NLP At Work : The Difference That Makes the Difference in Business

Learning to be aware of body language and the differences

between one person and the next and one culture and the next

creates a marked improvement in how well we understand and

influence other people and they us. Some people seem to

have a natural ability to influence, creating a climate of instant

rapport in which all parties feel at ease with each other. Others

may find these people eminently approachable, easy to talk to

on any issue with an obvious advantage in any negotiating,

communicating, or influencing situation.

Among the first to publish material dealing with these

issues was Albert Mehrabian in 1972. In a series of controlled

experiments, he was able to demonstrate that non-verbal

signals were significantly more influential than other stimuli.

Mehrabian concentrated on the face as the source of the

nonverbal information. Other researchers have since

demonstrated similar results with the other elements of

nonverbal behavior. The outstanding conclusion that has been

reached by many of these researchers is that typically more

66 NLP AT WORK

Our influence lies outside the

actual words

The importance of reading body language

7%

38%

55%

Content—the words only

Vocal influence—intonation, tone, accent, rhythm, pauses, stresses

Nonverbal influences—facial expression, eye movements, muscle movements, skin color