Non-verbal communication is fascinating. I know that we learn to understand it before we learn to talk. A two-month old baby understands smiling! I know also that non-verbal messages can be ambiguous at times. Some non-verbal messages differ in meaning from culture to culture, and when there is a conflict between what a person says and the non-verbal messages the person sends with body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, the listener will believe the non-verbal rather than the verbal. "I'm not mad at you," delivered loudly with a scowl and in an angry tone of voice will be received and decoded as "I am angry with you."
             I found an interesting article on how sales people can use non-verbal communication to increase their sales by promoting trust and a sense of rapport with their customers. The author argues that nonverbal communication is particularly important in building trust with customers. Customers will be more likely to buy from you if they trust you. Trust is the goal of trying to build rapport or a relationship. In the initial encounter the customer assesses the trustworthiness of the salesperson based on the nonverbal messages and signals he or she receives.
             The author did a research project that "emphasizes nonverbal signals, because linguists note that the origins of man predated the origins of language by hundreds of thousands of years" (Wood, 2006, p. 197) and because interpersonal communication is 60%-70% nonverbal. The researchers attempted to identify specific nonverbal cues that clients look for in sales people. They interviewed customers to find out what cues they think signal trustworthiness. Wood states, "While the classic communication view might suggest that a smile is meant to convey positive intentions, that perspective fails to account for a receiver's decoding of the message and assessment of the intentions of the signaler" (p. 198)....