The Truth About Better Business Communication (Collection)

TRUTH 36. Most Information Is Transferred Nonverbally

Communication experts have established the fact that less than a third of the meaning transferred from one person to another in a personal conversation comes from the words that are spoken. The majority of meaning comes from nonverbal sources, including body movement, eye contact, gestures, posture vocal tone, pitch, pacing, and phrasing. Other messages come from your clothing, your use of time, and literally dozens of other nonverbal categories. People learn how to read and interpret such wordless messages, but many of these messages are difficult to detect and understand.

Nonverbal communication is widely regarded as the transfer of meaning without the use of verbal symbols. That is, ...