How does body language affect company communication?

Nonverbal Communication and Its Significance in Business

Nonverbal contact accounts for 80 to 90 percent of both company and personal experiences, according to analysis. The issue is that many workers are unaware of the significance of body language, especially in terms of how it affects business communication. As a result, instant messages and emailing can be seen as inefficient methods of communicating important information to both staff and clients. There is a significant disconnect in workplace contact, and much of the evidence collected from various researchers explains the same issue. In essence, communication practitioners do not invest in the resources needed for proper and productive communication. The practice of body language observation and interaction has been around for centuries. Charles Darwin for instance documented facial expressions. This is furthered by the fact that the contemporary business environment sets its own rules and therefore, it is important that non-verbal communication positively influences the way we are perceived. The paper will make use of scholarly literature in a bid to explain how body language enormously impacts on our everyday business communication.

Enhancing Career and Business Development through Non-Verbal Communication

To begin with, non-verbal communication has enhanced career and business development, builds powerful relationships and increases effectiveness of an individual, both professionally and personally. According to Sehgal is the most visible aspect of business communicating is body language because it complements verbal means of information delivery (2006). The way a person presents himself include the voice, posture and how he/she sends or receives messages Information conveyed non-verbally is commonly said to between 80 to 90 percent of the message delivered (Seghal, 2006). A person’s body movement is typically controlled by non-conscious mind and the person one is talking is not even aware that he/she is sending a message that may/may not cognitively agree with the person delivering the information.

Impact of Body Language on Business Meetings

Body languages directly impacts the outcome of meetings. The way a person sits, places his hands and maintenance of eye contact may determine the success of the business deal. Leaders in the business world read people well and therefore a gesture or a signal of discomfort may raise questions on whether someone is lying or does not provide full information regarding a business venture (Krizan, 2006). Eye contact is a sure way to connect to another person. Effectiveness of this gesture is tied to attentiveness, confidence and sincerity. Listening and eye contact are the most important body language aspects of proper business communication. Also, one’s posture says a lot when gauging whether to take someone seriously or not. An individual who stands tall with chest out and heads communicates confidence and professionalism. Lastly, facial expressions and gestures play a critical role in enhancing proper business conversations. Both parties need to hold their faces accountable when engaging in business interactions.

The Role of Non-Verbal Cue in Selling Products

Moreover, when selling a product, understanding the non-verbal cue is important in understanding baseline buying behavior. The client’s body language can conflict or complement a message delivered. When one becomes aware of the messages sent or received, they can make conscious decagons to either monitor their body language or modify it to communicate clearly and effectively within a business setting (Krizan, 2006).

Non-Verbal Cues in Building Customer Relationships

Chaturvedi, P. & Chaturvedi argue that the relationship with customers is the driver of the failure and success of an organization (2011). Effective communication to the customer is accompanied by non-verbal cues. For instance, shrugging shoulders shows the level uncertainty with regard to a certain product, service or inquiry. Use of gestures relatively engages the customer for clear information interpretation. In addition, the attitude is another key factor in business communication. Lastly, inflection rate and pitch of the voice should be professional for good communication (Chaturvedi, P. & Chaturvedi).

The Role of Body Language in Leadership

To add on, bodily expressions provide positive reinforcement especially by leaders who aim at encouraging their employees. Successful leaders should be aware of the influence of their body language in their business premises or when representing the organization. Most bosses rarely demean their employees for behaving in certain un-business-like manner in their presence. However, more personal development trainings should be carried out in a bid to improve the manner in which employees interact with potential clients (Furnham, A., & Petrova, 2010). The image we portray include the way we walk, posture, clothing and even hair. For a leader to build a rapport and trust, they need to first train workers on how to manage simple habits such as playing with hair or dwindling with pens. Positive words can always be undermined by negative body language.

The Importance of Proper Communication Habits in Leadership

A critical aspect of leadership is training and development of key staff within a business set up. Managers need to provide mentoring, coaching and support because the right body language is crucial to the credibility of an organization (Furnham, A., & Petrova, 2010). When speaking, they should embrace positive cues through maintaining eye contact, support positive interaction and ensure moderate use of hand gesture. A leader who does not show interest or compassion to their employees may alter their presence and credibility. Leaders have to know that their influence decreases or increase productivity depending on how they build trust by coaching them on best ways to present a positive non-verbal cue (Krizan, 2006).

Adapting Body Language in Different Business Environments

Body language can be altered depending on the business environment that one is conducting their activities. In a conservative business set up, an individual’s body language should be more formal, structured and disciplined. On the other hand, smaller businesses involve casual interactions that are more open and genuine. Moreover, friendliness and overall focus brings about balance and more focus (Krizan, 2006). Therefore, a more personal expression is acceptable in small business situations but in executive environments, a conventional approach is more suitable.

