By Carl Maccario
Being aware of ones on behavior is invaluable so that we don’t send the wrong message with our body language. What nonverbal messages are you sending to others that you don’t necessarily want to? For example, are you showing nonverbal indicators of disgust, when we had no intention of sending that type of message? Being able “to read “peoples nonverbal behavior often helps you better understand their motivations, and intentions. It can help you gain insight about an individual’s personality or credibility and many times give you a glimpse of their emotional or mental state. This skill set is extremely valuable in customer service, sales, in the world of human resources (hiring, employee assistance) leadership development, professional life, social life, and personal life.
Many business schools (Harvard et al) are now exploring or will begin to offer, classes in Nonverbal Communication. Over the last 3 years there has been an ever increasing demand for training in deciphering and decoding nonverbal behavior in the business world. Many companies have started to train their managers and employees in reading nonverbal behavior, to better understand and interact with their employees, customers and even vendors.
My personal experience over the last 15 years in this field, whether it be in security work, business, human resources or personal lives, has shown me that the more aware people are of the world of nonverbal communication, the more successful they are at getting to an issue at hand, deal with the issue and move on with their daily lives.