‘93% of all communication is non-verbal.’ It’s a figure that most of us have heard at least once, and many of us have heard it far more frequently than that, but how many of us know where it comes from? And more importantly, is it even true?
The answer to the first question is easy: it comes from a pair of studies in the 1960s by a body language expert, Albert Mehrabian. The answer to the second one is…well, complicated.
To put the studies in context, Mehrabian was specifically studying what happens in in-person interactions when someone’s non-verbal communication doesn’t match what their words are saying, and the 93% figure comes from what’s known as the 55/38/7 rule: 55% of the communication is non-verbal (body language, facial expressions, etc), 38% is tone and inflection, and 7% is the words themselves. Mehrabian himself is also clear that these figures belong to a specific context, that of communicating like or dislike, and outside that emotional context, the formula doesn’t apply. (Mehrabian, 1981)
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t truth to the idea behind the numbers. For example, we know that non-verbal communication as well as tone and inflection are significant factors in conveying a message, but just how significant are they? Research shows that when the non-verbal communication and the words used don’t match, it’s the non-verbal communication that carries the day, or as Mehrabian put it, ‘a person’s implicit behaviour far outweighs the importance of his words (about four to five times as much) when he uses contradictory messages.’ (Mehrabian, 1981) Body language and facial expressions are the most significant factors, while tone and inflection are also important but not quite as crucial as the visual elements.
Now that we have the information, the next question should be ‘what do we do with it?’ That’s where the Three C’s of non-verbal communication come in, as this is how we interpret what we observe from others. The first is context: what’s the situation? This is the who, what, when, where, why, and how, so the context may be that you’re at work and talking to your boss about something that’s gone wrong. Next is clusters: does all the non-verbal communication convey the same message? Your boss may have a pleasant facial expression and tone that match their words, but what if their posture comes across as uncomfortable? We can use the clusters model to deduce that there may be an external factor at play, such as your boss’ back might be hurting as they’ve been on their feet all day, and thus avoid the fundamental attribution error. Finally, we have congruence: do the non-verbal communications match their words? Your boss tells you that the error wasn’t your fault while placing a hand on your shoulder to reassure you, which shows congruence between their words and their non-verbal communication. By understanding how we perceive and interpret non-verbal communication, we can become more conscious of that facet and take steps to make sure that the clues we give match what it is we’re trying to communicate.
The 93% figure and the 55/38/7 rule may not strictly be true outside of their specific context, but by looking at them in a more figurative sense, we get a sense of each aspect’s relative importance in conveying our message. We spend so much time and effort on finding the right words to say something that we often miss what will truly be the most decisive part of our ability to communicate, which ties into our egocentrism in believing ourselves to be more effective communicators than we actually are.
References:
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z.-W. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 925–936. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.925
Mehrabian, A. (1981). Silent messages: Implicit communication of emotions and attitudes. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
First, I wanted to thank you for sharing such a great blog. I think our human nature is to forget that only 7% of our communication is the actual words we speak, and the majority of our communication is understanding through nonverbal cues, with 38% of our communication is understood through tone. When I first started working in management the best piece of advice I received was, “It’s not what you say but how you say it.” I read an article published in verywell mind by Kendra Cherry that took a deep dive into different types of non-verbal communication. Cherry listed facial expressions as they hold the largest responsibility for non-verbal communication and vary by culture. Facial expressions can express emotions that help convey the message you are trying to communicate such as happiness or anger. Cherry also explained gestures such as waving or thumbs up can speak for people and varies by culture. Continuing, paralinguistics also falls into the non-verbal category as it covers the sound of speech such as, tone, loudness, inflection, and pitch (Cherry, 2022). Therefore, if someone is trying to communicate anger their tone would be firmer and louder. Cherry also listed body language and eye gaze as two additional forms of non-verbal communication but the two kind of tie into one another. An example of the way your body and eyes can speak for you is, someone being hostile will show in their eyes and as well in their body by having defensive gestures such as arms being crossed. So, circling back to the first point I made, “It’s not what you say but how you say it,” the physical words you share can mean one thing but all your other non-verbal (facial expression, gestures, paralinguistics, body language, and eye gaze) cues can communicate something completely different so you have to be mindful of this.
Cherry, K. (2022, October 12). 9 types of nonverbal communication. Verywell Mind. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-nonverbal-communication-2795397
It’s my belief that egocentrism has a play in how well people think they can interpret others non-verbal cues. I think egocentrism would cause some to not utilize the three C’s of non-verbal communication. Specifically, I think the cluster model would receive the least amount of attention. I believe people would fail and fall prey to the fundamental attribution error, attributing a look, a stance, a laugh, etc. as something wrong with the individual rather than an environmental factor. Additionally, people are more likely to contribute non-verbal cues as a slight towards them. To use your example, some people may interpret their boss’s uncomfortable stance as meaning that they don’t want to be near them. Egocentrism plays a huge role in communication.
Great post!