Speakers don’t always put everything that’s important to them into words. Very often you can understand a speaker’s meaning by observing their nonverbal behaviors such as a change in a vocal tone or volume, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. As it is easy to misinterpret nonverbal behavior, effective listeners verbally confirm their interpretations of someone’s nonverbal communication. A question as simple as “Do your nods indicate a yes vote?” can make sure that everyone is on the same wavelength. If, as nonverbal research indicates, more than half of a speaker’s meaning is conveyed nonverbally, we are missing a lot of important information if we fail to “listen” to nonverbal behavior. Even Freud suggested that “he that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.” No wonder it is difficult for most people to ___________________________________ in a face-to-face group discussion.
* mortal: 인간 ** ooze: 스며 나오다 *** pore: 모공