We say it all without saying a word. This sentence, although it oozes mass romanticism, contains scientifically proven truths. According to research by psychologist Albert Mehrabian on factors involved in persuasion, 55% of the effectiveness of speech lies in body language, followed, at some distance, by tone of voice (38%) and lastly, by the words used (7%). Knowing this fact, we cannot allow ourselves to be negligent of our appearance, posture and gestures because others are obviously not!
Not long ago, we spoke about the importance of preparing first impressions at a job interview: we only need 7 seconds to build an opinion of another person. During a first meeting, our body language takes on the main role. Did you know that we can produce almost a million signs, over 200,000 facial expressions, almost 1,000 different postures and 5,000 different gestures? Heads up! We must be careful with cultural differences; the same gesture or expression may differ from country to country, understanding your cultural surrounding is essential. Your intuition is your best aid in adjusting or enhancing your body language in these situations.
Before 2002, E-mails were checked on our computers, and for some of us, this meant connecting via dialup. You know what I’m talking about, the all familiar sound that seemed to last hours, which I like to call, the soundtrack to my childhood. Today we don’t need our computers to check our E-mail, to put a reminder in our calendar, for international calls or conferences, to pay bills, to read the news. The list of things we can do from our mobile phones is close to infinite, and all from a tiny device that fits in our pocket.