11 Tips to improve your nonverbal communication skills

It’s time to unlock effective communication with essential nonverbal communication tips.

Have you ever felt someone’s disapproval before they even said a word?

Or sensed hidden excitement beneath a neutral expression?

The truth is, that most of what we communicate happens below the surface of spoken language. This unspoken language, known as non-verbal communication serves as a secret ingredient for professional success.

The truth is, 55% of our communication happens nonverbally, through subtle cues like body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions.

Mastering these unspoken signals can transform your interactions, boost your confidence, build stronger relationships, and even advance your career.

With years of experience in the corporate world, I have put forth 11 tips in this article that will help improve your nonverbal communication skills.

Improve your understanding of – What is nonverbal communication? 8 different types & examples

Actionable tips to improve nonverbal communication skills

Nonverbal communication cues are mostly in the form of small visual signals that need to be observed minutely. While body language and your eyes play a crucial role in the process, various other cues are significant and cannot be ignored.

To make the process simple, I have categorized the actionable tips for you broadly into five different categories.

1. Body language

Body language is the first thing that people observe when communicating with each other. To display confidence, your body language should be more effective than your verbal words.

Pay attention to gestures, posture, and facial expressions.

The actionable tips that come under body language include:

• Posture

A dropping shoulder indicates that stress or tiredness while pumping one’s chest out portrays an intimidating image. While approaching any person, you should look out for these cues to understand how they will accept your information.

Further, when you notice your peers slightly lean forward this indicates they are actively interested in the conversation. When you are conversing with your team members or peers hold your shoulders in line with your back and do not sit with crossed arms or legs.

Crossed arms or legs indicate that you are in a defensive mode and not open to accepting opinions and the same applies to others. A steady and open posture encourages collaboration and positive interaction with your office members.

• Gesture

Gestures are simple nonverbal cues that portray attention and acceptance in effective communication in the workplace.

When presenting a presentation to an audience, you should observe their gestures to understand their current mindset. If you observe that most of them are nodding their heads in a YES manner, it shows they are attentive and engaged with the presentation.

However, when you notice their heads shaking in a NO manner, it means they are not able to connect with your presentation and you will have to change your course of action.

Gestures include nodding in agreement, a thumb signal, facing the person you are conversing with, or using the open palm gesture. An open-palm gesture not only depicts openness but also assures honesty and trust.

At the management level, effective gestures help in creating a welcoming environment encouraging employees to come up with innovative ideas.

Nonverbal communication in the form of body gestures helps you understand the mood of the person around you. Thereby, you can build an inclusive workplace environment with ease.

• Facial expression

When it comes to face-to-face interaction, facial expressions are observed with intent. While listening to a conversation you can portray appreciation or happiness with a genuine smile.

Yawning, fidgeting, rubbing facial hair, and other such activities are considered instances when the person you are conversing with is bored and not interested in the conversation.

Similarly, when the nature of the conversation is serious, you need to hold an empathetic and composed facial expression. These minute changes in facial expression go a long way in building a comfortable environment for seamless communication.

Facial expressions are so meaningful and effective that you can convey your thoughts without even uttering a single word. A smile can be a symbol of approval while a poker face may indicate you are confused, resulting in disapproval.

2. Eyes

You can control all your sensory organs to pretend and portray a picture of your choice. However, your eyes always convey your real emotions and feelings.

The slight movement in the pupil and eyebrow indicates anyone’s real emotions. Expressional emotions like anger, sadness, fear, sarcasm, surprise, or empathy are observed from the eyes alone.

The actionable tips to decode eyes for nonverbal cues include:

• Creating eye contact

Eye contact provides a platform where you are at par with the person you are conversing with. By creating eye contact you send out a signal that you are ready for the conversation.

In cases where a person avoids eye contact with you, then it is either because they are uncomfortable or dishonest. When you are addressing an audience, you need to make eye contact with every individual. This displays your inclusivity and also gives you an idea if they are following you or not.

By making eye contact with your audience, they will feel confident to participate in the discussion. They will contribute with valuable suggestions and feel free to solve doubts or ask queries.

• Maintaining eye contact

Once you have created eye contact, you must not engage yourself in that position for a long time. This builds an uncomfortable environment. When you hold eye contact for a prolonged time, it is called staring.

When you notice your peers gazing, staring, or darting this indicates they are not comfortable with the conversation. You need to quickly identify the reason for discomfort and rectify the issue. Steady eye contact without staring depicts that they are actively listening and interested in the conversation.

According to an article published in Michigan State University Extension, the effective period for eye contact is between 4-5 seconds. Anything more than this duration results in an awkward and uncomfortable situation.

You must create eye contact before starting the conversation. It is not advisable to start a conversation while looking away. However, when you want to break eye contact, do not look down or dart your eyes quickly. The best way to look away is to gently move your eyes to a side. You can then make eye contact again after 2-3 seconds.

3. Haptics

Touch is another type of nonverbal communication. However, you should maintain a legitimate distance and respect boundaries at the workplace.

The actionable tips for physical touch in nonverbal cues include:

• Learning to embrace

How do you appreciate your team member for exemplary performance or console your peer for a mishappening?

