Imagine your boss says, “Can you step into my office? I need to talk with you.” Immediately, your senses go into overdrive, trying to mine her tone of voice and unconscious behaviors for clues to her intention. Is she angry? Excited? Worried?
What if she’s sending mixed messages? Her voice is warm, but you notice a slight frown and crossed arms. What can you count on?
In a world hyper-focused on transparency and authenticity, trust is the currency that drives relationships, partnerships, and successful collaborations. Yet, building trust goes beyond our words. Nonverbal cues—those unconscious behaviors that betray our thoughts and emotions—deeply influence our connection to others.
When we don’t trust someone but can’t quite put a finger on why, it’s because our brains have made an instant calculation based on hundreds of tiny inputs. Without realizing it, we’re constantly evaluating other’s vocal qualities, body language, spatial relationship to us, eye contact, posture, breathing rate, and even body temperature. All this data from unconscious behaviors primes us to answer one simple question: Can I trust you?
