Waiming's interpretation of the article
Unconscious, automatic mimicry (listener emulating the speaker’s gestures and facial expressions) in salary negotiations and sales have shown to improve financial results by 20%-30%. Mimicry is a form of Honest Signals, which are unconscious human behaviors that show the rhythms of interaction in a group of people. According to Alex Pentland and Tracy Heibeck in SMR, Fall 2008 (pp. 70-75), these signals can be measured with a “sociometer” device. The measurements can predict accurately the results of job interviews or salary negotiation or sales success. Honest signals include influence, mimicry, activity, consistency and these have associated brain structures and biology. The authors postulate that with more sophisticated statistical models and sensor capabilities, we would see the creation of a quantitative, predictive science of human organization, leading to the possibility of social engineering. Farfetched? Controversial? Maybe that’s why I do not see the article mentioned in the SMR web site. In any case, more info are here:
- MIT group (http://hd.media.mit.edu)
- book Honest Signals, MIT Press, 2008 by Alex Pentland
- wikipedia on Honest Signals
Copyright (c) 2008 by Waiming Mok
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