Podcast: Download (Duration: 28:55 — 26.5MB)

There have been many studies on how non-verbal behaviour (body language such as facial expressions, gestures etc) impact communication.

Back in the 1950s, Dr Ray Birdwhistell was one of the first to suggest that no more than 30% to 35% of the social meaning of a conversation or an interaction is carried by words. (There were others before him but Dr B has by far the coolest name, so we like him best).

Today, there is a strong school of thought that, when we communicate, people pay attention to our words and actions as follows:
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Podcast: Download (Duration: 5:24 — 21.6MB)

Words, by their nature, are ambiguous. Why? Because we each give different words meaning – depending on our own experiences, beliefs, values, thoughts and ideas.

This video demonstrates this through a simple ‘ice breaker’ training exercise on…sex!

Take a look and you’ll see what we mean. No giggling like school kids now. This is a serious and highly scientific lesson in Communication Skills. Oh, ok then, it’s just a bit of fun…

But seriously…if we cannot agree on the meaning of a universally acknowledged, simple little word like ‘sex’, what hope do we have of ever being properly understood?

If you want to improve the clarity and impact of your communication, take a look at our Communication Skills courses or Contact Us to talk through what you need.

P.S. We run this exercise a lot and ‘love’ doesn’t come up too much. Shame on everyone. And whoever said ‘Zygot’ in a recent session – well that’s just weird.

This is the advice Gavin Aubrey of Think Training & Development gives to his trainees. Mooing like a cow can make you happier, increase motivation, and even make you live longer! This is just one of the practical approaches he and Wendie at Think Training & Development use to help demonstrate that people can control the way they think and therefore control their motivation, happiness and success.
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