ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Writing

Words Matter

Author : Glenn Harrington
Words Matter



Despite the high volume of e-mail that flows invisibly all the time, there is often no substitute for talking with people. Indeed, in many organizations, big decisions are made only after in-person conversations. Many career people take this seriously. Herein lies an opening for misjudgement.



present with sincere gusto

It is not uncommon to find a white-collar worker who believes that tone of voice and body language are underrated in effective speaking. Some polish their hand gestures and rehearse specific tones of voice because they believe that substance without style is weak. It's not just content, they say, but delivery. Seeking an edge, some even have the famous 7% rule memorized.



The 7% rule states:



� 55% of meaning comes from presentation



� 38% of meaning comes from tonality



� 7% of meaning comes from the words themselves.


Though this has brought confidence and success to some, there are still people who pay more than 7% attention to the words others speak. Neither is a fringe group. However, only the latter has the backing of scientific research.



still misunderstood

In 1967, Dr. Albert Mehabrian and his UCLA colleagues concluded studies in communication that yielded an astonishing result: The words you use in speaking to others do not matter nearly as much as the tone of your voice or your body language. As the press picked up the story, the idea was extended: written words also take a back seat to presentation and tonality.



good for shock value

According to Mehabrian and his team, the original studies were never well understood. They have always asserted that words matter very much. Perhaps they didn't use the right presentation and tone - or perhaps the media were hunting for shock value.



single-word expressions only

The Mehabrian studies attempted to reveal the relative impact of facial expressions and tonality on the understanding of spoken words. Subjects listened to recordings of a female voice saying single words (such as "maybe" and "honey") in different tonalities. They were also shown photos of female faces with different facial expressions. They were then asked to guess the emotions portrayed in each, and to link the recordings with the faces.



presentation and tone as guides

The results of the studies appeared in full in Mehabrian's books, Silent Messages (Wadsworth, 1971) and Nonverbal Communications (Aldine Atherton, 1972). In both books, he clearly states that for inconsistent messages or incongruent communications, body language and tonality are probably more reliable indicators of meaning than the words themselves. Presentation and tone are more reliable than words alone for interpretive guidance with single-word expressions. These are not general circumstances.



The 7% Rule is a Lie!

In a 1994 issue of Anchor Point, Dr. C.E. Johnson writes, "If these percentages were really valid, it would mean that learning foreign languages could be greatly abbreviated. After all, if the words only account for 7% of the meaning, we should all be able to go to any country in the world and simply by listening to tone and carefully observing body language, be able to accurately interpret 93% of their communications!"



Tone mightier than a sword?

In a 1997 issue of The Toastmaster, J.E. Pearson asks, "Imagine if Nathan Hale had said, 'Okay; I'm willing to die for my country,' instead of 'I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.' Imagine Winston Churchill saying, 'Don't be afraid,' instead of, 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.'



Yes; tone of voice and body language matter very much - especially with single-word expressions. When speaking within a common language and culture do not be fooled by the myth of the 7% rule. Words matter - probably much more than 7%.


Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com






Glenn Harrington: Senior Consultant, Project Manager with Harrington
Newsletter Co. Since 1996.

www.newsletterdoctor.ca doctor@harringtonnewsletter.ca





Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. Direct Sales Reps CAN Write Articles - Here's How!
  2. Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone
  3. Creating Your Perfect Article Summary � 7 Tips
  4. Mumblings
  5. Self-Examination
  6. The Writer and the Web
  7. What Nationally Published Columnist, Cindy Laferle Has To Say About Writing & Journalism
  8. Starting a Local Writer's Group
  9. Putting The Critics In Their Place
  10. The article about nothing
  11. Words Matter
  12. Indispensable elements of a powerful law essay
  13. Article Marketing 101: The Perfect Author Resource Box
  14. Getting Looked Over, Without Getting Overlooked: Writing for Scanners and Skimmers
  15. How to Position Yourself to be an Expert
  16. Increasing Web Traffic With Original Articles
  17. Success Starts with Articles
  18. Finding Your Way Through Online Articles
  19. Technical Writing for the Terrified
  20. Got Lingo? The Terminology Of Marketing With Articles
  21. How To Identify Your Own Style Of Writing
  22. How to Use Articles to Generate Free Traffic to Your Website
  23. Writing Helpful Help � A Minimalism Checklist
  24. Power Writing 101: Tips and Tricks to Get You Taken Seriously!
  25. How To Write Thank You Letters With Class
More related feeds
HealthyConcerns.com: Health Care vs. Health Insurance...words matter
InsureBlog has a short but to-the-point post on why "health care" is not synonymous with "health insurance" and why it matters.Their basic point is that trying to fix the rising cost of health insurance without dealing with the ...

Your Words Matter More Than You May Think | Senor Parrot's Perch
The benefits of talking and reading with our kids are huge, but fixing the dearth for the kids raised in poverty may not be as easy as it may seem.

Words Matter
... stuck me later was “Terrorist from Kashmir occupied by India……..”. Hey Kashmir is part of India. We don’t need to occupy what belongs to us. Lets see how things unfold in hours to come but people words do matter so lets think before..

do words matter?
in other words, don’t be scared. nancy pelosi i've said it before and i'll say it again. in the new year, with a new congress and a new president, fear will be off the table. barack obama well, so here’s. what i would say. ...

George Lakoff: Words Matter
Words don’t define the world directly, they are in fact defined by frames. If the facts don’t fit your frames, the facts will be ignored. What’s more important are metaphors. A huge amount of our thought is metaphorical. ...

Suzan Shown Harjo: Sen. Obama's words matter more
Last week, as leaders of major Native nations in Arizona were endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president over their own senator, one former California tribal leader was praising Sen. John McCain’s “deeds” over Obama’s “words. ...

Obama - Words Matter (Bird is the Word)
(0 votes - 0 comments - 8 views) Barack Obama speech: Words matter. BUT, what is the word?? All you Family guy watchers know the answer. Peter Griffin shows up on the stage with Obama, and he's dancing and singing.

Words matter, Obama’s win proves «
Words matter, Obama’s win proves. November 5, 2008 in Communications, Political Campaigns, Social Media | Tags: 2008 elections, Obama. This might be a good to watch that “words matter” speech of Obama, where he responded to the ...

HE Said Words Matter
And The Great Leader’s Transitional Team co-chair, Valerie Jarrett, said it best on Meet the Press yesterday. “It’s important that president-elect Obama is prepared to really, ah, take power and begin to rule Day 1.” ...

Words Matter
When Barack Obama stood behind the podium in Wisconsin, he said, “Don’t tell me words don’t matter. ‘I have a dream,’ just words. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’ just words. ...

 

 

� 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved