The 55-38-7 Rule - What Your Body Language Says About You!

Snap judgments happen fast—often before a single word leaves your mouth. In this episode, we unpack the 55-38-7 rule—body language, tone, and words—and explore how nonverbal communication shapes trust, credibility, and connection.

You’ll learn how subtle cues like crossed arms, poor posture, or lack of smiling can quietly work against you—and how to rebuild confidence through open posture, steady breathing, and natural eye contact.

I also share a quick self-audit method: record short mock conversations, review your posture and tone, and ask for feedback. The takeaway is simple—people may forget your words, but they’ll remember how your presence made them feel.

🎧 Subscribe, share with a friend preparing for an interview, and leave a review to help others sharpen their presence through Unarmored Talk Pro Tips.

Chapters

• 0:07 The Power of Nonverbal Signals
• 0:22 Welcome and Where to Listen
• 0:54 The 55-38-7 Communication Rule
• 1:21 Body Language Pitfalls to Avoid
• 2:27 How to Improve Your Presence
• 3:36 Parting Message and Blessing

Transcript

Speaker: 0:07

Have you ever walked into a room and instantly knew who was confident, who was nervous, or who just didn't want to be there without anyone saying a word? Yeah, that's the power of nonverbal communication. Welcome back to the Unarmored Talk Pro Tips. I'm your host, Mario P. Fields. If this is your first time tuning in, make sure to check out the previous pro tips, which uh each one is designed to provide some insights to help you grow personally and professionally. You can uh listen on audio on any podcast audio app or get on a YouTube channel and subscribe to my YouTube channel, it's our major Mario P. Fields, and then uh follow that playlist, the Unarmored Talk playlist. So let's get to the stats. Studies show that 55% of communication is body language, 38% is tone, and only 7% is the actual words you choose. So people will form a belief about you, or your impression on them will be made in under seven seconds from research, and it's often before you even speak. So if you're interviewing, networking, leading other people, your body language might actually be working against you and not for you. So here are a couple of cues for you to watch for yourself. Number one, crossed arms and hands in the pockets. And I've been guilty of this one, but it can come off as defensive, or you're just disinterested in the conversation. Number two, poor posture. Um, it could signal low confidence. Maybe the tone of your voice is just not as strong as the first question. Uh you're looking down, you're not making good eye contact, or your feet. You're standing up in a networking event, you're talking to someone, and your feet are pointing away from them. You may not even be aware of this, which goes right into eye contact. If you're avoiding eye contact, it can make it seem like uh you're uncertain about yourself. All right. So have a balance. When I say balance, what I mean by that is you know, look at someone if they ask you a question or you're in a networking event or you're leading or managing someone, you know, three to five seconds, but give them that good eye contact. It shows you have good active listening skills and you're certain about um yourself, and then lack of smiling. I mean, I I did 3,000 years in the Marines and uh didn't smile for the first uh 2.9,000, but smiling, um lack of smiling can make you seem unapproachable in a networking event or interview, even if you're confident. So it's okay to smile once in a while, all right? But if you never smile, it could actually work uh against you. So here's how to improve. Record yourself. I do this for a living, and I don't even like you know, watching my own videos and analyzing myself, but it's necessary. Have people help you do mock interviews or conversations, and that way you can do a playback, if you will, and watch your posture, your expressions, your words, your tone, and become more aware of yourself, and then that way you can make changes if you need them. And then remember, people may forget what you say, but they will never forget how your presence made them feel. I'm RLP Fields again, and that is your quick unarmored, unarmored talk pro tip for this episode. Until next time, I will intentionally pray for you, the listeners and viewers, your family members, your friends, and you never, I can never leave out the living beings like your fur babies, and you know the deal. Till next time. See you later.