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Do words count?
The research has been misquoted widely, but does have an underlying truth.
The misquoting is usually around applying the numbers in a setting different from the one where they originated - a different context.
I have frequently posted to newsgroups and mailing lists on this topic. Here are some of the postings:
Kyle is doing a presentation on "congruity" in presentations.
Kyle:
You may be able to include these demonstrations:
Start like the teacher that went into a rowdy class, thumped the table, and said in a stern voice: "I want pandemonium, and I want it now!"
Instead of pandemonium she got silence. Why? Where there is incongruity: Actions speak louder than words.
Have the participants adopt a physical posture of despair - shoulders drooping, head sagging, face down. Ask them to read a poster which says:
I feel great, I'm alive, there's so much to do now is the time to do it!
Their posture will change - try it.
You might also like to display a series of slides while reading a totally different text. Say instructions for making a martini while displaying illustrations from a children's book story of the three little pigs. Have one person read the story, from a position where they can't see the slides.
Have another change the slides - a new slide every thirty seconds - or some other mechanical structure so that the slide shower is not influenced by the story teller.
Discuss with the audience why they reacted the way they did. Discuss with the story teller how it felt to be laughed at while reading a serious text.
These examples should give you a good start.
There are numbers around that say when a counselor is presented with conflicting information from words, tone or visual - only in 7% of the cases will they accept the words, in 38% they will go with the tone and other vocals, while in 55% they go with the visuals. Transferring that across - as many do - to say that only 8% of the meaning comes from words is a long stretch, so I would avoid it. The activities should allow the audience to make up the own mind.
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This may have some relevance for showing a slide that is not consistent with the spoken words. This was covered in research by Dr Albert Mehrabian at the UCLA and published in a book called Silent Messages. When faced with conflicting messages, 55% will react to the visual message (Posture, facial expressions, eye contact etc) 38% will respond to the messages contained in the tonality (accent, pace, pitch, volume - vocal variety issues) and 7% will respond to their interpretation of the words.
To demonstrate that a word in itself may not have a given meaning, ask
participants to say:
I didn't say I was born in Canada
with the emphasis on a different word each time.
Where the emphasis is placed changes the meaning.
Also you might like to ask them to give the meaning of the word SET.
It has dozens of different meanings - from a way of dividing a tennis match to harden to collection to place to unwilling to change.
so what?
For the various exercises above:
Pandemonium now - the actual words are totally overshadowed by the tone;
Posture - we can affect the way we feel by resetting the way we sit or stand;
Three little pigs slide show - when given two options, look or listen - it is very hard to do either; Translate this into the effect of someone in a nun's habit extolling the value of greed, or someone in a torn t-shirt and dirty jeans promoting hygiene;
Word emphasis (Canada above) the way the words are said makes a difference - maybe not always as dramatic as this, but a difference, still.
Set - the importance of context to give meaning.
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Put another way:
In the thread on Table topics a comment was made in passing that words only account for about 7% of the content of communication.
That's great news. If I ever have a chance to go to China or Russia I won't need to learn the language. All I will have to do is listen for the intonation (38%) and watch the body language (55%)
Beware of this statistic.
It is derived from research by Dr Arnold Mehrabian at UCLA in the 1967 and 1968, published in psychology journals and later in his book Silent Messages (1971).
The real message from his work is that when there is contradiction between the literal meaning of words and the tone of voice or the body language - body language is most credible, tone of voice second and the literal meaning of the words third.
If I tell you that I am very interested in listening to what you have to say, but keep looking at my watch and yawning - 55% would be more influenced by my actions than my words. Still 7% would believe the words and rationalize that I must have had a late night last night. Who is to say who is right?
If a teacher walks into a noisy classroom and screams: "I want pandemonium and I want it now" will she get it? No way. She'll get silence. the tone and the actions overcome the words, except for class Little Jimmy in the back row who will want to argue that she said what she said.
Interesting stuff - but beware of the false conclusion that words are only 7% - tone plus action plus words make up the total conversation and we need to work on them all.
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