Albert Mehrabian influential work on verbal, paralinguistic and non verbal communication has come in for a bashing this week. Mehrabian’s research has been much quoted – by me too. It indicates that the actual words spoken convey less of the meaning than tone and body language – this has now been challenged.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/05/busting-myth-93-of-communication-is.php

Commentator’s have responded in interested ways, criticism of research is hardly new but I wonder if knocking the knowledge that emerged is helpful.

If I ask my colleague if they enjoyed training they attended yesterday and they respond by saying yes whilst shaking their head the “digital” words will be undermined by everything else that’s going on. For me that’s a useful insight, one to remember. Surely we just want advice/information that is helpful?

A further peice of research which appears to tell us that everything we thought was good is actually useless has emerged from Sweden this week. This research has cast doubt on natural childbirth methods

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8068889.stm

A straw poll of women friends indicates strong support for such methods – women feel supported, empowered and more confident in their ability to manage the situations themselves. It’s old hat to suggest that (mainly male) medics don’t want this in labouring women but you do have to wonder.

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