One could not watch the VP debate this past week without drawing some conclusions of the power of non-verbal cues. From the perspective of the Democrat, Joe Biden took Paul Ryan out to the woodshed. From the perspective of the Republican, he was condescending and completely unprofessional. Because this is not a political blog, I will leave it up to you as to which one I am.
I am reminded however how important non-verbal communication is. I am constantly aware of these cues when I teach my classes. I have to be aware of cues when I am communicating in our business. Can I show attentiveness by my body language as I listen to another person talk or do I show listlessness, boredom, or impatience? Do I show genuine interest in what the other person is saying by my body language? There are good ways to smile and bad ways to smile – I don’t think anyone can interpret Biden’s smile for example as expressing approval as what Ryan was saying. But smiling can be a positive non-verbal cue. Eye contact is another – I can always tell which students are engaged in my class by their eye-contact.
For weeks now, Max our dog has been showing non-verbal (last I checked, dogs can’t speak) behavior that has demonstrated to us that something was clearly not right. He was hesitant to go into his house, he was constantly itching and generally not right. Now he has had other health issues so we thought it was just and extension of that, but we finally decided to take him to the vet. He had an infestation of fleas!! Poor guy – once we addressed the issue, he slept like he hadn’t slept for weeks.
THANK YOU FOR PAYING ATTENTION TO ME MASTER!
I find attentive, interested listening is hard. I so want to dominate the conversation. But good attentive listening is the trait of our Savior Jesus. You cannot read into the gospels without seeing him in attentive conversation. And this is someone who “knew what was in man’s heart”. Listening is no just keeping quiet, but showing it in my non-verbal cues.
