According to Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 rule, words are not everything when it comes to communication, infact the elements of personal communication are,
- 7% spoken words
- 38% voice, tone
- 55% body language
So this study proves that a speaker’s words are only a fraction of the entire communication. The pitch and tone of voice, the speed and rhythm of the spoken words and the pauses between those words may express more than what is being communicated by words alone. But all that is also just the 38% more, the remaining 55% comes from body language.
Speaker’s gestures, posture, pose and expressions usually convey a variety of subtle signals. These non-verbal elements can present a listener with important clues to the speaker’s thoughts and feelings and thus substantiate or contradict the speaker’s words.
This could make up a simple and straightforward question in your PMP exam from communication management knowledge area
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