If you have good communication skills they can help you in your personal life and also in your professional life. Verbal and written communication skills are essential in human relationships, but if there is a communication that you really need to master, it is non-verbal communication … because on many occasions things are said without saying them, and they are the most important!

If you want to improve your non-verbal communication skills, do not miss the following tips to read the non-verbal signals of other people and be able to improve your communication skills.

Pay attention

The first thing to keep in mind is to pay attention to other people’s non-verbal cues. People communicate in many ways, so you should pay special attention to eye contact, gestures, posture, body movements, and the tone of voice they use when addressing you or other people. When you pay attention to all this, little by little you will improve your communication with others.

Incoherent behaviors

Sometimes a person’s words do not always coincide with their non-verbal behaviors and it is in these cases that you should give your full attention. For example, someone may tell you that they are okay while looking at the ground with a sad face.

When words do not match non-verbal cues, people often ignore the words and focus on non-verbal language, since they are clear signs of how the person really feels. Incoherent behaviors

Tone of voice

The tone of voice will convey a lot of information about the person in front of you. You can notice the joy, anger or apathy in the tone of voice of the person speaking to you, for example. Your tone of voice also affects others directly, and how they respond to you in an interaction. You can use your tone of voice to emphasize the ideas you want to communicate to others.

The look

Good eye contact is a must in non-verbal communication, in fact, it is an essential communication skill . When people don’t look others in the eye, it can appear that they are avoiding rather than trying to hide something. It’s also true that having too much eye contact can be intimidating and even offensive.

Eye contact does not mean you have to stare the other person in the eye … it is advisable to follow eye contact intervals that last about 5 seconds. This eye contact should feel natural and comfortable for you and the other person.

Significant communication signals

Verbal and non-verbal communication are complementary to transmit the message, so without the other it is difficult for the message to get through. Oral communication can be improved using body language as it reinforces your words. This can be especially helpful when giving presentations or speaking to a large group of people.

For example, if you want to appear confident and prepared during an oral presentation, you will want to focus on sending non-verbal signals that reassure others that you are confident and capable. A safe posture may be to stand firmly in one place , with your shoulders slightly back, and keeping your weight balanced on both feet.

Context matters too

When you are communicating with other people, you will need to consider the situation and context in which the communication occurs. Some situations require formal behaviors that could be interpreted differently in other settings.

Are non-verbal behaviors appropriate for the context in which you find yourself? If you are trying to improve your non-verbal communication, you will need to focus on ways to make the signals match the level of formality required in a particular situation. For example, the non-verbal and verbal language you use in your work environment can be very different from the one you use with your family or with your group of friends . It is important that the verbal and non-verbal language match the context in which you find yourself.

One sign may mean nothing

It’s true that a single non-verbal signal may mean nothing at all … or a lot of things . To make sure that non-verbal language actually means things and that they have a clear message , you should look for groups of signals that reinforce that common point.

If you focus too much on a single group of signals, or on many in particular, you could come to the inaccurate conclusion that a person is trying to say something when in fact they are not. In many cases you will have to use your intuition about non-verbal language to draw correct conclusions.

Sometimes it can be misinterpreted …

Sometimes the non-verbal signals that we perceive do not always mean what we believe … For example, it is known that a firm handshake indicates a strong personality or trying to intimidate the other and a weak handshake can mean a lack of strength or personality … But it does not have to be like that, simply a loose handshake can be a lack of motivation at a certain moment or not having controlled the force in the grip well and it can even be caused by an ailment such as arthritis . This is a clear example of how there can be times when non-verbal cues are misread.

To the good understanding, few words are enough

Some people seem to have a knack for correctly using non-verbal communication effectively. In addition, there are people who also interpret the signals of others in a correct way, it is as if they read people! In fact, you can develop this skill by paying close attention to the non-verbal behavior of others and by practicing non-verbal communication on a daily basis.

To practice you have to be aware of this type of communication on a daily basis. By practicing your own skills and paying attention to others, you can dramatically improve your verbal and non-verbal communication skills.

Non-verbal communication skills are essential for communication between people and above all, to understand what happens without using many words or without requiring long explanations.