Human Resource Annoyances

    

    The presentation seen in class made a point to talk about how much body language and tone contributed to the meaning of the speaker and how little the words meant.  This is true for relationship and many human endeavors, but for business, you are better off listening to the words.   The worst bosses with which I have worked have all been body language people.  The problem with this is that humans are generally horrible at listening and just as bad with observation.   Don’t believe me? Check out the following link, http://bigthink.com/ideas/20583.  If this is your first time experiencing this experiment, chances are you missed the 200 pound gorilla in the room.  Doesn’t that make you feel so much better about the observational skills of people in general?  Just wait till the judge the intent of your words through your body language.  It is horrible.   

    A comedian once made a joke about liars always making the best first impressions.  Dr. Paul Ekman explored a similar concept with his experiments with micro-facial expressions.  He found that people are horrible at spotting deception.  Of 20,000 people tested, only 50 could reliable detect is someone was lying or not.  He found that the true facial expressions of people reveal themselves for only a fraction of a second and that reading these “micro-facial expressions” was the key to determining the true feelings of the tested person.  The point is not many people have this ability to read micro-facial expressions.  So they rely on what they know or more accurately what they think they know.  This means that as the comedian stated they fall for liars. 

 

     This isn’t to say that gut reaction are all misleading.  Most gut reactions are not instinct, but quick decision based on years of experience.   That is the key years of experience.  Most people who are really into body language are new at the technique and the methods of reading aren’t really taught in any detail as to make the person an expert.  In the meantime, try relying on the words and stop trying to second guess people based on body language.   Words contain many important things such as who, what, when where and why.  Body language can convey a lot, but sometimes words say just as much.  That is probably why humans started using words.   Diagrams are good as well.   Also, the thing about written words is that they are pretty permanent, so I can always go back and  read them… word for word.