Persuade

7Body Language

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher and poet

People often do not say what they mean or mean what they say. As influencing relies on understanding and communicating with people, body language plays a key role in the influencing process. In fact, body language is one of the most important aspects in communication. As alluded to by Emerson in the quote above, body language does speak louder than words.

Body language acts as a window into people's true intentions: how they think and feel. In this chapter, we will provide a practical guide to harnessing the power of body language to understand others as well as to use your own body language to convey the appropriate information and emotions.

Reading and Understanding Body Language

What is body language? Body language is a form of nonverbal communication where behaviors such as posture, gestures, and facial expressions communicate information – thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and intentions.

In his research, The Importance of Effective Communication, Dr. Edward G. Wertheim describes five key roles that nonverbal communication may play:

1. Complimenting your verbal message
2. Accentuating your message
3. Repeating (and strengthening) your verbal message
4. Substituting your message
5. Contradicting your verbal message⁵¹

In and of themselves, any one behavior signal may not tell us much. The key to reading body language is watching for consistency. Is there consistency ...