What makes a person more persuasive than another? We might believe it is the power of that person’s argument. That the case he or she develops is ultimately what determines the success or failure of the message. But over and over again, scientific research has proven that it’s usually not about the words someone says. It’s more about nonverbal persuasion.
In his book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, national bestselling author Malcom Gladwell says, “If we want to understand what makes someone . . . persuasive . . . we have to look at much more than his obvious eloquence. We need to look at the subtle, the hidden, and the unspoken.” Today, I’ll be relying heavily on Gladwell’s book as we uncover some of the little things behind how persuasion really works. We’ll discuss things like micro expressions, motion, and emotional force. And we’ll learn how these make a huge difference every time we communicate, whether it’s a conversation with one friend or a presentation in front of a hundred people.
Micro Expressions
Paul Ekman is one of the foremost researchers on nonverbal communication. He says, “Micro expressions are facial expressions that occur within a fraction of a second. This involuntary emotional leakage exposes a person’s true emotions.” This definition has a few important points we need to break down.
- “Fraction of a second.” First, these expressions occur very, very quickly. The Science of People says, “they usually last 0.5–4.0 seconds and cannot be faked.”
- “Involuntary.” Second, they happen on a subconscious level. For example, if we see someone slam her finger in a door, we will probably grimace without even thinking about it. In fact, you may have grimaced involuntarily just now. Just thinking about it may have produced a micro expression.
- “Emotional leakage.” Third, micro expressions are valid and powerful indicators of our emotional state.
- “Exposes.” Finally, they are incredibly revealing. Say a friend tells you she is “fine.” But you can tell by her facial expression that she is upset about something. You will trust her micro expression more than her assertion that she’s not upset.
But how are micro expressions persuasive? Gladwell cites the work of Brian Mullen of Syracuse University who videotaped popular newscasters in the 1980s as they talked about political candidates. His research team found that when a newscaster “exhibited a significant and noticeable bias in facial expression,” such as smiling when talking about the candidate he preferred, the viewing audience was more likely to vote for that candidate. This means that what our faces are communicating through nonverbal micro expressions have an incredible influence on our audience.
Motion
Gladwell says motion can be another powerful but often unnoticeable force of nonverbal persuasion. He cites another study in which students were asked to wear a pair of headphones and test their sound quality while moving their heads. They were either asked to nod their heads up and down or shake their heads side to side. They listened to music but were also exposed to a commercial about increasing the price of college tuition. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that researchers found those students who nodded were in agreement with raising tuition. Those who shook their heads in the nonverbal gesture we associate with “no” were opposed to the increase.
You see, head motion is strongly tied to subconscious meaning. As Lee Dye of ABC News says, “We’re accustomed to using head movements as a form of communication with others. We generally nod in approval when we hear something we like, and shake in disapproval when we don’t like whatever we’re seeing or hearing. That becomes ingrained in the subconscious. Nodding means yes, shaking means no.”
This means that if we can synchronize the motion of our listeners to our message, we might be able to persuade them to be more apt to agree or disagree with something. This, obviously, doesn’t mean that we should manipulate them unethically. But it does mean that we can use head motions to increase our chances of being persuasive. If we want to get them to agree, we could ask questions to which most everyone would nod. This gets their head moving in that agreeable motion. Or we could adjust the motion on our slide deck. We could move text and images from the top of the screen to the bottom, rather than having them fly in from the left to the right.
Emotional Force
Aside from micro expressions and the motion of our heads, scientists have found that some people exert more nonverbal persuasion via emotional force than others. Gladwell says, “what we are talking about is a kind of super-reflex, a fundamental physiological ability of which we are barely aware. And like all specialized human traits, some people have much more mastery over this reflex than others. Part of what it means to have a powerful or persuasive personality, then, is that you can draw other into your own rhythms and dictate the terms of the interaction.”
In other words, some people are naturally more emotional contagious. You may have noticed this with your family or friends. There are people who seem to “set the temperature” for the interaction. If that person is in a great mood, the interaction will be pleasant. If they aren’t, everyone is likely to come away upset. This phenomenon is something researchers refer to as “emotional contagion.” In their article on the subject, Carolina Herrando and Efthymios Constantinides say that “emotional contagion can be a very effective and attractive strategy in communication.”
But just how powerful is emotional contagion? Gladwell cites the work of Howard Friedman, a psychologist at the University of California at Riverside. Friedman developed a test to measure someone’s affective communication—the ability to send emotion to others. In his study, Friedman asked research participants take the test, and then he categorized those participants as either high-scorers (more emotionally contagious) and low-scorers (less emotionally contagious). He then paired one high-scorer with two low-scorers and asked them to sit together in a room for two minutes where they could look at each other, but not talk. The result? After just two minutes, the low-scorers picked up on the emotional state of the high-scorer.
This research has two implications. First, determine if you are someone who tends to be more emotionally contagious. If you are, be aware of the power of persuasion you have over those around you. And manage your emotional output responsibly. Second, we all need to be aware of what our emotions are communicating and how contagious they are. For example, say you are scheduled to give a presentation. But you’ve had an incredibly rough morning. Chances are that emotional state of frustration will come across in your presentation. That’s unless you do something to manage it ahead of time. Take a walk, listen to some calming music, or practice a few breathing exercises. Do what it takes to get in the emotional state you want your listeners to have.
Persuasion is Largely Nonverbal
It’s clear the power that nonverbal communication has in persuasion. But all of this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t build a strong case, write compelling content, or think carefully about the words you use. It simply means that your communication will benefit if you focus on the little things that make huge persuasive differences: micro expressions, motion, and emotional force.
Great presentations don’t always mean the best message or the slickest graphics. Those are important. Of course they are. But sometimes the power of your persuasion can boil down to your facial expressions, the way you seek to move your audience, and the emotional energy you are spreading.
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