What is the biggest communication myth? Perhaps this one

Has anyone told you that the meaning of communication is derived 7% from the words spoken, 38% from the tonality, and 55% from body language? Recently? The fact that these percentages come from the wrong interpretation of some research is not new. I am a bit mystified when I hear people continue to misconstrue the study. I read the incorrect interpretation again this morning in an article and decided to alert you to the myth.

Professor Albert Mehrabian's research merely looked at what listeners relied upon when the meaning of the communication was ambiguous -- not all communication. I have to admit that in the distant past I used this myth in training programs and talks. When I learned of the inaccuracy, I read the original research and was very dismayed that I had not done so before. A great lesson learned!

By now, many people have commented on the inaccuracy out there on the Internet. For example . . .

From David Teten at The Virtual Handshake:

This statistic has grown into a very widely quoted and oft-misunderstood urban legend. Many communication skills teachers and image consultants misuse this data to indicate that your intonation, speaking style, body language, and other non-verbal methods of communication overpower your actual words.

From work911:

People who cite these statistics mark themselves as ignorant, and their ability to teach communication should be immediately suspect. And, yes, I hate to say this, but even Toastmasters (certainly a reputable but somewhat over praised group) is known to throw these numbers about.

From a Toastmaster article by Dr. Judith Pearson:

Mehrabian has stated that he never intended his results to be applied to normal conversation (and probably not to public speaking either).  . . .  Thus, his research has useful, albeit limited applications, which have been blown out of proportion.

From Dale Emery at Conversations with Dale:

Mehrabian is very careful in these books not to generalize beyond the specific context of his research . . .

Enough said?

Note (added March 23, 2007, 2:39 PM Mountain): Here's "Three elements of communication - and the so called '7%-38%-55% Rule'" a post at Book Mark Lee on the Mehrabian research.

Note (added May 8, 2007, 5:20 PM Mountain): Take a look at Busting the Myth 93% of Communication is Nonverbal at PsyBlog.

Note (added July 25, 2007, 9:15 PM Mountain): Another citing/sighting of the Mehrabian myth. Nevertheless I do recommend taking a look at this mediation blog: PGP mediation.

Note (added October 29, 2007, 2:40 PM Mountain): Click to see that people are still misusing the Mehrabian research.

Note (added November 27, 2007, 2:00 PM Mountain): In this article, "How to Seal the Deal In Seven Seconds," the author Lydia Ramsey misuses Mehrabian. Makes me wonder if any of her references to research are accurate.

Note (added April 27, 2008, 3:37 PM Mountain): Mehrabian again used incorrectly, in this article: "One gesture can be worth 1,000 words" (The Express-Times - New Jersey).

Note (added July 13, 2008, 9:10 AM Mountain): Here's a promo for a new book that leads off with the inaccurate 93% nonverbal "statistic." The book contains several other questionable "facts" but one cannot check them as there are few references.

Note (added July 31, 2008, 12:10 PM Mountain): I wonder why the book is featured here? Perhaps the person making the choice does not know about the Mehrabian myth?

Note (added August 2, 2011): Yes, people are still misquoting the research after all these years! Here it is misused by an outfit called online pr media: "Why Video Conference?"

Note (added August 25, 2009): Two blog posts about the myth:

• Busting the Mehrabian myth: Is anyone still using that inaccurate 55/38/7 communication fiction? (idealawg)
• Why the stickiest idea in presenting is just plain wrong (Speaking about Presenting)

 

Comments

[Eve]

This is interesting. I just finished my BA in Speech Communication, and these percentages were taught in nearly every communication class that I took, especially nonverbal communication.

[Simon Raybould]

The 7% rubbish makes me want to scream! It's one of the few things that people will have heard before they take one of my presentations courses and I have the devil's own job explaining to them that it's a fallacy.

It's not helped by NLP trainers (in my experience!) continually citing it, despite knowing they're talking rubbish!

S