Nonverbal Communication

Goes Beyond Body Language

presented by

Bill Acheson, University of Pittsburgh

Thursday, May 21, 2009

3:00 p.m. Registration

4:00 p.m. Prograrm

5:30 Adjourn

Hors' doeuvres will be provided - Cash bar

Self Parking in Memorial Plaza Garage (Entrance on St. Claire Åve. just east of East 6th St. - $4.00

Bill Acheson is an expert in nonverbal communication. Since 1985, Bill has taught communication at the University of Pittsburgh. As a keynote speaker, he uses his knowledge of nonverbal communication - body language - to teach professionals how to project themselves with greater impact. In the process they also learn to interpret the subconscious messages sent by others.

Presenting academic research with humor and an engaging personality, Bill Acheson presents a model so compelling that people use the information before they leave the room.

Bill has worked with professionals from such companies as 3M, American Express, AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, Ernst & Young, Fidelity Investments, Finance America, Merrill Lynch, MorganStanley, Nationwide, SmithBarney, and Van Kampen Investments.  He has spoken on nonverbal communication to educators throughout North America and has made presentations in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Bill Acheson’s presentations are certain to have an impact on the effectiveness of both your sales force and your executives.

“Nonverbal communication actually goes beyond body language,” Bill Acheson explains. “It includes your management of time and space. For example, what does it say about me if I have a 9:00 a.m. meeting and show up at 9:45 a.m., or not at all? If I am more than half an hour early for a job interview, what am I telling you about my confidence and personal power?”

“In research we have found that smell is an important nonverbal indicator. Most women perceive a man who uses too much cologne or aftershave as untrustworthy. Almost everyone has experienced a meeting in a conference room where the smell of food from a previous lunch meeting still dominates the environment.”

“A study of the auto repair industry in Canada found that the top eight customer complaints pertained to nonverbal communication. Chemical odors, muddy footprints, greasy fingerprints, and other nonverbal elements proved critical in customer satisfaction.”

“There is a widely misquoted statistic. Albert Mehrabian did some work indicating that communication was 7% verbal, 38% vocal, and 55% nonverbal. It is important to realize that Mehrabian was not studying business communication, he was examining emotional communication between couples. Another study by Ray Birdwhistell at the University of Pennsylvania provides a more accurate business communication model. He determined that communication is 1/3 what you say, 1/3 how you say it, and 1/3 how you appear while saying it.”