“Actions speak louder than words.”

SPEAKING is one of the most effective way to communicate how you feel in the workplace. However, when your manager speaks to you and the members of your department it is often not only his words that leave an impact. The speaker’s body language can make a big difference to how you respond to the message. But funny enough not many of us learn how to read and understand the non-verbal, that silent form of speech: body language.

Being aware of this level of communication is as important for the speaker as for the listener. Interpretation is easy in some instances. For example, in the heat of emotional moments most people tend to say the first thing that comes to mind and mouth, neither weighing nor measuring the power of their words. And as if that is not enough — then comes the gesticulations. Some of us have perfected the art of the angry arm waving and finger-pointing in our exchanges.

Body language is of course culture specific, and we Jamaicans are most flamboyant in this regard. Have you ever seen an angry Jamaican man/woman in full flight? We seem to be able to put our whole body in motion when we are angry or in great pain. No dictionary or interpreter is needed either when we are told that the person (be it man or woman) threw their dress/skirt over their heads in the course of an argument. We all know exactly what that means. But what do other subtle body language gestures in the workplace mean for the speaker as well as for the audience?

Every day people prepare what they want to say: they write it, practice the tone and pitch but many times they forget to pay attention to the non-verbal aspects of their delivery. It is clear that if you are delivering news to your staff about staff lay-offs it is advisable not to do so with a Cheshire cat grin. I’m just saying that showing all your 32’s might not be the spoonful of sugar to make that medicine go down in the most delightful way.

Just as how you practice the words written on paper, the posture you choose when you are delivering the message will also convey a message. Your non-verbal cues can either pull your audience to you or repel them. Will you sit or stand? Will your face be soft and sympathetic or rigid and authoritarian? Will you be standing behind the lectern or will you come down in the audience? If you are the manager speaking with your colleagues, will your communication be more effective if you sit with them or remain behind your desk and let them huddle before you?

There are some managers who have never mastered the art of speaking kindly. Perhaps thinking that it will make them seem ‘soft’ they never get the most out of their team members because of their continuously angry stance. Past US President Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘speak softly and carry a big stick’ philosophy might be a good recommendation.

“When you’re talking about productivity, change management, motivation, engagement, collaboration – the emotional component of your communication is key. And if the two conversations are out of alignment, it doesn’t matter what you’ve said, people will believe what your body tells them. If you spend all of your energy coming up with the right words, but making the wrong moves, your communication will suffer as a result,” says author and body language expert Carol Kinsey Gorman in an interview on simply-communicate.com.

She advises: “The next time you’re sitting around a conference room table, take a good look around the room. What people are doing with their bodies will tell you everything. The folks that have come in, spread out their papers, lean back in their chairs with their arms out, cross their legs, etc., are really saying ‘okay, prove it to me, I am in charge here.’ They are showing their status by these actions. Also, watch what people do with their torso and shoulders. If people are really engaged, their heads, feet, shoulders and torsos will all be oriented toward you. But when their heads are pointed at you — if their shoulders and torsos are turned away – something you have said has triggered a negative reaction. Another signal of distress can be detected in an ‘eye block’. If people close or cover their eyes, they are giving off innate nonverbal signals that indicate they have received unwanted news.

She opines that “there’s no good or bad body language” but, “body language that is congruent or incongruent with your intent. If you want to be a more effective leader or communicator, you need to start at the end. Begin by being clear about what you want to communicate and how you want it to impact your audience. Then you can build a non-verbal strategy to support your goal. If your message is about collaboration, it is probably not to your advantage to stand behind a lectern, grab its sides and lean away from your audience – because that’s not congruent with the message you want to deliver. You would be better served to stand where people could view your entire body and use the palm-up and open arm gestures that signal inclusiveness.”

Another key point that she noted was that the “truth” of body language is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn’t matter that your crossed arms are more comfortable that way. What does matter (at least to your impact as a communicator) is how most people are going to interpret that signal.”

Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson, (MBA, ABC) is a Business Communications Consultant with ROCommunications Jamaica, specialising in business communications and financial publications. She can be contacted at: yvonne@rocommunications.com. Visit her website at www.rocommunications.com and post your comments.