By Event Flow London

A tenth of a second. According to research from Princeton University, that’s roughly how long it takes a stranger to decide whether you look trustworthy. Longer exposure doesn’t change their mind much; it mostly makes them more confident in the judgement they’d already reached. Now think about how a face-to-face conversation actually begins. Someone is walking through a shopping centre with a coffee in one hand and their phone in the other. They have somewhere to be. In the moment before you’ve said a word, they’ve already formed an opinion. Everything you say next either confirms it or has to work hard to overturn it. That’s why, at Event Flow London, we don’t treat communication as a “soft” skill. It’s the whole job.

The myth worth unlearning

You’ve probably heard that only 7% of communication is words, with the rest down to tone and body language. It’s one of the most repeated “facts” in business training, and it’s wrong. The figure comes from 1960s studies by psychologist Albert Mehrabian, which looked specifically at how people interpret single words spoken with mismatched tone, such as “great” said sarcastically. Mehrabian himself has pointed out that it doesn’t apply to conversation in general.

The useful lesson is narrower and more practical: when your words and your manner don’t match, people believe your manner. Say “happy to help” with folded arms and a glance at the clock, and nobody is convinced.

Conversation moves faster than we think

Studies of spoken conversation across ten languages found that the typical gap between one person finishing and the other replying is around 200 milliseconds. That’s quicker than it takes to plan a sentence, which means we’re preparing our answer while the other person is still talking.

It explains why so many conversations go wrong. We’re busy rehearsing instead of listening. The most persuasive people we work with tend to do the opposite: they slow down, let the other person finish, and respond to what was actually said rather than what they expected to hear.

What good communication looks like on the ground

None of this needs to be complicated. The habits that make the biggest difference are simple:

• Open with them, not with you. A relevant question earns more attention than a polished pitch.
• Listen for the real concern. “I’m not sure” usually means something specific: price, timing, trust. Find out which.
• Use their name, naturally. Brain imaging studies show our own name triggers a distinct response. Overdo it and it sounds scripted; use it once or twice and it signals you’re paying attention.
• Keep it clear. If you can’t explain an offer in two sentences, the customer won’t be able to either.
• Know when to stop. Respecting a “no” protects the brand’s reputation, and often leaves the door open for a later “yes”.

Why it matters beyond the job

The brands we represent, from energy and telecoms to pet food, trust us with their first impression. That’s a responsibility we take seriously, and it’s why communication sits at the centre of how we train and develop our people.

But it’s also a skill that travels. The ability to read a room, listen properly and explain something clearly is what separates good managers from great ones, and it’s useful in every interview, negotiation and difficult conversation you’ll ever have. A tenth of a second to make an impression. A career to get good at it. We think that’s worth investing in.

Interested in building your communication skills in a real-world setting? Explore our current opportunities at Event Flow London.