Vocabulary is not enough

Today I would like to comment on nonverbal communication. Lately we have touched on the power of intonation. As you know, there are lots of factors that influence the perceived meaning of a statement. Generally speaking, body language accounts for 55 % of what you “say”. Intonation is responsible for 38% of the message and, of course, the remaining 7% depends on your choice of words. That’s a pretty rough average. The bottom line is: your vocabulary is not necessarily as important as we believe. That said, there are situations in which your words are far more powerful. Just think about a phone conversation: little body language there, right? And how about emails? Can emojis match the power of intonation? In those cases vocabulary is key. In terms of communication, things get even trickier when you consider the connotations of certain words or the radically different meanings of some words in different dialects of a language. But I'm not going to deal with those issues because they belong to the advanced levels.

At any rate we need a repertoire. Look at these options: I (don’t think I can) agree with you on that. I’m a little bit skeptical of it. I’m not really convinced. That’s a fair point. I see your point but... They go well beyond the rather elementary I agree and I disagree, don't they? 

Does it mean that I can communicate effectively if I know a whole page of expressions? Not really. Your attitude affects people’s reactions to your words. Dramatically. Just consider these different replies to an indiscreet question: 

Formal	Friendly	Potentially offensive
I’d rather not discuss that	I’m not going to tell you that	That’s none of your business
I’m not sure I follow you	What do you mean?	What’s your point?

How do people respond to those sentences? There's not just one answer. Depending on your intonation the question what do you mean? may sound concerned, distant, funny or friendly. What's your point? can express surprise, impatience or aggressiveness... It all boils down to intonation.

In short, building your vocabulary is essential when you’re learning a language but you should bear in mind that there are many, many other factors that can alter the intended meaning of what you say. And remember that sometimes even the extralinguistic circumstances can make comprehension difficult. An example of that is this clip I recorded a couple of days ago: