Lee Hopkins
There are five key elements that can make or break your
attempt
at successful nonverbal communication in business:
Eye Contact, Gestures, Movement,
Posture, and Written Communication
Let's examine each nonverbal element in
turn to see how we can
maximise your potential to communicate effectively...
Eye contact
Good eye contact helps your audience
develop trust in you, thereby helping you and your message
appear credible. Poor eye contact does exactly the opposite.
So what IS 'good' eye contact?
People rely on visual clues to help them
decide on whether to
attend to a message or not. If they find that someone isn't
'looking' at them when they are being spoken to, they feel
uneasy.
So it is a wise business communicator that
makes a point of
attempting to engage every member of the audience by looking
at
them.
Now, this is of course easy if the audience
is just a handful of
people, but in an auditorium it can be a much harder task.
So
balance your time between these three areas:
slowly scanning the entire audience,
focusing on particular areas of your audience
(perhaps looking
at the wall between two heads if you are still intimidated
by
public speaking), and
looking at individual members of the audience
for about five
seconds per person.
Looking at individual members of a large
group can be 'tricky'
to get right at first.
Equally, it can be a fine balancing act
if your audience
comprises of just one or two members -- spend too much time
looking them in the eyes and they will feel intimidated,
stared
at, 'hunted down'.
So here's a useful tip: break your eye-to-eye
contact down to
four or five second chunks.
That is, look at the other person in blocks
that last four to
five seconds, then look away. That way they won't feel
intimidated.
Practice this timing yourself, away from
others. Just look at a
spot on the wall, count to five, then look away. With practice
you will be able to develop a 'feel' for how long you have
been
looking into your audience member's eyes and intuitively
know
when to look away and focus on another person or object.
Gestures
Most of us, when talking with our friends, use
our hands and face to help us describe an event or object
-
powerful nonverbal aids.
We wave our arms about, turn our hands this
way and that, roll
our eyes, raise our eyebrows, and smile or frown.
Yet many of us also, when presenting to
others in a more formal
setting, 'clam up'.
Our audience of friends is no different
from our business
audience — they all rely on our face and hands (and
sometimes
legs, feet and other parts of us!) to 'see' the bigger,
fuller
picture.
It is totally understandable that our nervousness
can cause us
to 'freeze up', but is is in our and our communication's
best
interests if we manage that nervousness, manage our fear
of
public speaking, and use our body to help emphasise our
point.
I found that by joining a local Toastmasters
International club
I was rapidly able to learn how to 'free up my body' when
presenting to others.
Movement
Ever watch great presenters in action —
men
and women who are alone on the stage yet make us laugh,
cry and
be swept along by their words and enthusiasm?
Watch them carefully and you'll note that
they don't stand
rigidly in one spot. No, they bounce and run and stroll
and
glide all around the stage.
Why do they do that?
Because they know that we human beings,
men in particular, are
drawn to movement.
As part of man's genetic heritage we are
programmed to pay
attention to movement. We instantly notice it, whether we
want
to or not, assessing the movement for any hint of a threat
to us.
This, of course, helps explain why many
men are drawn to the TV
and seem transfixed by it. It also helps explain why men
in
particular are almost 'glued' to the TV when there is any
sport
on. All that movement!
But to get back to the stage and you on
it... ensure that any
movement you make is meaningful and not just nervous fidgetting,
like rocking back and forth on your heels or moving two
steps
forward and back, or side to side.
This is 'nervous movement' and your nervousness
will transmit
itself to your audience, significantly diluting the potency
of
your communication and message.
So move about the stage when you can —
not just to keep the men
in the audience happy, but to help emphasise your message!
Posture
There are two kinds of 'posture' and it is the
wise communicator that manages and utilizes both.
** Posture 1 The first
type of 'posture' is the one we think of
intuitively-the straight back versues the slumped shoulders;
the
feet-apart confident stance verses the feet together, hand-
wringing of the nervous; the head up and smiling versus
the head
down and frowing.
And every one of the positions we place
the various elements of
our body in tells a story—a powerful, nonverbal story.
For example, stand upright, shoulders straight,
head up and eyes
facing the front. Wear a big smile. Notice how you 'feel'
emotionally.
Now, slump your shoulders, look at the floor
and slightly
shuffle your feet. Again, take a note of your emotional
state.
Notice the difference?
Your audience surely will, and react to
you and your message
accordingly.
A strong, upright, positive body posture
not only helps you
breath easier (good for helping to calm nerves!) but also
transmits a message of authority, confidence, trust and
power.
If you find yourself challenged to maintain
such a posture,
practice in front of a mirror, or better yet join a speaking
club like Toastmasters International.
** Posture 2 The second
type of 'posture' comes from your
internal mental and emotional states.
You can have great body posture but without
internal mental and
emotional posture your words will sound hollow to your audience.
For example, a sleezy used car salesman
at 'Dodgy Brothers
Motors' might have great body posture and greet you with
a firm
handshake, a steady gaze and a friendly smile.
His body will start betraying his real,
underlying intentions
and you'll start to feel uncomfortable around him, even
if you
can't figure out why.
But, if a different used car salesman with
a genuine desire to
help you find the right car for you puts your needs before
his
own, then his words and actions will remain congruent (in
harmony) with his underlying intentions and you will trust
him,
even though you might not be able to identify why.
I have met salesmen and women who don't
actually make the money
they claim to make in their 'fabulous business opportunity',
and
while their words are practiced and polished, and their
body
posture is 'perfect', their words ooze like honeyed poison
from
their lips and I remain unconvinced.
This second type of 'posture' is fundamentally
tied to truth and
honesty. It is about 'walking the talk' and being who you
say
you are.
It's all about making sure that your words
and your intentions
are underpinned by truth and honesty. Because all of us,
no
matter how polished a presenter we might be, are at the
mercy of
our body and its ability to 'tell the truth' in spite of
what
our lips might utter. Nonverbal clues rule!
Written communication
I could spend a lifetime writing about the art of written
communication.
There is an art (and also a science) that
can be learnt with
diligence and practice. To write too formally; to write
too
informally; to write too briefly; to write too lengthily...
My first suggestion would be to avail yourself
of one of the
following three books, each of which is absolutely brilliant
at
giving you the skills and insights into effective business
writing:
The Business Style Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide
for Writing on the
Job with Tips from Communications Experts at the Fortune
500 by
Helen Cunningham and Brenda Greene
The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide
to Writing Clear,
Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business
Documents by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly
Effective Business Writing: Strategies,
Suggestions and Examples
by Maryann V. Piotrowski
From persuasive memos to complaint letters,
sales letters to
executive summaries -- these exceedingly useful guides help
you
to write clearly and in an appropriate format, style and
tone.
Each book has numerous examples that show how to overcome
writer's block, organize messages for maximum impact, achieve
an
easy-to-read style, find an efficient writing system and
much
more.
But, if you want my personal recommendation...
...if you want to
want to get hold and devour my personal best recommendation,
then it's this book by Ken Evoy: Make Your Words Sell.
"Stunning" is the only way to describe it! To
grab your own copy
go to http://www.sbi2004.com/myws
In conclusion...
There are five key elements that can
make or break your attempt at successful nonverbal business
communication:
Eye contact Gestures Movement Posture,
and Written communication
Nonverbal communication in a business setting
requires not only
recognition of these elements, but confidence in meeting
their
challenges.
Good luck!
About the author:
When you match consumer psychology with effective communication
styles you get a powerful combination. At Hopkins-Business-
Communication-Training.com you can find the secrets to
communication success. At Hopkins we show you how to communicate
better for better business results.
http://www.hopkins-business-communication-training.com
