You have been hearing about the importance of body language for decades.  With the rise and increase of technology use, you cannot afford to forget the basics.  Email, voice mail, and even direct telephone conversations cannot fully capture what goes on in a business.

Dr. Alex “Sandy” Pentland has written a book, “Honest Signals,” that should be on the reading list for business owners, executives, and managers.  There are two points that especially struck me, both for business and personal relations:

1.  It is your tone.  You can sell an idea when you are committed and excited.  This has more impact than the facts, so if you have a point to get across, be prepared and even rehearsed.  Believe in yourself and your idea, and make sure the enthusiasm and passion comes across.

2.  Much of communication in the office is not recorded.  It is complicated, and it happens face-to-face.  Even the telephone can’t quite make up for the power of the personal interaction.  Yet this type of communication does not ever get recorded.  You have email records, meeting notes, and memo summaries.  While all are important aspects, they are not the complete picture.

This is not to say that the basic time management skills of managing email, paper, and dealing with interruptions like the telephone are not important.  If you neglect these, you will not have time for the needed personal interaction to be effectively put to use.  You will also be more stressed, not appearing in control, and that is not something you want to be communicating nonverbally.

The four signals that Dr. Pentland focuses on are activity, interest, mimicry, and consistency.  If you want to get ahead and stay in the loop, take the time now to become more aware of how you can use these.