The Role of Emotions in Communication

Emotions as the fundamental basis of communication

Emotions are not a mere complement to communication, but one of its most fundamental bases.

There are currents of thought that maintain that the emotional component can constitute up to 80% of the impact of a message, while words alone represent only a small fraction.

A clear example of this can be seen when the visual context of a situation generates a strong emotional response (such as tension or stress) that completely overrides the verbal content of a simultaneously occurring neutral conversation.

This demonstrates that, as human beings, we are programmed to react to emotional content first.

Therefore, understanding and managing emotions is indispensable for anyone who wishes to communicate effectively.

How emotions (our own and others') affect message interpretation

Emotions act as a powerful filter that modifies both the way we send a message and the way it is interpreted.

When we communicate from an intense emotional state, such as anger or frustration, our communication style changes and may become more aggressive or less clear.

In those moments, rather than communicating an idea, we are conveying our emotional state.

The receiver, on the other hand, tends to give more credibility to nonverbal emotional signals (tone of voice, facial expressions) than to literal words.

If someone says "I am very calm" with a tense voice and a frown, the interlocutor will believe the nonverbal message of anger, not the words.

This primacy of the emotional over the verbal makes the management of emotions crucial to avoid misunderstandings.

Emotions as a source of information

Beyond being a filter, emotions are a valuable source of information for a perceptive communicator.

Learning to "read" both our own emotions and those of others gives us a deeper understanding of the situation that words alone cannot provide.

For example, an experienced wilderness guide may sense impending danger not by clear evidence, but by interpreting a sum of small signals: his own sense of unease, the anomalous behavior of animals, an almost imperceptible sound.

Similarly, in a conversation, if we detect fear or frustration in our interlocutor, we can use that information.

Instead of just reacting to their words, we can adju