L. D. College Of Engineering, Ahmedabad

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION “The World Beyond Words”

What is Nonverbal Communication?

“Messages expressed by nonlinguistic means.”Includes silent behaviors,

environment, artifacts, and vocal intonation

Is a powerful mode of communication

All Behavior hasCommunicative Value

Because we “cannot not communicate”May be intentional, but is often

unconsciousAlthough we’re always sending messages

through our nonverbals, these messages aren’t always received.

We especially pay attention to nonverbals when they contradict verbal communication.

Nonverbal Communication is Primarily RelationalResponsiveness

Communicates our interest in others’ communicationWomen are generally more responsive than menPeople in lower-power positions tend to be better at

reading nonverbalsLiking – Positive or negative feelings about

othersPower

Touch Violence and Abuse

SpaceSilence

(A little more about the relational nature of nonverbals)Nonverbals are especially important:

For identity managementIn defining our relationships (e.g., level of

intimacy)For expressing emotions we don’t want to

express, can’t express, or don’t know we’re feeling

NonverbalCommunicationis Ambiguous

The same nonverbal can have multiple meanings

For example:“I’m feeling content” smiles“I’m feeling a little stressed” smiles“I’m a bit sad” smiles“I can’t believe you just did that” smiles“How do I get out of this conversation?”

smiles

Nonverbal Communication Reflects Cultural Values

Some Examples…Space

Americans tend to value more personal space than many other cultures

Men tend to value more personal space than womenTouch (Knapp, 1972)

Americans – 2 touches per hourBritish – 0 touches per hourParisians – 110 touches per hourPuerto Ricans – 180 touches per hour

Eye-ContactIn North-America: frankness, assertiveness, honestyIn many Asian and northern-European countries: abrasive &

disrespectfulIn Brazil: more intense eye-contact is the norm

Nonverbal Communication – (Continued)

The Interplay Between Verbal and Nonverbal CommunicationRepeating

Your nonverbals simply repeat what you’ve saidSubstituting

Your nonverbals replace languageEmblems (e.g., nodding)

Complementing & AccentingYour nonverbals add depth and meaning to

your languageIllustrators/Affect displays

RegulatingYour nonverbals help regulate the conversation

ContradictingYou say one thing, but your nonverbals say

another

DeceptionNonverbals are under less conscious control,

so deception is more likely to be revealed through our nonverbals.

High self-monitors and people who have lots of practice in deception are most successful at it.

Women tend to be better at detecting deception.

“Deceivers” tend to make more speech errors, to hesitate, to have higher vocal pitch, to fidget, blink their eyes more, and shift their posture more.

Different Types of Nonverbal Communication

Face and Eyes

Over 1000 distinct facial expressionsEyes can be especially expressive

“Windows to the soul”Men and women have been found to be

equally expressiveMen show the most emotion in the lower

left quadrant of their faceWomen show emotion over their whole

face

Body Movement/KinesicsBody postureGesturesManipulators/Fidgeting

An aside…

Voice/ParalanguageConsists of vocal tone, speed, pitch,

volume, number and length of pauses, and disfluencies (“um”s, “ah”s), etc.

Paralanguage tends to be more powerful than language

Affects how other’s perceive usStereotyping (e.g., accents, vocabulary,

grammarInfluenced by culture, gender, class

(intentionally or unintentionally)An illustration…

SilenceCan communicate

contentment, awkwardness, anger, respect, thoughtfulness, empathy

Can also be disconfirming

Space/ProxemicsPersonal Space

Intimate distancePersonal distanceSocial distancePublic distance

Barrier behaviors and territory

You are

here

Time/ChronemicsOur use of time reflects:

Power/statusCultural normsExpectationsInterpersonal priorities

Physical Appearance“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”We tend to notice obvious things first

(gender, race), then note attractivenessPhysically attractive people generally

are perceived betterImportance placed on physical

appearance can be very damagingIt’s what we do with it that’s most

important

ArtifactsInclude clothing, jewelry, personal

belongings, accessories, etc.Communicate economic level, educational

level, trustworthiness, social position, level of sophistication, economic background, social background, educational background, level of success, moral character, masculinity/femininity

Important part of first impressions

EnvironmentCommunicates something about you

We surround ourselves with things that are important/meaningful to us

Use artifacts to define our territoryCan influence interactionsHow people use an environment

communicates something about them