Non-verbal communication is speaking without words while verbal communication is speaking with words. However non-verbal communication supports your verbal communication, it is more or less the foundation of verbal communication.
What people perceive of you are the things you do not see which is your non-verbal communication. With non-verbal communication, people would have different perceptions of the expression (your non-verbal communication).
What defines their perception is how they think and their past experiences which most times is subjective. Two people can have different opinions about you, but you must remember that what people see may not be the full picture.
For you, what is important is to be deliberate about what you want people to see, perceive, and think about you.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Research shows at least 85% of interpersonal communication is non-verbal. It is therefore important to ensure you are not giving the wrong communication because people can misinterpret what you say. They also focus more on your non-verbal than your verbal communication.
COMPONENTS OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
1. Tone of Voice:- how you say what you say addresses your tone of voice; are you long and aggressive? are you soft-spoken? do you stress certain words when you speak? do you sound tired and bored?
2. Facial expression:- this is about what people would see when they look at you. It defines whether you are open to being spoken to or not. If you want people to see you as friendly, you ought to show that you are friendly.
3. Body language:- it covers posture, how you sit, stand, walk, etc.
4. Grooming and hygiene:- this is also an important aspect of body language. Good or bad hygiene communicates a certain way to others
These components make up attitude and behaviour. It is important to watch out for your subtle communication, check with people around you to share their feedback, and if there is any similarity you can work on.
EXPERIENCE AND IMPRESSION
The experience you give people determines the impression they have about you. Imagine a person goes for a job interview and is dressed in an untidy manner, it may give the interviewer the impression that they are unserious about the interview and they would be unlikely to move on with that candidate.
After every interaction with you people leave with an impression about you, so what you need to do is think about what impressions you give off from all your interactions with people. You can also look out for the impression you see in others that you like and would want to emulate.
PERSONAL BRAND
Your brand is what other people say about you when you are not in the room- Jeff Bezos.
A public image is what a personal brand is about, the experience you give people determines the impression you have about people.
Your personal brand is made up of how you see yourself, it influences how you communicate with other people. Your thoughts about yourself shape your actions and affect how you communicate yourself to the public.
Your personal brand is also based on how others see you; whatever you show them is what they would see (although it may not be completely accurate).
If you don't see your right, you would not communicate yourself well, so start thinking about yourself in the best possible way. Do not see yourself in the light of your limitations, become self-aware because it is important in knowing who you are.
STEPS TO TAKE
- Design your experience (your non-verbal communication)
- Remember your behaviour can change; the things you have learned in the past can be unlearned, it was picked up, and can be dropped off.
- Then, you can start cultivating the new behaviour you believe is essential.
- Think about what impression you want to leave people with, what experience you need to create for them to have that impression, and what you need to create those experiences in the first place.
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