Verbal communication is defined as communication that is either written or spoken and constitutes about what percentage of the message?

Verbal communication is defined as communication that is either written or spoken and constitutes about what percentage of the message?

• A. About 7 percent
• B. About 38 percent
• C. About 55 percent
• D. About 90 percent

Answer: (A)

In communication, what you actually say with words carries only a small part of the overall meaning, especially when feelings or attitudes are involved. Research on interpersonal messages found that the words themselves account for about 7 percent of the perceived meaning, while nonverbal cues carry the rest: tone of voice about 38 percent and body language about 55 percent. So the verbal component—the written or spoken words—contributes roughly 7 percent to the overall message in this context. This highlights how tone and expressions often do most of the communicating, and why misinterpretations can arise when words don’t match nonverbal cues. Note that this rule isn’t universal for all situations, especially for straightforward factual information, but for conveying attitude or emotion, about 7 percent is the typical takeaway.

In communication, what you actually say with words carries only a small part of the overall meaning, especially when feelings or attitudes are involved. Research on interpersonal messages found that the words themselves account for about 7 percent of the perceived meaning, while nonverbal cues carry the rest: tone of voice about 38 percent and body language about 55 percent. So the verbal component—the written or spoken words—contributes roughly 7 percent to the overall message in this context. This highlights how tone and expressions often do most of the communicating, and why misinterpretations can arise when words don’t match nonverbal cues. Note that this rule isn’t universal for all situations, especially for straightforward factual information, but for conveying attitude or emotion, about 7 percent is the typical takeaway.