Nonverbal communication: messages beyond words

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Nonverbal communicationmessages beyond words

• Chapter topics

• Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
• Influences on Nonverbal Communication
• Types of Nonverbal Communication

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication
• Messages expressed by nonlinguistic terms
• This rules out the written word and sign language
• Includes all vocal means that do not involve
  language
• Sighs, laughs, etc.
• Nonlinguistic dimensions
• Volume, rate, pitch

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Skills are Vital
• Nonverbal encoding and decoding skills are strong
  predictor of
• Popularity
• Attractiveness
• Socioeconomic status
• Nonverbal skills are vital to emotional
  intelligence
• All behavior has communicative value

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication is Relational
• Identity Management
• Defines the kinds of relationships we want to
  have with others
• When youre at a party how do you act?
• Which emotions are you displaying?
• Friendly, attractive, easygoing

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication is Relational
• Nonverbal communication is better suited towards
  conveying emotion
• How do you express the following nonverbally
• Youre tired
• Youre in favor of capital punishment
• Youre attracted to another person in the group
• You think prayer in schools should be allowed
• Youre angry at someone in the room

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication Serves Many Functions
• Repeating
• When someone asks for directions, you often
  repeat your answer with a gesture
• Complementing
• Expressions that match thoughts and emotions
• Substituting
• When someone asks, Whats up? You may just
  shrug your shoulders

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication Serves Many Functions
• Accenting
• Nonverbal devices in oral messages
• It was your idea!
• Regulating
• Influencing the flow of verbal communication
• Contradicting
• Sending mixed messages
• Angry? Im not angry!

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communicators Offer Deception Clues
• Leakage
• Nonverbal cues that send signals a person is
  deceiving you
• When someone is bluffing a hand of poker, a
  player may nervously tap their finger or fidget
  in their chair
• The voice also offers leakage clues

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communicators Offer Deceptions Clues
• Three findings
• We are accurate in detecting deception only
  slightly more than half the time
• We overestimate our ability to detect others
  lies
• We have a strong tendency to judge others
  messages as truthful

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Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous
• What does a kiss mean?
• In some situations it can be a way of saying
  hello
• In another situation is could be the first step
  to a more romantic relationship
• When your significant other pulls away
• Is this a sign of trouble
• Or a suggestion to pursue

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Characteristic of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous
• Service with a Smile
• Twelve Safeway Employees filed grievances over
  the smile-and-make-eye-contact policy
• The clerks claimed shoppers thought their smiles
  and eye-contact was flirting
• Nonverbal Leaning Disorder (NVLD)
• Reading facial expressions, tone of voice and
  other cues is dramatically more difficult

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Influences on Nonverbal Communication

• Gender
• Research shows that, compared to men, women
• Smile more
• Use more facial expression
• Use more head, hand and arm gestures
• Touch others more
• Stand closer to others
• Make more eye contact

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Influences on Nonverbal Communication

• Culture
• Nonverbal behaviors can have different meanings
  depending on the culture
• The OK gesture
• A cheery affirmation in American culture
• Means youre worth zero in France and Belgium
• Is a vulgar sexual invitation in Greece and
  Turkey
• Americans are comfortable conducting business at
  a distance of four feet
• Middle Easterners stand much closer

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Influences on Nonverbal Communication

• Culture
• The use of time depends greatly on culture
• Monochronic
• Emphasizing punctuality, schedules and completing
  one task at a time
• Polychronic
• Flexible schedule in which multiple tasks are
  pursued at the same time

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Body Movement
• Body Orientation
• The degree to which we face toward or away from
  someone with our body, feet and head
• Posture
• By paying attention to the postures around your
  own, youll find another channel of communication
• Gestures
• Movements of the hands and arms

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Body Movement
• Gestures
• Illustrators
• Movements that accompany speech but do not stand
  on their own
• Emblems
• Deliberate nonverbal communication that has
  precise meaning
• Adaptors
• Unconscious body movements in response to the
  environment

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Body Movement
• Face and Eyes
• At least eight distinguishable positions of the
  eyebrows and forehead
• Eight of the eyes and lids
• Ten for the lower face
• Multiplied together you can understand why it is
  nearly impossible to compile a dictionary of
  facial expressions

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Body Movement
• Face and Eyes
• Microexpressions
• Expressions that happen quickly and are difficult
  to detect
• Can be very effective in identifying emotion
• Eyes
• Communicate positive or negative attitude
• Pupils grow larger based on the interest in the
  object

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Voice
• Paralanguage
• Describes nonverbal, vocal messages
• Note how many meanings come from a single
  sentence, just by shifting the emphasis
• This is a fantastic communication book.
• This is a fantastic communication book.
• This is a fantastic communication book.
• Unintentional Pause
• Vocalized Pause

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Touch
• Haptics
• Touch can communicate many messages
• What makes a given touch more or less intense?
• Several Factors
• Which part of the body does the touching
• Which part of the body is touched
• How long does the touch last
• How much pressure is used
• The situation in which the touch occurred

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Appearance
• Physical Attractiveness
• Men and women whom others perceive as attractive
  are rated as
• Being more sensitive
• Kind
• Strong
• Sociable
• Interesting
• Physically attractive professors receive higher
  evaluations from their students

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Appearance
• Clothing
• One writer suggests that clothing can covey at
  least ten types of messages to others
• Economic background Level of success
• Economic level Moral character
• Educational level Social background
• Educational background Social position
• Level of sophistication Trustworthiness

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Physical Space
• Proxemics
• The study of the way people and animals use
  space.
• We each carry an invisible bubble of personal
  space wherever we go
• We feel uncomfortable with this bubble is
  violated
• Different cultures develop different bubbles
• It is important to choose distances based on the
  receiver of your message

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Proxemics
• Halls Four Spatial Zones
• Intimate distance
• Ranges out about eighteen inches
• Personal distance
• Ranges from eighteen inches to four feet
• Social distance
• Four feet to twelve feet
• Public distance
• Distances beyond twelve feet

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Time
• Chronemics
• The study of how humans structure time
• In a culture that values time highly, waiting can
  be an indicator of status
• Time can be a marker of relationships
• The amount of time spent with a relational
  partner sends important messages about value
• Time is also valued in mediated communication
• Email

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Chapter Review

• Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
• Influences on Nonverbal Communication
• Types of Nonverbal Communication