Importance of Non-Verbal Communication

When communicating it is not necessarily what is being said that has the greatest impact. Often people underestimate the significance of body language or non-verbal communication. View this video to see the importance of eye contact when meeting someone for the first time. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzezbYtLvtM). A man may approach a woman and if he is aware of eye contact then he has a definite advantage. The same can be said for a good communicator. An effective communicator is miles ahead when they can interpret others body language and control their own. A tremendous percentage of our everyday communication is done through movements, eye contact, and through tone of voice. Another important area of body language is the context that something is said in. If I was preparing a meal for someone and it was the greatest meal I had ever made and then they complimented me on it I would be pleased. If I burnt the chicken, the vegetables were overcooked, and the pasta was tasteless, then they complimented me, I would be offended. The words coming out of their mouths haven’t changed, but the context has.

China is hoping to expand economically into Africa for their natural resources such as oil and taping into an African market to sell Chinese goods. China is being a smart communicator in their efforts to expand into several African nations. China is making an effort to adjust their body language to convince these nations that they will keep the best interests of these countries in mind. In the case of Sudan the Chinese president, Hu, wrote off a $70 million debt. He then followed by granting a $13 million interest free loan. China also hosted a summit for 40 African leaders. These leaders may have been skeptical of the intentions of China in their countries. Stories circulate the international stage of Chinese pollution and their greed to expand. So what does China do? They think like a good communicator and they control their body language. When the countries came to visit they reduced the amount of traffic and they even shut down the factories temporarily to reduce the amount of pollution in the air. I think that this is absolutely ingenious. Perhaps the leaders of these nations would now go back and say, “China did not seem as dirty or as overcrowded as I had heard”. In doing so China has made a huge impression on these leaders without having to say a word, much like what an effective communicator can do to a listener.