Question

When your words say one thing, but your body shows another, what happens to how much people believe and trust what you are saying?

Accepted Answer

When your words convey one message and your body language, also known as nonverbal communication, conveys a different message, people overwhelmingly believe and trust the nonverbal signals. This phenomenon occurs because nonverbal cues are often perceived as more genuine and harder to fake than spoken words. The term nonverbal communication encompasses a wide range of signals like facial expressions, eye contact, posture, gestures, and tone of voice. When these signals contradict verbal statements, the discrepancy creates cognitive dissonance in the observer, a mental discomfort caused by holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes. To resolve this dissonance, the observer typically prioritizes the information that feels most authentic. Research in psychology and communication consistently shows that nonverbal cues are processed more automatically and are less subject to conscious control and deception than verbal communication. For instance, if someone says they are happy but their face is frowning and their arms are crossed, an observer will infer they are not happy. This is because facial expressions and body posture are often involuntary responses to genuine emotions. The inconsistency between spoken words and body language erodes credibility, leading to decreased belief in the spoken message and a significant reduction in trust towards the speaker. People learn from early childhood to rely on these nonverbal cues to understand true intentions and feelings, making them a fundamental aspect of social interaction and judgment.

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When your words say one thing, but your body shows another, what happens to how much people believe and trust what you are saying?