The greatest managers and leaders recognize that success relies on strong communication skills. Unfortunately, we all too often see how poor communication causes multiple obstructions, debilitation and failures. I wrote about this in my last post, here. Leaders may have thought they were delivering clear and consistent messages, but their unconscious nonverbal behaviors undermined their words and intentions.
You see, most communication is unconscious. This is a hard concept to grasp because if something is unconscious, you’re not aware of it. How can you take control of a conversation or presentation when the cues you project are hidden?
The Science
Startling advances in brain science have made it possible for us to gather and test evidence as we uncover the unconscious mind’s amazing strengths. While our conscious brains can handle some 40 bits of information per second, the unconscious mind processes an astounding 11 million bits per second. Our unconscious minds have the ability to handle most incoming cues automatically and rapidly, thus freeing our conscious minds to make complex decisions. Much of this activity occurs instantaneously, non-verbally and unconsciously.
The same holds true for leadership communication. If you rely solely on your words, you’re missing opportunities to inspire others. Studies continue to confirm that listeners perceive a message’s meaning largely through nonverbal, subconscious processing.
Despite all of this research, some of us cling to the notion that we rule our unconscious minds, and not vice versa. In truth, we make most decisions unconsciously, only becoming aware of them when we start to act upon them. What’s important here is that we can shine a light on many of the communication cues that we don’t pay attention to. We make the unconscious conscious by becoming more aware, more sensitive.
I’ll dive in to this subject in my next post. In the meantime, what do you think? As a leader, what communication cues are you sending? You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
