We no longer kiss. We don't hug. We don't touch each other. We do "cobras" and dodge hands. We put elbows forward and keep safe distances.
We are getting used to this new reality. Because the human being adapts and a society like the Spanish one, which has liked physical contact more than eating, is now capable of spraying itself with hydroalcoholic gel and sending flying kisses.
Greetings, gestures and physical expressions are part of body language and this, in turn, of so-called non-verbal communication. We can find some consensus among experts in ensuring that the message is as important as the way in which it is transmitted. After all, they could be telling you something as obvious as that the Earth is round, but doing it hesitantly and with throat clearing, it would not sound entirely reliable.
Without going into more complex debates such as McLuhan's, who asserted that "the medium is the message" or getting entangled in digressions about the differences between media, channels and communication tools; going to the practical, to our day to day, it seems obvious that our way of expressing ourselves says a lot about ourselves. And that, ultimately, this new regime of "no contact" can modify our way of communicating and relating.
Let's take into account another factor. The use of technology to see and hear each other, without touching each other, without smelling each other. Doesn't it make it more difficult to convey an idea, a feeling? Of course it does. It has nothing to do with communicating a dismissal in person than doing it through "Zoom". Will we reach such a cold and dehumanized world?
And we have not mentioned so far the use of masks which, without a doubt, makes it more complex to recognize the facial expression of the interlocutor. Without being able to see the nose and mouth, the power of the gaze becomes even stronger. In many cases it can be the only generator of trust between two people who are having a conversation.
If we transfer this reflection to the field of political leaders and their way of relating in this new era, we can find all kinds of analysis about it. Experts comment on the elbow touches and the "Wuhan shake" between heads of state and government, thus entering a new world to study.
It seems clear that in this "new normality" public communication experts have a lot of work to do. Leaders of all kinds depend on their good work, who, beyond being well advised in the writing of their speeches, will have to make themselves believed. In a moment in which trust does not seem to reign.
Marta Armas
Director of Marmas Comunicación
