Communication, Emotions and Connection.

Published by: Sandra López Aparicio
Trainer and Coach, Co-Founder of Habilidades Clave
Are you aware of everything you communicate? I am referring not only to what you say (the words you use), but also to the implicit messages you express through non-verbal behaviours: the way you say things.

On a daily basis with our family, our friends, our game mates and our community, we convey non-verbal messages and – most of the time – we do it unconsciously.
And what do we do without realising it? Things like when we feel confidence we raise our posture, wink to imply complicity, smile if we are in a good mood, raise our eyebrows in surprise, frown as a sign of disapproval…

Non-verbal communication is everything you “say” without actually using words.
Your non-verbal communication signals include your body and facial expressions and movements, hands, arms, legs, posture, your gaze, your smile; how you move in space, what distances you keep, your tone of voice, your speed when talking…. Even the silences you make, and even the clothes you wear….

Non-verbal communication can sometimes complement words, accentuate and emphasise concepts and/or better demonstrate the ideas or message being expressed. At other times, the non-verbal act completely replaces the words (e.g., instead of saying “silence”, you make a gesture with your finger on your lips); and it always facilitates the regulation of verbal communication. Especially in interpersonal communication, a facial expression that “you don’t understand” – for example – already tells the sender just that message: “I don’t understand”, “I don’t know what you are talking about”.

So, while it is possible for someone not to talk to another person, it is not possible not to communicate anything at all. You will always be communicating, if not with your voice when you speak, then with your body language and ultimately with your behaviour.

Taking all this into account, it is not difficult to agree that – as the popular saying goes – actions often speak louder than words: your non-verbal communication signals are what will tell the other person you are communicating with whether you care or not, whether you are being sincere – or not – and how well you are listening – or not. When those signals match the words you say, you will generate trust, clarity and rapport; when they don’t, you will generate confusion, tension, and/or mistrust.

This is why it is so important to prioritise the way we communicate. To be better communicators, we need to become more sensitive to this non-verbal communication, and to do so in a two-way fashion: both to the body language of others, and to our own non-verbal signals.

By reading people’s non-verbal signals, you will be able to detect if there are inconsistencies (i.e. if the person is saying one thing with their words, but with their body language they are conveying something different). Because it happens that people tend to have much less conscious control over their non-verbal messages than over what they are actually saying. This is partly because non-verbal communication is more emotional in nature and therefore much more instinctive.

As for yourself, in order to become more sensitive to your own non-verbal communication, the best recommendation is to develop your emotional awareness; that is, you can begin to be aware of your emotions and how they influence you.

Imagine that you are now playing a game… You become fully immersed in the plot and start to experience the full range of emotions that the story offers you… What if as a streamer you could make sure that your audience can – literally – read/see everything you are experiencing? What if all your body language (which is continuously and unconsciously expressing not only your joys but also your frustrations, struggles and even tiredness) could be transmitted with great accuracy to your audience? What kind of connections do you think would emerge then?

The opportunity to be emotionally open with your viewers and communicate authentically finally comes now with Emogg. Never before has “to connect” taken on such a full and deep meaning. Create that connection between streamer and audience with Emogg. You will be able to pre-register on our website shortly. Communication, emotions and connection in the world of streaming.

 Sandra López Aparicio
Trainer and Coach, Co-Founder of Habilidades Clave.

21/06/2021

SHARING IS CARING

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