lower

status demonstrate their position by acting in a deferential manner. Their

posture is closed and protective.

Indira works for a large city firm. When she was put up for promotion the male

partners struggled when making their decision. Although Indira’s capabilities

were acknowledged as superb, something in her demeanour made them

uncomfortable and uncertain. When Indira and I worked on her personal impact,

she explained that she had been raised to show deference to people in positions

of authority. Because of the hierarchical nature of the firm she saw the partners

as authority figures and behaved as she’d been taught. Her shoulders were

slightly hunched, her chest somewhat rolled in, and her head slightly bowed.

After practising specifically targeted exercises, Indira’s posture changed, as

did her self-perception. She now stands upright, makes eye contact comfort-

ably, and moves with authority. And, she was made a partner.

118 Part III: The Trunk: Limbs and Roots

Look what’s talking

Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus of

Psychology, University of California, Los

Angeles, and author of the seminal study of non-

verbal communication, Silent Messages, is an

authority on communication. His findings about

the relative importance of verbal and non-verbal

messages showed that the way a message is

delivered is believed more than the words,

when inconsistency exists between the words

themselves and the delivery. His findings have

become known as the 7 per cent, 38 per cent, 55

per cent Rule. Mehrabian concludes that three

elements are involved in any face-to-face com-

munication: The words, the tone of voice, and

the body language. According to Mehrabian

these three elements account differently for

understanding the emotional meaning behind

the message. Words account for 7 per cent of

the message, voice tone for 38 per cent, and

body language for 55 per cent. Note, however,

that this research only applies to face-to-face

communication of feelings and attitudes.