Increase Your Nonverbal Awareness and Impact!
The more you perceive nonverbal signals, the better you can ultimately communicate and enhance your own impact.
Professional or personal success becomes increasingly difficult without strong communication skills. Body language is part of that. Many people focus mainly on what they say — but not on how they could say something in the most effective way.
Do you want to develop sharper perception and become more successful and impactful in your communication with others? Then don’t just talk aimlessly — communicate more consciously on a nonverbal level!
What Does “Nonverbal Impact” Mean?
Nonverbal communication is becoming increasingly popular. Who doesn’t know it today? TV series like Lie to Me, which demonstrate how to recognize when someone is lying. Or think of shows where a “mind reader” with seemingly magical abilities guesses unknown phone numbers or secretly chosen color combinations from participants. In these shows, experts use their knowledge of nonverbal behavior, which provides insight into internal states and possible thoughts of participants.
Recognizing and correctly interpreting body language in others is one way knowledge of nonverbal communication can be used. With these skills, you can surprise, impress, and assess others. But you have not yet influenced them.
If you want to actively influence interpersonal communication situations, the focus shifts to your own body language — and learning how to use it effectively to influence others.
There are universal body language behaviors that appear more charismatic and impressive than others. There are also nonverbal gestures that increase audience attention, or ways of speaking that build trust in listeners. In conflict situations, communicators can also choose certain behaviors to prevent conflict or to ease and resolve it nonverbally.
If you understand these different behaviors and apply them in your own environment, you will be surprised how differently others perceive you.
The Underestimated Power of Body Language
You may be familiar with the well-known iceberg model. It describes one of the key pillars of communication theory in interpersonal communication.
Only about one-eighth of an iceberg is visible above the water — the rest lies beneath the surface. The difference between verbal and nonverbal communication works in a similar way. Conscious, verbal communication is only the tip of the iceberg. The often unconscious, nonverbal communication has a much greater impact — yet remains hidden.
This shows how much potential lies in body language. You can multiply your communication skills if you engage more deeply with your body language.
Paul Watzlawick once said:
“One cannot not communicate.”
What he meant: Every behavior as a reaction to something or someone is a form of communication, because every reactive behavior carries a message. Since behavior has no opposite — meaning we cannot not behave — Watzlawick concluded: It is impossible not to communicate.
Every form of communication — and especially nonverbal communication — therefore conveys a certain message to the other person.
What You Can Do NOW to Improve Your Nonverbal Impact
Record yourself on video
Use your mobile phone to record yourself during a conversation with someone you know. The first step is increased self-awareness. Watch the video without sound and observe how your facial expressions, gestures, and body movements support your spoken words.
Tip: Watch the video as if the person you see were a stranger.
Evaluate yourself
Does your body language match what you are saying? Do you project confidence and conviction? Do you appear uncertain or reserved in certain moments?
Analyze why you appear the way you do
Ask yourself: How exactly do you recognize confidence, conviction, uncertainty, or hesitation in your behavior? What exactly did you do during the conversation?
Decide how you want to change your impact
After analyzing the video, decide how you want to change your nonverbal impact. How would you like to be perceived?
Find a role model with the desired impact
You may find behavioral role models in your personal environment, or observe examples in movies or on YouTube. Analyze them without sound. How does their body language differ from yours?
Model the more effective behavior
At first, you can practice in front of a mirror. It may feel strange at the beginning because it is new and unfamiliar behavior. But that does not mean you cannot change your impact quickly. Every new nonverbal behavior feels unfamiliar at first — just like learning a new language.
Test your new nonverbal behavior
Try out your new behaviors playfully. Don’t aim for perfection. Instead, observe how others react to you. Feedback is essential for improving communication.
The steps above are a first start toward more effective communication. Of course, in one of our body language training programs, you can make much faster and more significant progress.
