7 elements of non-verbal communication in personnel selection

Elements of non-verbal communication

First, let's look at what 7 elements we will cover and what each of them includes:

1. Microexpressions and facial expressions. As the name suggests, they refer to the expressions that are drawn on the face.
2. Gestures. All those gestures that are performed momentarily with the body: arms, hands, legs…
3. Posture. It implies a more lasting position than gestures and involves the body more generally.
4. Paralanguage. The volume, tone, timbre, pauses… Everything that accompanies the language and modulates it is paralanguage.
5. Proximity. Proxemics is the discipline that studies how the distance between people affects non-verbal communication.
6. Accessories. Clothing, hairstyle, makeup, watches… all of these are accessories that can tell us a lot about a person.
7. Haptics. Or, in other words, the discipline that studies the implications of contact with other people.

Let's now look in more detail at each of these elements of non-verbal communication.

Microexpressions and facial expressions

At this point, we are discussing two distinct terms. The main difference between micro-expressions and facial expressions is as follows:

1. The facial microexpressions They are very subtle movements and contractions of the facial muscles that last only a few milliseconds. They are unforgeable.
2. The facial expressions They are voluntary and therefore last as long as the person drawing them wishes them to last. They can be faked.

For example, if a person feels surprise, their upper eyelids and eyebrows will raise, and their pupils will dilate, always in a very subtle way. It is an evolutionary reaction that translates into a micro-expression. The problem is that, due to its short duration and subtlety, this is very difficult to detect with the naked eye. If we wanted to detect a candidate's real emotional reactions, we would need to film their faces in HD and perform a frame-by-frame analysis.

Gestures

There are different types of gestures. The most important ones are:

1. Illustrative gestures. They accompany verbal language. For example, if someone says something is very big, they will spread their arms while saying it.
2. Manipulative gestures. They do not accompany verbal language. An example: a person scratching the back of their neck while telling us how big something is. However, this does not necessarily imply that they are lying, as is often believed.

In the personnel selection processes, we will focus on the following:

1. If the candidate predominantly uses illustrative gestures, it will generally mean they are comfortable and sincere.
2. If the candidate predominantly uses manipulative gestures, it will generally mean they are uncomfortable and, perhaps, lying to us.

Posture

Posture is another element of non-verbal communication that can give us information about the candidate.

Generally, the standard posture for a job interview is to be seated. Regarding this:

• A person who keeps the open legs is generally comfortable. It is possible that, faced with this posture, we are dealing with a leader.
• A person who cross your legs she doesn't have to be uncomfortable, rather, she might simply feel more comfortable in that position.
• If the shoulders they are not relaxed, it will be a sign of emotional tension that we will have to relax.

Paralanguage

When the candidate speaks, we must pay attention to the paralanguage elements:

• The voice volume high It usually reflects a person's confidence in their own words or themselves, as well as their truthfulness.
• If a person lowers his voice volume At a specific moment when speaking, they might be lying to us. We will need to probe further into what they have said.
• The breaks and the silences They can also communicate. If we want someone to give us more details about what they've just said, we'll nod our heads while remaining silent.

Proximity

In proxemics, there are different distances depending on the centimetres of separation between one speaker and another:

1. Intimate distance15-45 centimetres.
2. Personal distance46-120 cm.
3. Social distance120-360 centimetres.
4. Public distanceOver 360 centimetres.

In any personnel selection process, we must ensure that we are maintaining appropriate social distancing. If we reduce it, the candidate may feel uncomfortable. If we increase it, communication will become more difficult.

Accessories

The accessories a person wears to a job interview can tell us a lot about them:

• La clothing what they wear will show us how seriously they take the interview, as the social convention is to wear a suit, jacket, shirt or formal dress to these types of events.
• Accessories such as watches, rings, necklaces, etc. may reflect additional care in their image.
• A piercing or a tattoo may reveal certain emotional issues.

Haptics

Finally, you should know that the human contact It has almost magical effects on relationships between people.

Experiments demonstrate that waiters who subtly touch their customers receive more tips, or that lecturers who touch the shoulder of their listeners during a handshake receive better ratings.

As long as the contact is subtle and natural, its effects will always be beneficial.

Now that you are familiar with these elements of non-verbal communication, it's time for you to apply them in your company's recruitment processes.