Question

Discuss steps you can take to ensure your verbal and nonverbal messages are congruent.

Answer 1

From a general perspective, in human communication, both verbal communication which mainly refers to the words that are explicitly spoken or the ideas verbally conveyed through words and non-verbal communication that mostly includes facial and physical gestures, movements, and body language. In this context, it is extremely important to establish and consistently maintain a congruence or correspondence between the verbal communication of the speaker and his or her non-verbal gestures and body language movements which would facilitate effective conveyance of the main idea or content of the communication as a whole. Any discrepancy between the verbal and non-verbal communication can lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the main ideas or thoughts that are being communicated by the listeners or audience. It can also possibly hinder the clarity and coherence of the overall communication process that might consequently mislead or misconstrue the listeners or audience. Now, to ascertain an effective and consistent link between the verbal and non-verbal communication processes, the following steps discussed below could be generally helpful.

i. Persistent eye-contact: Maintaining proper, confident, and consistent eye-contact with all or most of the listeners or audience is crucial during the entire communication process. It essentially evokes the speaker's interest level, positive intent, enthusiasm, constant non-verbal engagement with the audience, and willingness to equally reach out to all the listeners. Therefore, proper and comprehensive eye contact with the audience or listeners is an influential attribute in bridging the gap between the words and the body language of the speaker.

ii. Facial Expressions: Appropriate facial expression during the communication process ideally depends on the relevant content, topic, or idea that is being communicated by the speaker. Aside from maintaining a generally positive and pleasant facial expression, it is essential to modify or change the facial expression in accordance with the emotional intensity associated with the particular content or idea that is being conveyed through the communication process. This would be helpful in effectively establishing a practical link between verbal and non-verbal communication thereby further enhancing the clarity, coherence, and intelligibility of the concerned main topic or content that is being communicated.

iii. Arm and Bodily Movements: Occasional arm and other bodily movements are also important in enhancing the lucidity and coherence of the main subject matter of communication by effectively connecting between the non-verbal gestures and the actual words being spoken by the speaker. In this regard, proper and appropriate arm and bodily movements by the speaker express his or her positive and confident attitude, interest level towards the concerned topic, psychological easiness, and willingness to communicate and non-verbally engage with the audience. However, excessively frequent and unnecessary arm or physical movements can be distractive to the audience which might hinder the original purpose of such conduct in the first place.

iv. Bodily Posture: Bodily posture during any communication process basically signifies the way the speaker carries himself or herself in front of the listeners or speakers. A positive and confident body posture ideally includes confident and upright standing position, free and confident body movements, and a friendly and pleasant demeanor while communicating with the listeners or audience. It can effectively establish a link or connection between the verbal and the non-verbal cues during the communication enabling the audience to better understand and analyze the speaker's arguments and perspectives. Therefore, appropriate bodily postures can be some of the common effective tools to convey or communicate the main ideas or arguments of the speaker in a non-verbal manner that would accompany direct verbal communication.  

Reference

https://www.perfectpitchesbyprecious.com/importance-of-matching-verbal-and-nonverbal-cues