“When in doubt smile it out!” ~ Ellie Parvin

Every year I embark on adventures abroad, most often in Europe somewhere to rendezvous with or visit my husbands family. During our last trip over the holidays, I had a light bulb  (or a hey/duh) moment in my communication obsessed brain: One of the most universal ways to communicate and express yourself is with a SMILE!

It doesn’t matter if you and people you encounter don’t speak the same language, you can still find a way to connect and express yourself with non-verbal communication.

Did you know that approximately 85-90% of our daily communication is non-verbal?!

I am sure many of you moms out there know how powerful non-verbal communication is?  In fact, it is the first level of language that ALL children develop– before spoken words.

I have seen studies that offer varying statistics over the years showing estimates from 55-65% (Read this article for example). However, the point is that body movements (body, face, arms, hands, gestures and such) play a greater role in expressing and conveying your messages and meanings than other forms of communication.

Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman, a leadership communication consultant, body language coach, and author of The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help – or Hurt – How You Lead provides some great insight and detail into everyday organizational body language in “What You Say When You Talk with Your Hands.”

We should recognize that we live in a growing multi-cultural society where technology (or otherwise) brings us in contact with other people of different cultural/backgrounds than our own.  Also, we should develop our intercultural communication skills and become aware that although we may share a smile in any language, that we may not share all forms of non-verbal communication. For example:

Remember, when in doubt just smile it out!

But, if you are interested in some ways to improve your non-verbal communication skills take a look at the following article:  Are You Keeping People Away with Your Body Language? (10 Tips to Improve Your Body Language) and a great chart to reference from time to time: