Following on from our first blog, we are going to look at Body Language Busting the Clusters, of body language.
In the last blog, we looked at Context and Clusters. Here we are talking about Congruence and Consistency:
Congruence – Dr Albert Mehrabian stated in his studies of non-verbal communications can be broken down into the following: 55% facial expression; 38% voice tone and just 7% on the words being spoken. When what people are saying is aligned with what they are thinking, this will be reflected in their body language, that is ‘incongruence’ which is not a sign necessarily of deceit, but often of inner conflict. An example would be saying they want to help with a task and then walking away.
Consistency – To gain a better understanding of body language you need to understand a persons baseline behaviours. How do they sit or stand when they are relaxed? Do they cross their legs, do they lean back in the chair? How does this change when they are responding in a more pressurised situation? Do they stand straighter? Do they cross their arms? Observing them in different settings will enhance your perceptions of significant deviations from their normal reactions.