The Importance of Understanding Non-Verbal Communications

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

  Communications Management  

There was a time where I believed that managing a project was mostly about knowing what to do and when to do it. Gladly, those years are decades behind me. As my understanding of what it takes to help organizations achieve lasting improvements grew, I came to realize that having finely honed interpersonal communications skills was at least as important to project success as anything else. When people think about interpersonal communications skills (ICS), they think about things like:

• Active listening
• Empathy
• Leadership
• Emotional maturity
• Collaboration

In an effort not to bore you with a review of the above items, I have provided a list of additional reading on those areas.

ICS goes much deeper than the basics. My hope is your takeaway from this article will be a deeper understanding and appreciation as to how what I call “silent communication skills” (SCS)—things like first impressions, body language and even the ability to read a room—plays a role in how we communicate with stakeholders and project team members.

Like interpersonal communications skills, purposeful silent communication skills begin with being consciously deliberate in the way we communicate. It requires that we view interactions, exchanges and messages as opportunities to influence behavior, improve relationships and shape outcomes. It requires forethought about …

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