Sign language experts on the
nonverbal cues you’re missing in meetings
Much of ASL is in reading body language and facial
expressions. Here, experts share the messages sent through nonverbal displays
that are volumes louder than what’s actually being said.
Laurie Achin is a master at studying a person’s facial expression,
gestures, and body language to pick up the nuances that impact a message other
than what’s being said aloud.
Achin is deaf and an American Sign Language faculty member at
Northeastern University. She says she catches “the little behaviors, the small
movements, the small changes in people’s expressions, body language, and even
how the person is saying something” much quicker than hearing people. She can
even gauge what a person is feeling and thinking by how they write, drink, walk,
and even sit in a chair.
Achin’s skill is extremely important in business interactions,
especially as the workplace becomes more remote and virtual. Below, Achin along
with Katie Fitzpatrick and Miriam Horwitz–both sign language
interpreters–break down the messages sent through nonverbal displays that are
volumes louder than what’s actually being said aloud:
WHAT YOU’RE
MISSING: “I UNDERSTAND”
Fitzpatrick, a sign language interpreter and adjunct professor in
Beginning ASL to English and Fundamentals of Interpreting and Transliterating
at Madonna University, says deaf people are typically better at what
linguistics call “backchannel” than hearing people.
In English, backchannels are the “uh-huh-s” and the “hmm-s” that
serve to show understanding in what’s being communicated.
Because sign languages read everything from movements (i.e., a
question is indicated with your eyebrows) to gaze direction blinks as important
cues to determine meaning, backchannels are critical when communicating.
Fitzpatrick says that hearing people don’t think about how
important backchannels are so much because we assume the other person
understood us because they heard us, despite language being inherently vague.
In virtual meetings, representations of your thoughts and ideas might further
get complicated and lost in translation, explains Fitzpatrick, so take the time
to make sure that people are nodding along to what you’re saying: “It does not
mean that they agree with you, but just nodding along to understand and show
acknowledgement of what’s being said.”
WHAT YOU’RE
MISSING: “I WANT TO SPEAK NOW”
Achin says that when someone is trying to speak up or interrupt
the current speaker, they’ll become restless in their chair. They may push
forward in their body movements and sit up higher in order to get the attention
of the current speaker.
However, this can be difficult to see in a virtual group meeting
where it’s hard to see participants’ body gestures. In these
situations, Fitzpatrick suggests establishing norms ahead of time to encourage
communicating. For instance, communicate ahead of time that the speaker will
pause for five seconds at the end of each section for feedback and questions.
And make sure that each speaker adheres to the established norms. Or consider
having a chat feature so participants can send their messages during the
meeting without interrupting the speaker.
Horwitz, an ASL and English interpreter, says deaf and hard of
hearing people are very aware of what’s in their peripheral vision: “Sometimes
they’re not looking at you, but can catch everything that I am interpreting or
signing to them.They have such strong peripheral vision, they catch
the smaller, more subtle nuances, better than hearing people who can rely on
the audible cues that we give one another.”
When leading a meeting, it’s easy to fall prey to tunnel vision,
but we can all pick up on a lot more, especially the people trying to interject
or make additions, if we scan the room and make sure we’re seeing everyone in
our peripheral vision.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING:
“I NEED TO INTERRUPT YOU”
Interrupting isn’t usually an
advisable conversation style in
business interactions, but Horwitz says that the sensitivity to communication
access in the deaf and hard of hearing community makes the culture more open to
interjections. As a result, she’s noticed that turn-taking tends to be “more
forceful” in the deaf community–usually done with a tap on the shoulder or a
wave of the hand to attract attention. Horwitz also notices a more
collaborative effort in the deaf and hard of hearing community to share the
speaking floor. That is, if one person notices another person trying to
interject or get the speaker’s attention, they will often point the speaker in
their direction. Again, Horwitz points this collaborative effort to the
importance of communication access in the deaf and hard of hearing community.
In business meetings, a lesson we can all take from this
collaborative effort is to make sure that everyone is heard, especially
important if you’re the gatekeeper of the conversation. Many studies have shown that women are interrupted at a much higher level compared to men. As a
gatekeeper–whether appointed or because you are part of the majority group–of
the conversation, make a note to scan the room, and scan the surroundings to
bridge communication and ensure inclusivity.
Pay attention to cues that may signify that someone is frustrated.
Achin says she notices shoulders right away. If the shoulders are relaxed, the
person is happy. If the shoulders are “scrunched up” to give the body a smaller
effect, then Achin concludes the person is nervous or uncomfortable.
Simply put, many of us rely on audio cues to give us direction and
share information. However, many of us have also experienced being completely
lost after looking down to jot a few quick notes because our visual cues have
been restricted. Next time you’re in a meeting, consider testing out your
peripheral vision, take in the visual cues that give the most valuable
insights, and see if future meetings improve as a result.
BY VIVIAN GIANG
https://www.fastcompany.com/90265668/sign-language-experts-on-the-nonverbal-cues-youre-missing-in-meetings
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