Improve Your Skills at Reading Nonverbal Communication
A co-worker comes to you with slumped shoulders as they walk into the room. Your boss glances at you with a puckered brow during the meeting. A client moves with an extra pep in their step as they walk away from a negotiated deal. None of this is verbalized, but it’s all communication.
Why learn how to read another person’s nonverbal messages? Put simply, understanding others’ bodily cues—including their facial expressions, body language, gestures, and tone of voice—will make you a better negotiator, a more effective leader, and a more capable relationship-builder. When you can read someone’s nonverbal signals, you become better at navigating complex social dynamics and more proficient at resolving conflicts.
Interpretation of some body language is fairly obvious—for example, yelling loudly and pointing fingers usually indicates anger. But what does it mean if a person’s eyes move to the left or right versus down? What if their blinking rate increases? Do pursed lips or relaxed mouths mean anything? And what about proximity and personal space? What if a person starts to mirror your actions or gets shifty feet?
These subtle (or not-so-subtle) nonverbal indicators may suggest displeasure or nerves, dishonesty or eagerness. How do you know? Why does it matter?
Reading a person’s nonverbal language isn’t a perfect science since all people respond to situations differently, ...
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