Understanding Paraverbal Communication



Whenever we think of the key word “communication” the spoken maybe even the written word generally comes to mind. However, between two people this represents only one of three levels composing communication – and by far not the most important! After all, seen from the perspective of its evolutionary history the word does not stand alone – other channels of communication were at least equally important! Maybe you already have had similar experiences that you can express a lot more with a glance or a gesture than with an endless sermon. Or you have listened to someone volubly trying to convince you of something while you were thinking to yourself: “he/she is lying down his/her throat”. In that case you are already aware of the other two channels people use to communicate with each other and which are going to be today’s primary subject. Continue reading ...

Communication Skills Part 2: Pay Attention, catch the Meaning!



Do you remember the first blog entry about communication skills? You may have already figured out with which one of the four “ears” you hear best? Or which of the four aspects are pivotal, when you “send” a message yourself?
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Communication Skills Part 1: You don’t hear what I say . . . or vice versa



Just as there are different personality types, there are naturally different ways to communicate. An extroverted person talks a lot, preferably about him/herself, easily establishes contact and generally has no problem to assimilate lots of information. An introverted person, on the other hand is more reserved, does not reveal a lot of him/herself and tends to retreat in the face of too much exterior stimuli. Over time, in the course of this blog we will deal with communications idiosyncrasies of the different types. There are two objectives: First of all it helps to recognize how someone prefers to communicate because then one is able to adjust to his/her respective style and there is a better chance for a productive exchange. Secondly it is always interesting to analyze one’s own communication strengths and weaknesses and possibly tweak them a little to be more successful in everyday life and become more confident in dealing with others.
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