Three Components of Communication you need to master and utilise effectively

Over the years, global research on public speaking and communication made available has posited that there are three components of communication. In other words, for every speech that you make, for every declaration made in the hearing of others and for every announcement that is made in the presence of other people there are three major components and they are Content, Vocal and Non-verbal in that order not necessarily as it relates to importance anyway. The focus of this piece is to look at the three components in detail one after the other and to put forward the most suitable form of communication that will enhance the reception of your message.

Content - Research has it that what you say otherwise referred to as the content of your speech is only 7% of your total communication. The important thing to note here is that it is not what you say alone that matters, how you say it is just as important. While the content is very important, it will be foolhardy for any speaker to concentrate solely on content seeing how it accounts for just 7% of the message. This means there is still 93% to look out for when making your presentation.

Vocal - This component is a reference to your voice. It also involves how you use this voice to project your message, this second aspect of the vocal component of communication deals with vocal variety, which is a statement of how well you vary your voice in speech making. This vocal component accounts for 38% of total communication.

Non-verbal - The third component is non-verbal communication simply because it is not voiced even though it is an essential part of communicating with people. This is what I like to call, what you are not saying audibly though people can perceive it loudly and clearly. Body language is an integral part of non-verbal communication and public speakers need to know how to use body language to add value to their presentation and how to interpret the body language of others especially those in their audience. Research has put the value of this as 55% of total communication.

By way of repetition, the golden rule in presentation is this: It is not what you say but how you say it. This statement and its attendant implementation separate great presenters from average ones.

Finally, the best form of communication is one in which all three components of communication agree completely. If there is a disconnection between these components, it will no doubt affect the veracity of your message, as you will send confusing signals to your audience. What you say must match how you say it and what you are not saying. That is the purest and most reliable form of communicating with people. When what you say aligns with how you say it and also what you are not saying, your believability level, as a public speaker will only increase and this will ultimately enhance your message.

How to Maximise Body Language in Speech Making

According to research carried out over time, non-verbal communication in speech making accounts for about 55% while the content is just 7% with the rest being the vocal component of communication and standing at 38%. This non-verbal component of communication is more often than not referred to as body language. As a public speaker and even in everyday life while interacting with others, your body language will help to influence how they perceive you and it at best be positive for effect. Your gestures, body movements and facial expressions are very important factors that must be thoroughly considered by you if you intend to use body language to aid your presentations skills.

The best kind of communication is one in which what you are saying, otherwise called the content; how you say it, which I would refer to as the vocal component; (your voice and how you use it) and what you are not saying in words, which is the non-verbal component of communication ; agree and are in sync. In other words, what you are saying must match how you say it and what you are not saying. For you to have a complete message, all these three must be in unity. If there is a disconnection between these elements then your message will be affected negatively. Imagine a love-struck man telling his girlfriend of eight years he wants to marry her meanwhile he is wearing a frown on his face with arms crossed. It is therefore important to learn and practise how to use body language effectively to pass across your message. The idea behind this is to align what your body is saying with your words and thus give that stellar presentation you have always wished to have.

As a successful public speaker, you should focus on using positive or open body language in order to enhance the reception of your message by your audience. Common examples of positive body language include open arms, maintaining good eye contact, open torso and widely spaced legs, smiling faces etc, which are time-tested ways of indicating warmth, pleasantness and the state of being approachable. One of the lessons I have learnt in my professional career is that people sometimes buy things on emotions rather than logic. Your ability to connect with your audience emotionally might just as well be very dependent on the language of your body, which is the most perceptible element of communication depending on who is looking and listening. Body language is more encompassing than this but for the purpose of a speaker speaking to an audience some of the examples mentioned above might just as well suffice.

You should avoid negative or closed body language like a plague, as this is sure to detract from your message and reduce your believability level in the eyes of your audience. Examples of this include folded arms, frowns on the face, pointing your finger or waving an object threateningly in the face of your audience.

Body language will forever remain an integral component of communication so you would do well to master it and use it effectively to add value to your presentation. 

The trouble with trust

Life being what it is will always demand sacrifices from us and in truth, making such sacrifices is one of those things that make us retain all the vestiges of humanity in us even when the natural tendency is to be bestial even if for a little while. 

The intriguing thing though is that sometimes we trust too much but the question is what other options are open to us? Must we look upon everyone we meet through the veneer of distrust and hate just because we have chosen to live life as loners who naturally find running away from others enjoyable? Must we choose to see only the evil in others and close our eyes to the good that is in them just because we have had some bitter experiences in the past and do not want our fingers burnt again? These are questions, questions and certainly more questions which beg for answers every day of our lives. 

What happens then when our trust is betrayed by others friends and strangers alike? As passengers, we trust the operators of public transport to provide the services for which we pay them and not for them to make it a habit of stopping halfway through the journey blaming one of many possible reasons, engine-related or not . As citizens of a nation say Nigeria, we trust our elected officials and political office holders to provide us with the so-called dividends of democracy and thus make life better for us. As patients we trust our medical doctors and other medical personnel to provide us with the best health care within the ambit of their professional calling. As spouses and lovers, we trust our partners and significant others to make sure they do all the right things at the right time to sustain our relationships. As students we trust our teachers and lecturers to teach us the right things and to set good examples always.