The Impact of Body Language on Information Delivery in the Workplace

To further emphasize the impact of body language and efficient information delivery, the paper will provide an explanation using a study carried out by Dynamic Signal, a company that is considered an industry leader in the field of communication (Hamilton, 2008). Dynamic Signal announced the launch of ’The State of Workplace Communications’ report. The purpose of the report is to provide insight on the best means to disseminate important information and some of the challenges faced by organizations in delivering information in an effective manner. Upon conducting a survey on the company’s senior employees, the respondents argued that the top propriety was to ensure that its employees were informed and connected. However, they have faced the problems of keeping the employee ’on brand and on message’ when delivering the firm’s news and information (Hannah 1).

Challenges of Delivering Information in the Workplace

Inability to effectively deliver information to employees is likely to lower productivity and this will influence the overall company policies. From the research, the respondents listed emailing as the most effective technique of communicating with their teams. However, over 50 percent of the global employees have no corporate emails and also, they can’t be reached easily through mail. Moreover, on average, people receive 122 emails per day and this makes it difficult to easily get work emails out of the massive messages received (Hannah 1). Study by Bureau of Labor Statistic states that approximately 75 M American employees are paid on an hourly basis and they do desk-less jobs. As such, they would definitely require better ways of receiving important information about their company (Hannah 2). Apart from email, the company intranet has been found to be one of the common ways of internal communication. However, reports by NY Times show that just 13% of these employees use intranet on a regular basis and worse, 31 percent do not use intranet at all (Hannah 2). Research by Dynamic Company shows that most employees prefer an application and they feel that they can easily access the company’s information because most people in the workplace own a smartphone.

The Importance of Communication Budget for Business Development

Budget allocated for communication purposes is essential for the development of a business brand as well as employees’ image. The cost of training and development of employees is key in enhancing proper communication habits and effective body language. Two-thirds of respondents in Dynamic Signal state that they haven’t received any increase in their ICT budget during the past few years (Hannah 2). A fifth of these respondents mentioned that their biggest challenge is to make internal communications a priority for senior management. Moreover, there is little awareness regarding the costs incurred in enhancing proper internal communications. The survey concluded that approximately 60% of the interviewees said that they did not know the financial impact of unproductive communication techniques. 17 percent of the respondents have involved software in solving communication problems (Hannah 2). A report by Dynamic Signal argues that the conflict between priority and budget forms the basis of poor communication. In fact, disengaged employees cost the United States over 500 billion annually. The disconnect between priority and need contributes to reduced productivity. Further study by Dynamic shows that engagement with employees can improve productivity by up to 25 percent (Hannah 2). Changes in technology do not help the situation because people are becoming tech-savvy and therefore, the use of modern techniques such as apps can come in handy.

Methodology

Interviewing

’State of Workplace Communications’ interviewed more than 300 global communication professionals between 21st February 2017 and March 3, 2017. The companies selected had an employee number ranging from 100 to 10,000 employees (Hannah 2). Among the companies researched on was Dynamic Signal. Being one of the leading companies in the communications sector, it provided timely results on how companies fail to detect communication breakdown.

Case Study

The empirical study on Dynamic Signal was carried out on over 10,000 employees. The results show that 74% of these workers were disengaged and felt that they were constantly not included in the company’s news and information (Hannah 1). Moreover, 37 percent of the professionals reported that internal silos were the biggest challenges. Essentially, the tools and platforms were neither enough nor efficient to reach staff in a timely and measurable manner.

The Importance of Developing Executive Body Language

To further develop the skills in maintaining an executive body language, it is important to engage in people watching, learn new skills and seek support and guidance from branding professionals. The correct way of improving the style one’s style is through developing an observational style. Leaders should also create quick coaching sessions on body language (Furnham, A., & Petrova, 2010). Also, researchers from Dynamic firm recommend a mobile-first approach whereby information can be relayed easily from top to bottom. The world is currently changing and the exponential surge of smartphones and tablets requires quick adaptation by companies. To enhance proper business communication, organizations should create systems that are tailor-made to the present situation. Such systems will ensure information is relayed to its employees in a timely and convenient manner. More people will learn about body language and its implementation will result in massive productivity within the organization.

Conclusion

To sum up, it is evident that organizations and individuals need to learn ways to elevate business interactions by being mindful of their body and language. Non-verbal signals impact a great deal on how we communicate and this reflects on our organizations and leaders. The paper employs the use of case studies to expound on the impacts of body language on business communications. Therefore, it is recommended that leaders teach their employees ways to behave and companies need to allocate more budget for communication tools as well as funds for training and development.

References

Chaturvedi, P. D., & Chaturvedi, M. (2011). Business communication: Concepts, cases and applications. Delhi: Dorling Kindersley

Furnham, A., & Petrova, E. (2010). Body Language in Business: Decoding the Signals. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hamilton, C. (2008). Communicating for results: A guide for business and the professions. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Hannah. (2017). Dynamic Signal Report: The State of Workplace Communications is Disconnected. Business Wire. News Bank Inc.

Krizan, A. C. (2006). Business communication. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.

Sehgal, M. K., & Khetarpal, V. (2006). Business communication. New Delhi: Excel Books