Visual impact

Sex, lies and visual aids

It's the oldest cliché in communication training: 55% of the message is how you look, 38% is how you sound and a mere 7% is what you say. But it's wrong! The original research on which this myth is based was carried out at UCLA in the 1970s. Involving just a handful of volunteers, the experiments actually focused on how people judge others' feelings and had nothing to do with creating impact in a talk. So if your suit, slides and winning smile fail to impress, take it easy. All is not lost.

What is true is that, if your body is saying one thing and your words another, people will believe what they see. When we're nervous or ill-prepared, our bodies tend to give us away.

PowerPointless?

Of course, good visual aids do powerfully reinforce your message. In fact, according to a study by 3M, audiences shown visuals are four times more likely to remember what you said and 43% more likely to be persuaded by it.

But it depends what you show them. The typical list of bullet points, for example, can compete with you. At one stage, this became such a problem at Sun Microsystems that CEO Scott McNealy banned the use of Power Point. Images, on the other hand, are mentally processed 400,000 times faster than text and appeal to the opposite side of the brain, making them the perfect accompaniment to speech.

A whole new image

No-one knows this better than ex-US vice-president Al Gore. Once the invisible man of American politics, after his presidential election defeat in 2000, Gore returned to his true passion and began an environmental lecture tour that literally took the world by storm. Ditching Power Point for Apple Keynote, he created a set of dramatic visuals, video clips and computer simulations that caused a sensation around the world. Speaking to a thousand different audiences, in what Fast Company magazine has called “one of the most remarkable personal turnarounds of all time”, Gore went on to become the champion of the green movement, the star of the Oscar winning movie An Inconvenient Truth and winner of the Nobel Peace prize. He readily admits that he owes it all to a slide show.

20 Body Language Facts

Scientists once said that body language accounts for 80% of the message we try to tell others and that what we actually say is only 20%. Body language definitely plays an important role in communication.

Body language is used to convey things that we may not be fully aware of. We are not fully conscious of signals we give off to others through our body language and what others are trying to send off to us.

Furthermore, body language means different things in different cultures or context. For example, direct eye contact is usually a sign of respect or interest, but in other cultures like Japan, eye contact is actually disrespect. Hence, when trying to read body language, pay careful consideration into the cultural and situational context.

Here I have a list of 20 body language and what they generally mean in Western culture.

Squinting - When people see what they don’t like, feel threatened, or are unhappy, they squint their eyes.

Arched Eyebrows - When we raise our eyebrows, it means we are contemplating what we’re listening to and that we’re mildly intrigued.

Direct Eye Contact - means we’re interested, we’re listening, and that we’re focused on you. It also conveys that we got nothing to hide.

Blinking too much - means we’re nervous or anxious

Hands the Church Steeple - fingertips touching, palms facing apart conveys we’re thinking and that we’re about to make a decision or move.

Arms Akimbo - planting your hands with your thumbs backward on your hips and elbows out in a “V” shape displays dominance or authority.

Feet facing directly the other person - It shows that we’re focused on the other person.

Crossed feet (Standing or sitting) - When we cross our feet standing or sitting down, it shows that we’re comfortable or relaxed, but sometimes also defensive.

Shaking Your Head left and right - Means you’re in disagreement or disbelief

Shaking Your Head Up and Down (nodding) - means you’re agreeing

Thumb Sucking - means the person is stressed, relieving that, and/or thinking out of mind.

Shaking Your Legs - means you’re anxious, scared or impatient

Leaning Forward - means you’re interested in the other person and want to hear more of what they say.

Smiling - one of the universal emotions mean you’re happy, comfortable and approachable.

Tilting the head and smiling - means flirting or being playful

Lowered head - means you’re ashamed of something, shy or have something to hide.

Looking to the side or elsewhere - means you’re distracted or that you’re submitting.

Dilated Pupils - means you’re interested.

Eyes seemed far away - means they’re in deep thought or dosing off.

Mirroring - Mirroring someone’s body language means they’re interested in you and trying to build rapport.

Arms Crossed - reserved, uncomfortable or defensive. Or to display dominance or authority.

Hands on the hips - means they’re impatient or aggressive or tired.