According to research, the verbal content of human communication is only 7% of what people pay attention to when we talk. The rest consists of 38% non-verbal cues (meaning the tone of voice, inflection, modulation, speed, volume, etc.), and 55% body language. And body language consists of posture, hand gestures, shaking of a leg or tapping on a desk, etc. Can you think of someone who consistently folds his or her hands tightly across the chest? What does that communicate to you? Most likely it does not communicate openness and receptivity.
What this means is that all three components of communication can be communicating something different. And when there is a lack of congruency between these three elements, verbal content, non-verbal cues and body language, the components with the highest percentage of attention paid deliver the message.
If someone tells you that they like your idea, but their tone of voice says otherwise, which response do you believe, their verbal content or the tone of voice that sends the message that they have reservations about your idea?
Hence, one of the fundamentals of effective communication is that all three components—verbal content, non-verbal cues, and body language—should in alignment.