Izzashiyami Putri Tanjung

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How to Improve Communication Through Body Language

Communication was become a very important part of our life. It would be

unimaginable how chaotic the world would be without communication. Even primitive
people tried to find ways to communicate when things much simpler then. Surprisingly,
studies have shown that only up to an estimated 10 percent of our communication is
verbal. The majority of the rest of communication is unspoken. Incidentally, this explains
to us why sometimes we have a difficulty in understanding other person’s speech, even
when we are speaking face-to-face with him/her. This also explains to us why we need to
improve our ability to communicate through body language. Moreover, pay attention to
what others’ gesture say, make and maintain eye contact, and give people room and keep
out of their distance are probably some ways in body language that we can do to help us
improve our ability to communicate with others.
Pay attention to what others’ gesture say is an essential thing to build a good
communication. It is because gestures – the movement of our parts of body such as arms,
head, or face – tend to have a far greater association with speech and language. The
language usually rich in ways for individuals to express a variety of feelings and
thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection. For example, we will
know if the person we are talking to is losing interest in what we are saying if he starts
looking at his watch, shaking his leg, or tapping his foot. Furthermore, if people are
shaking their heads while we are speaking, it means that they are in agreement. But when
people crossing their arms over their chest, it could translates that they are not understand
what we are saying to or it also can be seen as defensive or as an end to the conversation.
Similarly to what we have to do with others’ gesture, make and maintain eye
contact will also help us to improve communication with others. Through eye contact we
can establish trust since it equates to touching someone with our eyes and helps to build a
bridge between ourself and the person we are speaking to. In addition, eye contact also
has an important role in regulating conversational interactions. Maintain a focus eye
contact develops confidence and help us understand what the other person is really
saying. It also conveys a message of interest in the other person and that you are paying
attention. For instance, if you don’t look someone in the eyes while speaking, this can be
intepreted as dishonesty or hiding something. Likewise, shifting eye movement or rapid
changing of focus / direction can translate similarly.
Another way to improve communication is to give people room and keep out of
their space. Since many people like their own personal body space, entering to close can
be intrusive and viewed as aggressive. This personal body space thing is also known as
social distance. The social distance here are approximate, of course and will vary with
different groups of people. We can detects this by watching people’s reactions. If we feel
safe and they seem not to feel safe, then back off. If they invade our space, decide
whether to invade back or act otherwise. Turning sideways is an easy alternative for this,
as a person to the side is less threatening than a person at the same distance in front of us.
People who live in towns, for example, spend more time close to one another and so their
social distances may compact somewhat. While in a large and crowded city, the distances
will be less than in a small town.
In conclusion, communication is not just characterized by words. Sometimes,
action speak louder than words and body language is the meaning behind the words or
the unspoken language. Therefore, we need some ways in body language that can be
applied to help with the understanding or translating of these unspoken meanings. What
the other gestures say, the way we maintain eye contact, and the way we keep our social
distance are some ways in body language that we can applied to help us understanding
these unspoken meanings in order to improve our communication with others.