The real impact of nonverbal communication: the 7-38-55 rule.

Beyond Words: The True Composition of the Message

Often, we place disproportionate emphasis on our choice of words, believing that in them lies all the power of our message.

However, several studies have shown that verbal communication represents only a small fraction of the meaning that our interlocutor perceives.

Research, such as that of psychologist Albert Mehrabian in 1968, reveals a surprising distribution of communicative impact: only 7% of the message is conveyed by the words we utter. The remaining 93% of meaning comes from non-verbal channels.

This forces us to rethink the way we understand communication, recognizing that most of what we convey is not said, but shown.

To ignore this fact is to neglect the most influential part of our interactions and drastically limit our ability to connect and be understood effectively.

The Power of "How": The Influence of Tone and Body Language

The famous 7-38-55 rule breaks down that 93% nonverbal into two crucial components. Thirty-eight percent of the impact of our message depends on paralanguage, i.e., the way we say the words.

This includes tone of voice, rhythm, volume and intonation, elements that act as an emotional vehicle for the verbal content.

The remaining 55%, the largest portion, corresponds to body language. This encompasses our gestures, posture, facial expression and eye contact.

The conclusion is clear and forceful: it is not so important what we say, but how we say it.

A simple example illustrates this perfectly: the phrase "you're an idiot" uttered in an aggressive and serious tone is a direct insult.

However, the same phrase said with an affectionate tone and a smile becomes a sign of complicity and affection, completely changing the message received.

Practical Implications: Why Mastering the Nonverbal is Crucial

Understanding the 7-38-55 rule has immense practical implications. It means that to be effective communicators, we must pay deliberate attention to our nonverbal communication, which often operates unconsciously.

If our body language (55%) or tone of voice (38%) contradicts our words (7%), the interlocutor will always give more credence to nonverbal cues.

For example, if someone says "I'm happy" with slumped shoulders and a muffled voice, their body language reveals the truth of their emotional state, invalidating their words.

Therefore, the path to masterful communication is not just about enriching our vocabulary, but developing a deep awareness of our posture, our gestures, our gaze and our voice.

Aligning these three components - verbal, vocal and visual - is the real key to conveying coherent, credible and genuinely impactful messages, ensuring that our intent is received with total clarity.

Summary

We tend to place disproportionate emphasis on our choice of words, believing that in them lies all the power of the message. However, verbal communication accounts for only a small fraction of perceived meaning.

Research, such as that of psychologist Albert Mehrabian, reveals that only 7% of the message is conveyed by words. The remaining 93% of meaning comes from nonverbal communication channels.

The famous 7-38-55 rule breaks down this 93% nonverbal into two key components. 38% depends on paralanguage (tone, rhythm) and the remaining 55% corresponds to body language, demonstrating its enormous influence.