Nonverbal communication influences social interactions in many ways. Many nonverbal cues are conveyed unconsciously, so they’re often more reliable than verbal messages when reading someone’s state of mind.Knowing this can be helpful when you’re interpreting nonverbal messages, but it’s also useful to be aware of your own and when you want to persuade someone in a conversation or negotiation.If you know how certain facial expressions and gestures affect other people and put these cues to good use, you’ll know how to persuade others better.
When interpreting someone else’s non-verbal cues, you can infer a lot about someone’s emotional state and intentions based on their sitting posture, eye contact or slight hand gestures. Most people are more willing to trust someone if the person’s words and nonverbal cues match, and we interpret the nonverbal signals as positive.
We quickly begin to doubt the other person’s trustworthiness or competence if their words and non-verbal cues don’t match. When that happens, most people remember the non-verbal cue better because it’s usually done unconsciously and appears more honest.
When trying to be aware of our own non-verbal cues, we can consciously use nonverbal communication to:
- Inspire trust
- Strengthen the effect of our words
- Radiate self-confidence
- Gain support
For example, if your boss congratulates you for a job well done, a handshake emphasizes the verbal message. During a presentation, you can use facial expressions and gestures to emphasize your words and communicate your messages more clearly.
Studies have shown that nonverbal communication not only affects those who interpreting the other person. The person doing the communication can also use it to influence their own emotions. Job applicants who consciously assumed a self-confident posture for a few seconds prior to a interview behaved more confidently in the interview and were ultimately more successful.
In group situations, nonverbal communication is often used to strengthen the sense of community, for example when the audience applauds during a concert or when a stadium of soccer fans do a Mexican wave.