No, Delivery is NOT more Important than Words

You’ve probably heard (or even said) this oft-repeated “fact”:

All communication is 7% what we say and 93% how we say it.

WELL…THIS IS ACTUALLY NOT ACCURATE.

Psychology professor Dr. Albert Mehrabian came up with this rule while working at the University of California, Los Angeles. Over the years, it has been misinterpreted and the misunderstanding shows no signs of slowing.

Here are some additional facts you never hear about this study:

• This formula only applies when speakers are talking about their feelings or attitudes. It’s NOT referring to general communication situations
• The purpose of the study was to examine what we pay more attention to when words and non-verbal messages conflict (key word is “conflict”)
• The figures are obtained by combining results from two very different studies. Some scholars argue that they can’t be legitimately combined
• The second study only involved women. Men did not participate

What was the bottom line of his study?

• Face and tone play a role but are not of greater importance than words
• When the words spoken are inconsistent with the tone or body language of the person speaking, people always believe the non-verbal

In other words, the 93% and 7% stats only apply to very specific situations. His study revolves around INCONGRUENCY between the speaker’s words, body language, and tone of voice. It’s not a blanket statement about all human communication.

This video by CreativityWorks sums it up perfectly.

Have you heard this statement said? Let me know if you knew this other information about the study!