Politicians and managers - what they say without saying a word

I found Kopacz's article Nonverbal Communication as a Persuasion Tool: Current Status and Future Directions to be in quite interesting for two different, yet somehow interlinked reasons. The first reason is that when I began reading the article, and realized it dealt with politicians, I kept asking myself, "How does this relate to my work environment?" Secondly, I have always been fascinated with non-verbal communication and its meanings.

So, how do politicians relate to my work environment? As I continued reading the article, I began to draw a correlation between politicians and managers. A politician is looking for buy-in from his constituents just as a manager is looking for buy-in from his employees. A good politician and a good manager are both trying to advocate their policies, beliefs and procedures and to gain the support of either voters or workers.

Secondly, I was fascinated by the non-verbal communication habits of politicians that were discussed in the article and how it affects voter opinion. I've always been very interested in non-verbal communication, mainly because I often wonder the implications that my own non-verbal communication has on my listeners. I talk with my hands. If I were forced to sit on my hands, I'm not so sure I'd be able to get out one word. Even more prevalent than my hand gestures are my facial expressions. I've been told on more than one occassion that my facial expressions create who I am as a communicator and bring my language to life.

The article delved deeper into the meaning of non-verbal communication when Kopacz associated this silent language with the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion. The ELM theorizes that there are two different ways, or routes, to interpret information: the central route and the peripheral route (Kopacz, 6). The central route requires critical thinking and careful elaboration while the peripheral route is less critical and leads to quicker decisions (Hamilton, 336). I think it is appropriate to associate the central route with the persuasive appeal of logos and the peripheral route with pathos. The central route requires focusing on the logic of the argument (logos) and the peripheral route emphasizes the use of emotions (pathos) (Barrett, 8).

Non-verbal communication (facial expressions, clothing, appearance, etc.) will be interpreted using one of the aforementioned routes. The listener will either take the time to analyze the situation critically or he will respond more quickly based on how the non-verbals make him feel and the emotions they elicit. The listener's interpretation of the meaning of the non-verbal communication will depend upon the method he chooses to use.

The next time my manager is speaking to me, I'm going to pay extra close attention to his non-verbal communication and then I'm going to decide to interpret that communciation via the central route or the peripheral route. I've always enjoyed observing speakers' non-verbal communication, but now I can take it to a whole new level!





Barrett, D. (2008). Leadership communication (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Hamilton, C. (2005). Communicating for results: A guide for business and the professions (7th ed.). Belmont, California: Thomson Wadsworth.

Kopacz, M. (2006). Nonverbal communication as a persuasion tool: Current status and future directions. Rocky Mountain Communication Review, 3(1), 1-19.