Women Personality and Mental Health

While verbal and written skills are clearly important in both professional and personal life, research has shown that nonverbal behaviors make up a large percentage of our daily interpersonal communication. The following tips for nonverbal communication can help you learn to read the nonverbal signals of other people and enhance your own ability to communicate effectively.

1. Look for any incongruent behaviors
If someone’s words do not match their nonverbal behaviors, you should pay careful attention. For example, someone might tell you they are happy while frowning and staring at the ground. Research has shown that when words fail to match up with nonverbal signals, people tend to ignore what has been said and focus instead on nonverbal expressions of moods, thoughts, and emotions.

2. Use good eye contact
When people fail to look others in the eye, it can seem as if they are trying to hide something. On the other hand, too much eye contact can seem confrontational or intimidating. While eye contact is an important part of communication, it is important to remember that good eye contact does not mean staring fixedly into someone’s eyes. Some communication experts recommend intervals of eye contact lasting four to five seconds.

3. Concentrate on your voice tone when speaking
Your tone of voice shows many things, ranging from enthusiasm to disinterest to anger. Start noticing how your tone of voice affects how others respond to you and try using tone of voice to emphasize ideas that you want to communicate. For example, if you want to show genuine interest in something, express your enthusiasm by using an animated tone of voice.

4. See the context
Non-verbal signals between formal and informal situation can be different, so always analyze the context and situation around you before making judgement.

5. Be aware that signals can be misread
According to some, a firm handshake indicates a strong personality while a weak handshake is taken as a lack of fortitude. This example illustrates an important point about the possibility of misreading nonverbal signals. A limp handshake might actually indicate something else entirely, such as arthritis. Always remember to look for groups of behavior. A person’s overall demeanor is far more telling than a single gesture viewed in isolation.