When you think about it, the words in personal communication logically should carry much more weight than a mere 7%. But this formula has been twisted and distorted, and has become a common factoid (a false statement asserted as a fact). Show
These percentages have been used over and over by communication consultants, body language ‘experts,’ media interview trainers, speech delivery coaches and HR instructors. How comforting it must be for them to quote such exact and scientific figures. But they have been taken out of context! Unfortunately, the 7% 38% 55% statements continue to pop up as fact in published works:
Do a Google search for yourself and you can find variations on the same statement in many locations. How did the nonverbal communication myth spring up?The two original research projects on which this information is based, actually came to decidedly different conclusions. UCLA psychologist, Dr Albert Mehrabian, and fellow researchers came up with quite narrow and limited findings, as many research projects do, in their experiments going back to 1967. The myth is based on a superficial interpretation – the findings only relate to inconsistent communicationThe result only occurred where contradictory messages were being conveyed simultaneously by words and other behaviors of a speaker – we may express something verbally while our facial expressions, postures and positions, tone of voice or gestures indicate the opposite. What’s moreThese results:
Facts prove you should ignore this big nonverbal communication mythAs a communicator by profession I was determined to find out what the facts were, and so I went to the trouble of buying Mehrabian’s book, Silent Messages, directly from him. Sure enough, Mehrabian’s claims were much more modest than the sweeping conclusions others have drawn from his work. He said, “Is there a systematic and coherent approach to resolving the general meaning or impact of an inconsistent message? Indeed there is. Our experimental results show:
“Obviously implicit expressions are not always more important than words,” stated Dr Mehrabian on page 79. Implicit communication deals mainly with feelings and like/dislike or attitudes. In many conversations, implicit messages are not even present, eg “I will meet with you at 2 pm next Wednesday.” However, if you say “I’m looking forward to meeting with you again at 2 pm next Wednesday,” with a pained facial expression or if you avoid looking at the person when saying the words, your expression will convey a stronger implicit message than your explicit message (your words). From all this, when you hear someone self importantly quoting spurious interpretations of Dr Mehrabian’s work, just laugh in their face. I’m sure your facial expression and tone of voice will be consistent with your words. Limitations of the study methodologyIn addition to the misinterpretation of results, the experimental studies have limited applicability to real life:
ConclusionThe sooner you ignore and delete any references to this big nonverbal communication claim, the better. This applies especially if you are a professional communicator, because your credibility will be questioned as others discover how false this myth is. From my contact with him, I know Dr Mehrabian feels quite regretful that his research has been taken so badly out of context. Helpful articles on messaging and interpersonal communicationRead further helpful information in my articles about messaging and interpersonal communication. ReferenceAlbert Mehrabian. Silent Messages: Implicit Communication of Emotions and Attitudes. Second edition, 1981. What percentage of the meaning and intent of communication is spoken by words?The rule states that 7 percent of meaning is communicated through spoken word, 38 percent through tone of voice, and 55 percent through body language. It was developed by psychology professor Albert Mehrabian at the University of California, Los Angeles, who laid out the concept in his 1971 book Silent Messages (1971).
What percentage of communication accounts for what is actually being said?The 55/38/7 Formula
It was Albert Mehrabian, a researcher of body language, who first broke down the components of a face-to-face conversation. He found that communication is 55% nonverbal, 38% vocal, and 7% words only.
What are 3 important factors to consider when developing multicultural therapeutic communication?3 important actions to promote multicultural communication :. Become knowledgeable and aware of the beliefs and values of different cultures.. Recognize barriers of multicultural communication.. Develop techniques that build and foster multicultural communication.. What is an opinion or judgment that is formed before all the facts are known and is usually preconceived and unfavorable?Prejudgment or forming an opinion before being aware of the relevant facts of a case is known as prejudice. Prejudice often refers to preconceived opinions toward a certain social group.
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