BODY LANGUAGE IS OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE IN LARGE GROUPS

by counting the open channels and relating the ratio to emotion and intellect is a first
approximation, the validity of which will have to be determined by future studies.

Adjusting the Influence of Non-verbal Messages in Meetings

In general all of us would like a mix of verbal and non-verbal communication. In
measured doses non-verbal communication can enhance trust and facilitate turn-taking; in
excessive doses it can detract from the intellectual content. Finding a balance is the challenge
for the meeting caller. Attention to this balance is particularly important in large groups. Here are
some ways this balance can be adjusted:

First, allowing more member participation in the verbal discourse allows their “vote” to be
stated rationally rather than through non-verbal communication. Second, one can overtly ask
people to "lower the volume" of their non-verbal message. A person falling asleep in the first few
minutes of the meeting can be woken up and a presenter who sees his audience looking
inattentive and confused can overtly address the non-verbal language and translate it into words.

Third, different geometric arrangements of group members can be important as well.

Sitting in chairs around a circle allows all participants to see all of each other and thus maximizes
the potential for non-verbal communication. Placing a group around a table eliminates
communication from the members' lower bodies. Arranging all the chairs into a square seminar
configuration in which participants face one direction makes inter-member non-verbal messages
even more difficult.ⁱⁱⁱ If you want to minimize non-verbal communication, you could ask
participants to form a circle and face out from the circle (suggestion by Rafi Kleiman). This is a
way to cool down an overheated discussion and move it to a more rational plane. The leader, of
course, cannot face outwards because he or she needs to manage the turn-taking.

Fourth, conference calling and electronic mail are other tools to eliminate communication
via non-verbal language.

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