SUNDAY LINEUP --- WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?
Focused on Communication Issues, Skills and Techniques

This will be the first entry in our Sunday Programming entitled "Whose Line Is It Anyway."  Every Sunday we will discuss tips, techniques, and issues that are connected to the topic of Communication.

Earlier in the week, we talked about the three levels of communciation --- Verbal, Vocal and Visual.  This information was researched and documented by Dr. Albert Mehrabian in his book "Silent Messages." According to his research, when people listen to or watch you communicate they decide your credibility based on these three communication styles as follows:

Verbal --- 7% --- Words and Grammar.  7% of someone's interpretation of your credibility is based on your words and/or grammar
Vocal --- 38% --- TONE!!  This proves that it's not "what you say, it's HOW you say it."
Visual --- 55% --- Body Language and Appearance.  WOW!  This lends to the old statement "actions speak louder than words".  People ARE watching what you are saying.

What does all of this mean??  People form their opinion of your credibility more on what they SEE than what they HEAR.
If you give a "mixed message", saying one thing verbally and another with your visual communication, statistics show that people will believe your visual communication first.

In today's world of texting and emails, these stats are thrown off! 
If the only communication you use is Verbal (texting), you you leave 93% of credibility up to the "listener's" interpretation.
In emails and written correspondence, you likewise lose the Vocal and Visual credibility. However your audience will make a visual judgement based on what they see in the email or written doc.  This is why grammar and business writing can still make a huge impact.  At IDG, we have two outstanding trainers who specialize in Grammar and Business Writing --- Jan Harrison and Marie Davis.