1. L. D. College Of Engineering,
Ahmedabad
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
“The World Beyond Words”
2. What is Nonverbal
Communication?
“Messages expressed by nonlinguistic
means.”
Includes silent behaviors, environment,
artifacts, and vocal intonation
Is a powerful mode of communication
3.
4. All Behavior has
Communicative Value
Because we “cannot not communicate”
May be intentional, but is often unconscious
Although 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.
5. Nonverbal Communication is
Primarily Relational
Responsiveness
Communicates our interest in others’ communication
Women are generally more responsive than men
People in lower-power positions tend to be better at reading
nonverbals
Liking – Positive or negative feelings about others
Power
Touch
Violence and Abuse
Space
Silence
6. (A little more about the relational
nature of nonverbals)
Nonverbals are especially important:
For identity management
In 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
7. Nonverbal
Communication
is 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
8. 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 women
Touch (Knapp, 1972)
Americans – 2 touches per hour
British – 0 touches per hour
Parisians – 110 touches per hour
Puerto Ricans – 180 touches per hour
Eye-Contact
In North-America: frankness, assertiveness, honesty
In many Asian and northern-European countries: abrasive &
disrespectful
In Brazil: more intense eye-contact is the norm
10. The Interplay Between Verbal
and Nonverbal Communication
Repeating
Your nonverbals simply repeat what you’ve said
Substituting
Your nonverbals replace language
Emblems (e.g., nodding)
Complementing & Accenting
Your nonverbals add depth and meaning to your
language
Illustrators/Affect displays
Regulating
Your nonverbals help regulate the conversation
Contradicting
You say one thing, but your nonverbals say another
11. Deception
Nonverbals 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.
13. Face and Eyes
Over 1000 distinct facial expressions
Eyes can be especially expressive
“Windows to the soul”
Men and women have been found to be equally
expressive
Men show the most emotion in the lower left
quadrant of their face
Women show emotion over their whole face
15. Voice/Paralanguage
Consists 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 us
Stereotyping (e.g., accents, vocabulary, grammar
Influenced by culture, gender, class
(intentionally or unintentionally)
An illustration…
18. Time/Chronemics
Our use of time reflects:
Power/status
Cultural norms
Expectations
Interpersonal priorities
19. Physical Appearance
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”
We tend to notice obvious things first (gender,
race), then note attractiveness
Physically attractive people generally are
perceived better
Importance placed on physical appearance can
be very damaging
It’s what we do with it that’s most important
20. Artifacts
Include 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
21. Environment
Communicates something about you
We surround ourselves with things that are
important/meaningful to us
Use artifacts to define our territory
Can influence interactions
How people use an environment communicates
something about them
Hinweis der Redaktion
Counseling sessions in Spanish
Let’s do an experiment in nonverbal cmmu to start us off… Emotions charades. Chocolate!
Guess emotions portrayed.
Can’t turn off our communication
Don’t tend to think about what we’re transmitting
Don’t tend to consciously attend to people’s nonverbals
We really pay attention when they don’t match verbals (e.g., “What’s wrong?”, “Nothing” but they have clenched fists, are avoiding eye contact, and have tight jaw).
Dimensions of relational level of nonverbal cmmu
Responsiveness
People w/ lower power in our society tend to be more attuned to nonverbals (e.g., women, minorities, even prisoners – might notice this w/ teacher/student or boss/employee interactions)
Smiling and nodding, having attentive behaviors, sitting up straight and making eye contact during an interview (I am attentive, friendly, confident, etc.)
Do you hug your friends or pat them on the back? Are there some you hug or don’t hug (pat on the back or don’t pat on the back)?
Demonstration? A tell B about your weekend
Another reason nonverbals are ambiguous is that different cultures have different rules about nonverbals
Tuesday:
What nonverbal cmmu is – messages expressed by nonlinguistic means
And some characteristics of nonverbal cmmu
Today:
Functions of nonverbal cmmu, different types, and some suggestions for improving our nonverbal cmmu
E.g., I’m looking for a box that’s about 2’ x 2’ x 2’
“How did you do on your test?” A little smirk, or a sigh
Usually unconscious – smiling, frowning, raising your eyebrows, etc.
Vocal intonation, eye-contact – look when we’re listening, but not much when we’re talking
Contradicting = mixed messages; “I’m not worried” while being wide-eyed and wringing your hands; “Of course I love you” while checking out other people; “What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” Or can do it to be polite, nonverbally say you’re not interested.
Deceive others to attain our own goals, to be polite, other various reasons
Eyes can really communicate interest
One study w/ infants found that infants became terrified if they couldn’t see their moms’ eyes, but weren’t bothered if other parts of her face were covered up
UF study from about a year ago (also language functions in left hemisphere vs. all over)
Our faces tell * a lot* Gottman research:
Found a specific facial expression for contempt (lip corners to the side, eyes rolled upward glance)
A certain # of these expressions by husbands on a videotape predicted their wives’ infectious illnesses over the next 4 years
What are you doing right now? What does your posture suggest? Are you fidgeting?
Hunched over or upright, arms crossed or open
Raising your hand in class, waving, shrugging, etc.
Twirling your hair, rubbing your shoulder
An aside…
Research on assault
Many criminals are good at reading nonverbals
Chose victims whose body movement suggested passivity
Suggestion: walk confidently, hold your head upright, meet others’ eyes w/o staring, don’t appear unsure or lost, especially if you are.
A lot of good can come out of silence (e.g., with counseling)
“The silent treatment” as if you’re not there – can be very hurtful
Personal space bubble
Intimate (body to 18”) In our personal space, only those who are really close to us – trust
Personal (18”-4’) implies intimacy
Social (4’-12’) acquaintances, business
Public (12’ and beyond) public speaking
Barrier behaviors = backing up, putting something between us, breaking eye contact
Territory = geographical space belonging to us (your room, your bed, your apartment, etc.)
We give more personal space and more territory to people with higher status/more power
Women’s clothes tend to send the message of being decorative, while men’s clothes tend to be more functional
My office
How chairs are placed, how cold/warm it is, how dark/light it is
Do you sit down right next to people, avoid others, 2 at a table for 4 (sit next to or across from each other?)