Basic Considerations
w Communication
experts have established that less than a third of the meaning transferred from
one person to another in a personal conversation comes from the spoken words.
w Nonverbal
communication is widely regarded as the transfer of meaning without using
verbal symbols. They are
w body
movement
w Gestures
w Posture
w Pitch
w Pacing
w Vocal tone
w Clothing
w Facial expression
w Eye contact
w Separating
the effects of nonverbal and verbal behavior are never easy as they are always
in some way about each other
w With
the exception of emotional displays & certain facial expressions, virtually
all nonverbal communication is culturally based.
Nonverbal Categories
w Sign
language: can be as simple as the extended thumb of a hitchhiker, or as
complex as the complete system of sign language for the deaf
w Action
language: includes all movements that are not used exclusively for
communicating (i.e., walking
w Object
language: includes all objects, materials, artifacts, and things that we
use in our daily lives
The Nonverbal Process
w We
first look for a wordless cue - a motion or an object
w We
then look to match the cue against our expectation, asking what seems
reasonable or obvious, based on our prior experiences
w Finally,
we draw an inference based on the nonverbal cue and our expectations.
Functions of Nonverbal Communication
w Accenting
verbal message
w Complimenting
the general tone or attitude of our verbal communication
w Contradicting
the verbal messages we send
w Regulating
the flow, the pace, & the back-&-forth nature of verbal communication
w Repeating
what verbal messages
w Substitute
for verbal messages, particularly if they are simple or monosyllabic.
Principles of Nonverbal Communication
-
Occurs in a context
-
Are usually packaged
-
Always communicates
-
Are governed by rules
-
Are highly believable
-
Are meta-communicational
Dimensions of the Nonverbal Code
-
The Communication Environment is a
collection of nonhuman factors that can, & often does, influence human
transactions
o
People always change environment to accomplish
their communication goal.
-
Body movement: The manner in which we move
and position our bodies tells people something about us.
-
The categories of body movement are:
o
Emblems: nonverbal acts which have
a direct verbal translation.
o
Illustrators: gestures that often
complement our verbal signals, helping to illustrate what we said
o
Affect displays: behaviors that indicate
the type and intensity of the various emotions we feel
o
Regulators: body movements that help to
control the flow of communication.
o
Adaptors: movements or behaviors that
involve personal habits and self-expressions.
-
Eye contact: Direction, duration, & intensity
of eye contact play an important role in human interaction. Such contact:
o
Indicates interest, attention, or involvement
between 2 people.
o
Varies in meaning among different cultures.
-
Artifacts: objects human-made or modified
affect our interactions
-
Touch: The act of touch greatly
affects the way we perceive the communicator. .
o
Positive and negative influences of touch depend
greatly on the environment and context for the interaction
o
Touch ungoverned by rules is no longer welcomed
in workplace.
-
Color or shading are subtle and powerful
message senders.
-
A communicator’s physical characteristics and
overall appearance often affect how others react to the conversation.
Attractive people are frequently better received by an audience.
-
Paralanguage which refers to how
something is said and not what is said influences communication (eg vocalics)
-
Our use of space in the office or in a
social setting affects our interaction. Here are four categories of distance
which help to define the relationship between communicators:
o
Intimate:
ranges from actual touching to a distance of about 18 inches.
o
Personal:
ranges from about 18 to 30 inches. (1inch = 2.54cm)
o
Social:
ranges from about 4 to 12 feet. (1foot = 12 inches = 30.48cm)
o
Public:
ranges from about 12 to 15 feet. (1m = 100cm)
-
Time: Our use of time & how we
view its role in our personal and professional lives play a role in our
communication. The meaning of time & its importance varies from culture to
culture.
-
Smell is a powerful communicator reaching
far and wide throughout human emotion & experience.
-
Taste: Our ability to taste,
highly correlated to our sense of smell, influences our communication
-
Sound & its effects on communication
are important parts of nonverbal communication. The notion of sound relates to
acoustics as well as the melodic ranges of the human voice, sounds produced by
nature and mankind, & music.
-
Silence can be used both positively and
negatively to affect, to reveal, to judge, or to activate. Research in interpersonal communication has
revealed that silence may serve a number of important functions. It can be employed to:
o Provide thinking time
o Hurt others
o
Isolate
oneself
o
Prevent
communication
o
Communicate feelings
o
Communicate nothing.
