The Secret Communication of Leaders

Non-verbal communication is about human interaction. I want to take a detour from our usual topics and talk about a higher level topic here. This is about Collaborative Communicators.

There comes a point in conversation with someone where you don’t really think about the individual aspects of their communication, and where everything they do or say is encapsulated by a larger point. I am especially interested in that brand of communication that I have seen in charismatic people and leaders who have seen a lot of success handling others. There is one form of communication that binds them all. And everything they do or say can be paraphrased in the following points:

1.      You are part of my team and I will protect you.

2.      I am on your side and want to see you succeed.

3.      I value you.  

Think back to someone who you think is an inspirational leader. How does this person’s communication leave you feeling? If that person owned a sports team, would you want to be associated with it? Would you let them take care of your kids? Do you believe they have your best interest in mind?

Now, the interesting part about this form of communicator is that they don’t do one certain thing that has this kind of effect, but it comes from a central mental attitude with regard to their beliefs and perspectives, which resonates outwards into their behavior both nonverbal and verbal. It’s some groundbreaking stuff for me, and I am excited to bring this to our coming workshops!

Picture Courtesy: http://botheone.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/barack-obama-2012-election-speech-5815.jpg

Welcome to the Everyday Body Language Blog!

I believe that anything that helps us relate better to one another is precious in Today’s isolated modern living. We all need to understand each other, and because of lowering attention spans and the  decrease in general time we a lot each other for interaction, it is very important to get the most out of every interaction, with regard to both mutual growth and personal enrichment. After all that is what communication is about: connecting!

The jury is out on how much of communication is non-verbal (side note: when we use the term non-verbal, we refer to all those aspects of communication that may be used to transmit information of all kinds, not including the words spoken). Some say that 90% of all communication is nonverbal whereas some claim that it is 60%. I am of the belief that the numeric value of the role of non-verbal communication in human interaction is indicative in nature; it just illustrates the fact that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it!

After four years of studying various aspects of Body Language in various styles and multiple theoretical underpinnings (psychotherapy, Transactional Analysis, Evolutionary Psychology, etc), I have realized that the most useful application of Non-Verbal Communication does not occur in Deception Detection, Diplomatic Affairs or Corporate Espionage, it rather lies in using Body Language to communicate better; Body Language is best used in our everyday lives when we use it to communicate  effectively.

Although Body Language Analysis is done pretty widely, and there are multiple sources both free and paid over the internet to get that information, the matter lacks one very key ingredient: They Do Not Answer the question: How can I apply this to my life? Both this Blog and My Work try to answer this question: How do I use Body Language to relate with others better?

This Blog is a collection of those things that interest me about Non-Verbal Communication. It may be about a place that I visit, or an experience that I have had. I hope that this creation will inspire thought and help my readers create a heightened empathy, and that their outlook changes positively!

Cheers!

©Shivam Nemani

Image courtesy:

http://bestplayerintheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Roger-Federer-celebrates-0073.jpg