30 70 Rule of Communication Peer Reviewed Articles

If at that place were e'er numbers associated with torso language and nonverbal communication, they would be 55, 38, and 7. People frequently refer to these numbers as the standard for understanding nonverbal communication and expressing its importance—specifically over the words existence spoken.

How oftentimes have yous heard someone say over 80% (or even ninety%) of communication is torso linguistic communication or nonverbal? Perhaps even you might have said it, but exercise you know where it originates from?

The numbers stand for the percentages of importance that varying communication channels have. The conventionalities is that 55% of communication is body language, 38% is the tone of voice, and 7% is the actual words spoken.

Is that truthful? Well, aye and no.

Firstly, the history behind this frequently quoted, and as often misunderstood magic set of percentages is often unknown, which I call back happens to be the main the reason it is not fully understood. The famous (at least in nonverbal communication circles!) researcher Albert Mehrabian is responsible for this percentage breakdown detailing the importance of nonverbal communication channels compared to verbal channels. Actually, it was two inquiry studies (Mehrabian & Wiener, 1967 and Mehrabian & Ferris, 1967) combined that resulted in the 55/38/7 formula.

The Mehrabian and Ferris study actually consists of a predecessor formula to the 55/38/7 formula: 60/40. The 60/40 formula they created represents the comparison of importance betwixt facial (lx%) and vocal (40%) components in regards to a person's attitude.

The problem with this, as with the full general study of nonverbal communication, is that it is inaccurate to claim that a formula is absolute and applies to every state of affairs.

What does Mehrabian think of this? He agrees!

The formula was created for a specific context—when the nonverbal aqueduct and the exact aqueduct are incongruent (not matching). As he writes in his volume Nonverbal Communication: "When there are inconsistencies between attitudes communicated verbally and posturally, the postural component should dominate in determining the total attitude that is inferred."

And so should you all the same quote the 55/38/7 pct at the side by side dinner party to testify your nonverbal communication knowledge? Should you include an asterisk? Well, when I mention the 55/38/7 numbers, I clearly state that this applies to sure situations and, more importantly, should not be used as a deciding factor to endeavor and understand the situation. A proper assay needs to occur to fully grasp what the person's electric current emotions are at that moment.

Source: iii Cs of Nonverbal Advice. Jeff Thompson

One way of increasing your accuracy is by applying the 3 C's of Nonverbal Advice: context, clusters, and congruence. Context includes what environs the situation is taking place in, the history between the people, and other factors such every bit each person's role (for example, an interaction between a dominate and employee).

Looking for nonverbal communication gestures in clusters prevents u.s.a. from allowing a single gesture or movement to exist definitive in determining a person'southward state of heed or emotion. Certain, crossing your arms at your chest tin can be a sign of beingness resistant and close-minded. However, if the person's shoulders are raised and their teeth are chattering, they might just be common cold!

Finally, congruence we already discussed above in regards to the formula. Do the spoken words match the tone and body language? After someone falls, and they verbally land they are fine, however their face is grimacing and their vocalisation is shaky, you might want to probe a little deeper.

The 55/38/7 percentage and the iii C's of Nonverbal Communication remind united states of america that, when trying to understand others, a single gesture or annotate does not necessarily mean something. Instead, these theories allow us to take note and observe more than to get a better understanding of what is going on.

References

Mehrabian, A. (1972). Nonverbal Communication. New Brunswick: Aldine Transaction.

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Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beyond-words/201109/is-nonverbal-communication-numbers-game