Shocking news!

The shocking news on the internet is that presentation coaches have been telling you a lie: Mehrabian’s so-called “55 - 38 - 7 rule” is a myth. 

How shocked should you be? My take as a presentations coach is - not very. The rule as it is usually presented in presentation workshops and seminars is that only 7 percent of the “impact” of communication depends on the words used compared to 55 percent on facial expression and 38 percent on voice, a  discovery reported by Dr Albert Mehrabian, a psychologist at UCLA in the late 1960s- early 1970s.

Hold on say the myth-busters doesn’t this mean words are unimportant. Have you ever tried to communicate without words? How far has that got you? And what about the times you got the words or word  wrong (Sascha rather than Tascha, Danny rather than Donny). Besides, they continue, the rule applies only in very particular situations: one-on-one, face-to-face conversations where someone is expressing their feelings (I would love to see you later, I really do want this job, Trust me, the check is in the mail) and the other person is making up their mind on whether or not to believe them. Clearly there is a lot of wiggle room for error.

What can you learn from this? (1) People will try to use academic research to sell you something. (2) People will also try to put down academic research to sell you something else. (2) Words do matter. (3) Far more than words matter. If you want to be believed pay attention to what you say, how you say it and how you look when you say it. And remember, there are more than three elements at work in any communication; pay attention to context too. And, yes, you might want to think about what your actions say about what you’re saying. (4) If Mehrabian had a nickel for every one who tried to make a buck putting him down or puffing him up, he’d be giving Donald Trump lessons on prime time. The big take away is that if you want to be believed you’re going to have to put some effort into persuading people. Shocking, isn’t it?

 

Tags: Presentation skills