Trust is one of the fundamental virtues of human life that we just cannot do without and whether or not our trust is kept we just must trust because that is the foundation of corporate existence in the first place. Undoubtedly the best situations are such that trust is not betrayed by the recipient but for that to be so, everyone who is trusted to do something must make sure they give a good account of themselves as far as holding that trust is concerned.

The way I see it, we must always trust in people whether or not we are going to get that trust held in high esteem. It reminds me of the enigma of love and of the possible implications of love that is unrequited. The possibilities are endless if we can all learn to trust one another and if those of us who are seen as worthy of another’s trust do our best to remain true to that trust.

Nigeria at 50: What manner of independence?

We celebrated our fiftieth anniversary of independence some days ago and it was a most remarkable event for many reasons good, bad and ugly (actually this sounds like a cliché and I do not like them!). Anyway if you must know I did not participate in the Independence Day celebrations as my mind was filled with many issues that seemed not to be able to go away and all of them had to do with Nigeria. Trust me I am a patriotic Nigerian but in truth I did not see any reason to celebrate except for the fact that our corporate existence as a nation is still intact.

My first grouse with the Federal Government as represented by President Goodluck Jonathan and his cabinet was the decision to spend about 10 billion naira on the celebrations. Whether it was 10 billion or even 6 billion as recommended by you know who, it was in bad taste. This in a nation where we are still waiting for the time when power supply will be uninterrupted and potable water will be made available and affordable to all. According to statistics available from international organisations, about 70% of people in our nation live on less than 1 dollar a day and we are one of the richest nations in the world in terms of natural resources but at the same time one of the poorest. That is one of the troubling paradoxes that define our corporate existence as a nation!

The bombing issue did not even help matters too as people for whom the bombs were not intended ended up being killed thus sending them to premature graves. Talk of Nigerians hitting out at other Nigerians! Violence in my opinion will never be the solution as long as social (re)engineering is still an option. I hope those concerned are listening and assimilating.

The 75 million naira cake was the most preposterous news item I had heard in recent times. If 75 entrepreneurs like me with sound minds and viable business ideas had been given one million naira each to invest in their business would that not have made better sense and impacted more lives positively. Is national independence all about eating a piece of the national cake (in the literal sense)? In a country where the manufacturing sub-sector of the economy still contributes less than 10% to the GDP of our country do you not think we still have a lot to do in terms of revamping our economy and thus improving the quality of life of her citizens?

Apparently pissed off with the inaction and double standards of the government, a group of people called naija cyber activists hacked into the website of the national assembly and posted a one-page letter on the home page. While reading the letter the only thing that came to my mind was that people were getting pissed off and could not be patient any longer.

Elections are coming next year and these same leaders who have proven to be permanently bereft of ideas will want to remain in office. Are you thinking what I am thinking? God forbid that it should be so!

Young people in the nooks and crannies of this nation must register to vote and make sure they come out to vote when the time comes. Enough of this indolence and nonchalance, the time to get involved is now.

My Tinsel Misadventure

I pride in the fact that I am an actor, writer and public speaker all rolled into one. These three careers are such that I can pursue and excel in them simultaneously without much effort. The amusing thing is that I have been doing lots of writing on this space about my career as a public speaker and of course, the writer in me speaks (writes) always. The point I am trying to make is that I have neglected to write about my career as an actor perhaps as an error of omission. Just in case you do not know, I have some years of acting experience (mostly stage) behind me having acted professionally from 2002 to 2004 with my last role as 'Aafaa' in Soyinka's Madmen and Specialists. This was when Prof. Wole Soyinka clocked 70 and just in case you are wondering, he was there in person at the event. I could say that was the biggest project I was involved in then apart from being on TV. Since 2004, I have been involved in other things besides acting.

Anyway, I will be sharing my experience in my bid to star in Tinsel, MNETs Nigerian soap opera. They held auditions in March this year for Season 3 and had another in the first week of August after the season had started possibly in a bid to get extras. That's acting lingo but I guess it's plain simple enough!

After the auditions in March, I was called after about two weeks for another audition and this time I had to vie for the role with three other people. The long and short of the whole story is that I got a role in Season 3 of Tinsel. I was supposed to play 'Henry' the bald, well-dressed twenty-something year old man who is in the business of selling clothes. My happiness was without limits understandably. Little did I know I was in for some dose of tough luck!

That was when the long wait started for me as I expected them to call to inform me of when I would be on set. Weeks turned into months and eventually sometime in August I got to know they had deleted the character saying it was no more relevant to the story.

Of course, I was not too happy with the development and thankfully, I had only told a handful of people I would be appearing in Tinsel Season 3 so it was easy for me to 'untell' them. I had really looked forward to being in Tinsel but I guess it was not to be, at least not then. Perhaps I will try again next season but until then I think I will stick with stage and forget about starting a career in Nollywood. Hmm! That is a story for another day.