Leadership is Communication: Those Pesky Non-Verbals

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Leadership is Communication: Those Pesky Non-Verbals

There is a lot of talk about non-verbal communication. In this month’s newsletter I wrote about the importance of perception – the audience’s perception of you as well as your perception of them. The ability to understand body language; a person’s non-verbal communication, is one of the tools that will help you understand that perception.

Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy as you may have been led to believe. For instance consider the famous crossed-arms. Many will tell you that it means your listener has put up a barrier. That sounds good except it isn’t always true. If I’m seriously considering what you’re saying, I am very likely to cross my arms. I don’t know why I do it. It’s just a comfortable position for me. You can be assured I’m not erecting a barrier.

So how do you know what a person’s body language means? How a person moves and acts is a part of who they are. So, once again, a key component of leadership success is knowing the people you work with. The better you know them, the more likely you are to not be fooled by their non-verbal behaviors.

There are many books available that will tell you everything you wanted to know about non-verbal communication. Most of them simply reiterate the same truisms but there is one I recommend. The Silent Language of Leaders by Carol Kinsey Goman doesn’t simply regurgitate the same “facts” about body language but gives the reader advice on really understanding it.

So go learn about your people and so you can better understand their body language.