The power of non verbal communication

Communication in general is a process of sending and receiving messages that enables humans to share knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Although we usually identify communication with speech, communication can be done both verbally and nonverbally.Non verbal communication (NVC) can be communicated through a large number of channels such as facial expressions, posture, voice tone, dress sense, spatial distance between two or more people etc.


While many people may think observing one’s non verbal communication can give you tell tale signs whether a person is lying through his teeth, there are a lot of prominent people who purposely make use of non verbal communication to trick and convince people into believing them. George Madoff is a good example. He was able to run a Ponzi scheme not only bylying through his teeth but also by making sure his non verbal communication supports what he does.


In a newspaper report on Sunday Times, recalling the experience of an investor’s meeting with George Madoff, it was mentioned that George Madoff struck him as a “very savvy, credible and confident person.” In their meeting, he missed cues when he questioned about Madoff’s operations. In order to pressurize him to make a hasty decision, George keeps looking into his watch and displayed an attitude of “Look, it’s really up to you, no pressure kind of thing”. Furthermore, Madoff was able to make the situation seems like he is doing him a favour by saying he is bending his own rule on the minimum amount of US$1 million.


Over onlocal shores, we have James Phang, the founder of the now defunct Sunshine Empire which reportedly earned S$189 million through investment schemes. Perception was everything in the Sunshine Empire. According to the Straits Times report, the company's office at Toa Payoh Hub was lavishly furnished with gold trimmings and lush carpeting. Its lobby was about the size of a basketball court.


Not only was their company big, so were their business plans. Its property arm boasted various developments and projects in Malaysia of grand scale. In order to lure more people to invest in its company, most of the managers in the Sunshine were in their twenties to early thirties, dressed smartly in black suits carrying Montblanc pens and wallets. To make it more convincing, some of them even drove Mercedes-Benzs and BMWs. This gaveothers the perception of how easy it was to make a quick buck if you are willing to work hard which in turn draws a total of twenty thousand investors.


From the above examples, we can see the power of non verbal communication and its effectiveness. Depending on the minds of the users, NVC can be used as a tool to help them achieve their goals. The above examples cite those infamous figures that were caught while seemingly doing others a greater good. Because of these people, the world is now a tougher place to live in. People find it difficult to believe in one another, and thus it will take a huge effort to convince others again. My question is how then can we remove this air of mistrust and convince ourselves to believe again?