Communication Patterns

Chapter 8. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Verbal and nonverbal communication are important aspects of any technical professional’s job, whether you are working onsite or remotely. Nonverbal communication covers not just body language, gestures, and facial expressions, but also eye contact, tone of voice, personal space, touch, appearance, and the use of tools and props.

Communication is essentially encoding a message to send and decoding a message received. Just like in a software system, the decoded message needs to match the encoded one for communication to be considered successful. The patterns in this chapter will improve your encoding and decoding skills, along with your skills of persuasion and influence, which are often the goals of your communication.

Encoding Messages

Communication can be one-way, when a response is not required, or two-way, when the recipient responds to the initial message. In both cases, that message must always be encoded, or packaged, so that the recipient can then decode it. The trick is getting the encoding right so that your message is understood as you want it to be.

Using the Acceptance Prophecy

Start thinking about how your message will be packaged up for your recipient to understand before you begin communicating. The acceptance prophecy is one of the first patterns you can put into practice. It states that when you think others will like you, you behave more warmly toward them and, therefore, they like you more. The opposite is also ...