Embracing provides a sense of support, motivation, or even praise and appreciation depending on the context.

When you want to extend an embrace, you should understand the mindset of the receiver. In cases where the receiver is not comfortable with an embrace, you should not force it on them.

Different people have different boundaries and defined personal space. You should not be offended if someone turns down your approach. Alternatively, If you are a person who does not love being embraced, you can decline the approach softly.

In the workplace, keep down the duration of an embrace to a few seconds. Longer embraces are not professional and come across as an attempt at physical closeness.

The primary point to note here is – “In the workplace, it is always an embrace, not a hug.”

• Respecting personal space 

Much of your behavior resonates with the way you interact with your peers and team members. An embrace is the closest form of physical contact in the workplace.

However, not all employees and people are the same. The personal space for different people varies and also depends on the relationship they hold with you.

People are comfortable and let someone into their personal space only when they feel safe and protected. This is mostly reserved only for family members, partners, and close friends.

In the workplace, you should not intrude into one’s personal space. This is seen as an attempt at physical closeness leading to hostility.

In case, someone is getting into your personal space, you can stop them straightforward. Similarly, in certain religions and cultures, people tend to maintain a large personal space. Intruding into their space is disrespectful.

4. Listening

Active listening means hearing the conversation and understanding the same.

Imagine a situation where you are presenting an idea to your boss, while he is continuously scrolling on his phone. This creates an irritation and a feeling that you are not being heard.

To become an effective team player or a leader, you must listen efficiently to your peers and be open to criticism.

• Portraying attentiveness

You might have the feeling that you are listening intently. However, you need to display the same feeling distinctively. Sitting idly and staring are not effective methods to portray attentiveness.

You can use cues like “uh”, “ah”, “oh”, and others while listening. Do not use a monotonous tone or speak with a fast tempo as it may indicate that you are not interested in the conversation.

Do not check your phone or any other device during a meeting. Distractions tend to create an environment of unease and lack of attention. It is not recommended to stare out of the window or look down blankly.

The best method to portray attentiveness is to mirror the body language of the person you are conversing with. This builds rapport and effective communication.

Read more – What is effective communication? [With benefits and tips]

• Being open and receptive

While listening you should slightly lean forward towards the speaker. Do not cross your arms or legs. Nod your head in agreement and if you want to show disagreement, slightly shake your head to form a NO pattern.

Being open does not mean intruding on the personal space of your team members. You need to respect boundaries and still ensure that you are receptive. Alternatively, you do not have to let your peers get too close to you to portray openness in the workplace.

You should also consider cultural differences while portraying receptive behavior. In cultures, where you cannot make eye contact, you should adapt to nodding your head. However, in other cultures nodding can be considered disrespectful and you will have to resort to a soft “yes” answer.

5. Regional and cultural differences

The meaning and impact of nonverbal cues and information vary according to the regional and cultural differences of the people. You should not expect all your employees to respond similarly to different nonverbal cues.

Developing cultural intelligence and quick instincts helps you build a strong bond with your team members.

The key differences in nonverbal cues based on regional differences include:

• The impact of handshake

A handshake is a customary greeting gesture. This formal gesture has several different meanings and assumptions based on slight variations in the same.

Do not try to enforce a handshake when the receptor is not confident enough for a handshake. This is not an offensive response as some people avoid handshakes as a precautionary measure to stop infectious spread.

A firm handshake indicates confidence. However, the intensity and the grip of your handshake portray a different meaning in different regions. A professional handshake should not last more than 2 to 3 seconds.

While it is considered normal to shake hands for initiating a conversation, creating eye contact simultaneously is essential. However, you should not elongate the handshake beyond 3 seconds.

When you tend to grip hard, it conveys a message that you want to be dominating and authoritative. In contradiction, when the grip is too weak, it shows that you are nervous, anxious, or afraid.

• Duration of eye contact

Eye contact helps you build a healthy relationship with your peers or team members. However, there are certain regional and cultural clauses attached to this.

Staring is interpreted differently in different regions. Continuous and prolonged eye contact is considered intimidating and a display of aggression.

Staring is often linked with flirting too. This creates a wrong impression in the workplace. A one-on-one conversation with elongated eye contact mostly happens in an intimate relationship. In the workplace, you can look away after holding eye contact for 4 to 5 seconds.

Avoiding eye contact altogether or very little eye contact shows that you are not interested in the conversation. You are considered to be impolite, insincere, and dishonest in the professional setting.

Of all the nonverbal cues, you should focus primarily on regional and cultural differences with great care. You need to ensure that you do not hurt the beliefs and sentiments of different people.

Conclusion

When it comes to these nonverbal communication tips, you cannot expect to master them within a stipulated time frame. It takes continuous practice and repetitive attempts to master the art of nonverbal communication.

Further, cultural and regional influences play a key role that affects the overall impact of nonverbal cues in different individuals. You need to be aware of the socio-regional norms before pitching in. Good communication skills help you grow in your career.

Understanding the visual and vocal cues of your peers and then conveying similar emotions cannot be achieved overnight. As you improve your nonverbal communication, your relationship with coworkers improves. This will make you an effective leader and contribute to your professional growth.

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