Albert Mehrabian's Silent Messages

Nowadays, the most common forms of communication are electronically based; whether its text messages from our smart phones, an email sent to our computers, voicemails, and etc. But since it’s more convenient, are we really getting the full message? Albert Mehrabian in 1971 published a book titled, Silent Messages, in which he stated that communication is 80% to 90% nonverbal or through body language, meaning that only a small percentage is based on the actual spoken word. Basically, 55% is based on body language, 38% on the tone and how we say the words, and leaving the remainder 7% on the actual words. Many people have taken this as a fact now, so why is it more important on how we convey the message and what we are physically doing when presenting …show more content…
In most Western cultures, the “OK” sign, means everything is alright or OK. But in Russia and Turkey, it means a rectal orifice for a gay man as an insult, and in France and Belgium it means “Zero” like “You’re Worthless”. Even the piece sign in our North American culture means “Up Yours!” in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Eye contact in our culture is praised, but in parts of Africa and Asia, little to no eye contact actually shows more respect and direct, prolonged eye contact is taken as a sign of disrespect. Even the difference in using your left and right hand for handshakes, accepting gifts and etc. varies between cultures. In Muslim and Hindu cultures, shaking hands left handed is considered unclean (due to the fact the dirtiest activities in those cultures, like wiping your bottom after bowel movements, are done with the left hand). So, what we may think as friendly in our culture could be taken as an insult in other …show more content…
By stressing or annunciating certain words in a sentence can be taken different ways. Take the phrase, “I didn’t say you were stupid”. It can have different meanings on which words were emphasized, for example, saying the phrase like “I didn’t SAY you were stupid” can be taken differently than saying it either like “I didn’t say YOU were stupid” and “I didn’t say you were STUPID”, although the text of the sentence is all the same. Inconsistences like these examples can leave the user; confused, undermine a good working relationship, and create a lack of trust at the speaker. Sarcasm can also not be taken in the intended context and can be taken literally which can also cause problems with the listener, so this should be avoided. Para-verbal communication can be useful in expressing your message, but not using this tool properly can create more problems, so it’s important to use it