â€å“loyalty is Hard to Find Trust is Easy to Lose Actions Speak Louder Than Wordsã¢â‚¬â

So I may be a little biased here, as I did study the subject matter and all, but I really do think that success in so many areas of life can be traced back to communication. I mean think about it. If you don’t connect â€" and I mean genuinely connect â€" with your family, friends, work colleagues, customers, even baristas and grocery store clerks, you would have a hard time achieving whatever it is you set out to do. Not to mention life would be pretty dull! Communication, moreover effective communication, is so ridiculously important. And yet how often do we actually take the time to properly dissect and observe and learn more about how to optimize our daily communication habits?!?

Talking all about talk today certainly made me think. Now it’s a huge subject, and so I am not about to attempt to touch on it all, let alone even a big chunk of it. However, I feel a few nuggets are in order.

Did you know that when it comes to face-to-face communication, the actual words being spoken only equate to 7% of the total communication taking place?!? 38% is attributed to the tone, and a whopping 55% belongs to our body language! Crazy, right? This research is thanks to the brilliance of Dr. Albert Mehrabian, currently Professor Emeritus of Psychology at UCLA.

Well, if you think about it, it makes total sense. How many times have you had a conversation with someone and you know right away when they are just not into it? And I’ll bet there have also been times when you’ve been speaking with someone and you’re totally zoned out and not really listening to a word being said. And even if you think your responses —  ‘ah-ha’, ‘really?’ ‘hmm…’ 'interesting!' — are showing you’re listening and still a part of the conversation, your tone of voice and body language are probably saying otherwise.

Now there is both good news and bad news here, folks.

Good news? You don’t have to obsess so much about getting your words perfect! How many times have you been in the middle of a conversation and instead of intently listening, you were more worried about what you were going to say next? Well, it actually doesn’t matter so much, as long as your face and your body are expressing you’re truly interested in what is being said.

Bad news? If you’re speaking with someone and you’re trying desperately to come across as though you’re really digging the conversation but you’re so not, they can probably tell! So, either try to get into it, or use an exit strategy (‘I really don’t want to monopolize all of your time, but it’s been great chatting with you…’ ‘there is someone I’ve been trying to connect with all night, perhaps we could continue this conversation later?’) and get the heck outta dodge!

So, next time you’re out networking or meeting new people (and for all you guys out there next time you want to talk to that cute girl), think back to your favorite game from kindergarten: Show and Tell. You’re showing way more through your facial expressions and tone and body language than you’re telling with your words. So get excited! Be confident! Smile! Lean in… When you speak and listen with your whole being you’ll be surprised at just how powerful the connection can be.

Have a FAB week, everyone!

p.s. I have decided to launch a monthly ‘living BIG’ challenge… and April’s inaugural video is up! It's all about practicing gratitude :-). Click HERE to watch the video ~ I’d love for you to come on board!!!Â

p.p.s. What are YOUR experiences with in-person communication? Do you agree our non-verbals speak louder than our words? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.Â

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Source: https://carolschulte.com/actions-speak-louder-than-words-the-truth-behind-how-we-communicate/

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