{"id":139610,"date":"2024-02-21T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.phorest.com\/?p=139610"},"modified":"2024-02-21T10:19:52","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T10:19:52","slug":"keith-barry-non-verbal-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.phorest.com\/ae\/blog\/keith-barry-non-verbal-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"Keith Barry: Beyond Words – Harnessing the Power of Non-Verbal Communication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Irish mentalist, entertainer and subconscious mind specialist, Keith Barry<\/a>, gave an incredible performance at the Salon Owners Summit<\/a> 2024. With mind-bending live demonstrations, he had even the most sceptical audience members leaving the room believing in the  supernatural powers of telepathy and mind-control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keith, however, has never claimed to be magic. He defines himself as a scientist, first and foremost, keeping on top of the latest research in the field of neurolinguistics. His powers of perception and influence, he says, are nothing more than being acutely tuned into non-verbal cues. Referencing Albert Mehrabian\u2019s 7-38-55 rule of communication, Keith shared with the audience that only 7% of the way we communicate with others is via the words we speak. The other 38% is the tone in which we say it, and the largest share, 55%, is through our body language and mannerisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interspersed among impressive live demonstrations, Keith shared actionable ways that salon owners can begin harnessing the power of non-verbal communication to positively influence relationships with their teams and clients to achieve better business outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine being able to read the minds of your team and your clients, and influence their decisions. Let\u2019s look at some of the tips Keith shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tactics for Building Instant Rapport <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pacing and Mirroring <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Image captured by Jon Chu, Director, on the set of ‘Now You See Me<\/em> 2′<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Keith shared this image of himself and Morgan Freeman on the set of the movie \u2018Now You See Me<\/em> 2\u2019, where Keith was the chief magic and mentalist consultant. The moment this photograph was taken was the first time Keith and Morgan met. Morgan challenged Keith to read his mind in an on-the-spot test of his abilities. Building an instant rapport with Morgan was extremely important. To do so, Keith used mirroring techniques to win him over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fundamental need people have, Keith says, is to feel seen, heard and understood. If you can fulfil this need for people, you can build instant rapport. By mirroring their mannerisms, you become like them. They see themselves in you and you in themselves. They feel seen, heard and understood. Mirroring also helps to settle the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotional response and stress. You need to do it carefully, however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three is a magic number<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Keith recommended mirroring someone three times, or in three different ways, over the course of a conversation. This is the optimal number to change their mindset and to cause a positive change in their limbic system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mirror their movements, but not exactly<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Overt mimicking can have the opposite effect – it can feel weird very quickly and turn people off. If they fold their arms, for example, it\u2019s not recommended that you fold yours. Instead, mirror them very subtly. Change your body language to match theirs. Notice them. If they make large gestures when speaking, Keith recommended to begin using slightly larger gestures. If the person you\u2019re speaking to is more introverted, making slower gestures, you should make some slower gestures, too. In the above image, because Morgan put his hand to his head, Keith also put his hand to his head, but in a different way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018RSVP\u2019 rule for voice mirroring<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When mirroring someone\u2019s voice, remember the \u2018RSVP\u2019 rule – there are four elements of speech that you can mirror – rhythm, speed, volume and pitch. People understand language best when it is the same rate and speed at which they speak it. Giving an example,  Keith explained that when he performs in America he often slows down the pace of his voice, because Americans tend to speak a lot slower, whereas in the UK, he speeds up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Slight of mouth\u2019 – mirroring language<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Becoming an intent listener involves repeating back to people one to three words that they have said to you. By using their language, people feel seen, heard and understood, and will be far more likely to buy whatever it is that you’re selling, or to make whatever decision it is that you want them to make. Keith went deeper into this topic by outlining the \u2018VAK systems\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Thinking Systems – Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are three core systems in which we think, known as the VAK systems – visual, auditory and kinesthetic. While we fluctuate between the three systems, everyone has a preferred or predominant mode of thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you listen carefully to people, you can pick up on what their predominant mode of thinking is. They tend to use language that correlates to their predominant mode, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visual thinkers use phrases relating to sight, like:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n