[Neurons] 2012 Meta Reflections #60

[L. Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

Meta Reflections 2012  #60

December 10, 2012

Exposing an Old Myth:

"Most communication is non-verbal."

 

 

 

WORDS REALLY DO MATTER!

 

                                

One of the articles on the international Neuro-Semantic website is from Dr.
C. E. "Buzz" Johnson, an Optometrist, under the title, "The  7%, 38%, 55%
Myth."  The article was first published in July, 1994 in Anchor Point and I
was so impressed with it that I wrote to Dr. Johnson to get permission to
put it on the website to correct the old myth about communication.

 

The myth-and it is totally a myth-is that only 7% of the meaning that we
obtain from a person in communication comes from the words while 38% from
sounds and 55% from what we see visually.  From the very first time that I
heard this idea by somebody in NLP, I didn't know it was a myth, but I had a
sense that it was obviously wrong-headed and even non-sense.  I immediately
thought about all the times I have sat in an airplane watching a movie in
some language other than English and not understanding anything about it!  I
certainly was not understanding 93% of it from the visual images and sounds.
I could tell if someone was upset or angry or loving or kind, but that was
about it.  I didn't know the plot, the characters, the problems, etc.

 

And over the years that has become repeatedly obvious as I've traveled into
many, many countries where I have tried to communicate with people who spoke
languages other than English.  I have tried to ask for simple things all to
no avail, "Where is the train station?"  "May I have scrambled eggs."
"Point me to the men's room."  I have had to make childlike sounds, "Chu
chu; chu chu" to get the idea of a train, but then asking where is train
station?

 

Just listening to the sounds that people were making and watching their face
and gestures, I definitely was not picking up 93% of the messages and
meanings that they were communicating!  And in reverse, when I tried to let
someone know that I wanted a grilled chicken salad or a fish or how to call
for a taxi, they definitely were not getting 93% of my intended messages!
And even I went into panomining cars and planes and grilled chicken salad
(which is a sight to see!), I could not make myself understood.

 

I recently tried to explain to the chef in Guangzhou China who was cooking
gourmet eggs that I wanted 2 eggs, scrambled and cooked well-done and please
do not cut the egg into a thousand tiny pieces (which he continued to do day
after day).  Impossible!  I even had someone write that message on a
three-by-five card, handed it to him, which he immediately took into the
back area of the kitchen trying to get someone to tell him what to do!  Then
he did not return with the card (!) which I tried to ask for with more
panomining.  All to no avail.

 

Words do count!  Words do mean something.  By words we transfer simple and
complex ideas from one another and in fact, probably 80 to 90 percent of our
communications are dependent on words- not the non-verbal gestures, sounds,
grunts, panomines, facial expressions, etc.  

In the original article by Dr. Johnson, he described Albert Mehrabian's
original research, what it was about, and how it was misunderstood.  

"Albert Mehrabrian, Ph.D. of UCLA was the originator of the 7-38-55 theory.
He speaks of it in two books, Silent Messages published in 1971, and
Nonverbal Communications published in 1972. . . .  From Chapter 3 of Silent
Messages we find that the numbers 7-38-55 expressed as percentages have to
do only with what he calls the resolution of inconsistent messages (italics
added), or to put it in NLP terms, incongruencies.  He states that there are
very few things that can be communicated non-verbally.  He initially was
investigating liking/ disliking which he later generalized into feelings.
In speaking with him by phone in March, 1994, he stated that his findings
and inferences were not meant to be applied to normal communications.  They
were of very limited application."

 

Now there is a video on Youtube that you can see that has similarly exploded
the myth of this old mis-represented idea.  It is presented by Creativity
Works and titled: Busting the Mehrabian Myth.  It is a vry good video and
you can get to it by clicking the following link:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dboA8cag1M>
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dboA8cag1M 

 

Just last night here in Guangzhou, China we had 7 teams (in the Meta-Coach
training) make a presentation (/skit) on various business experiences like
"introducing a coaching culture into an organization," "managing upwards,"
"making a presentation Meta-Coaching in a board room for consideration,"
etc.  While watching, there was so many words, so much action occurring,
after a couple presentations, my translator got worn out and just quit.  As
I continued to watch, I kind of knew what was going on but when the audience
burst forth with laughter due to some exchange or conversation, I didn't
have a clue.  "It's funny!"  I knew that.  But I didn't know what was funny,
how it was funny, and I couldn't have passed the funny situation on to
anyone else.

 

Words!  How amazing in their power to transfer meaning!  Here's to the
marvel and wonder and magic of words- linguistic symbols by which we can
communicate complex ideas and messages to each other.  Yes, I know that
there are many people in NLP who somehow got the false idea that words are
an inferior form of communication and that the best communication is
behavioral.  But try it and you won't get the food you want, get to the
destinations that you want, or transfer the complex ideas that you want to
explore. 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                




 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

                Neuro-Semantics Executive Director 

                Neuro-Semantics International

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

                1 970-523-7877 

                Dr. Hall's email:
<mailto:meta at acsol.net\hich\af31506\dbch\af31505\loch\f31506> meta at acsol.net


     

    

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