NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Nonverbal Communication
Brooke Erickson
Communication 1080
Salt Lake Community College

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
It's well known that good communication is the foundation of any successful relationship,
be it personal or professional. It's important to recognize, though, that it's our nonverbal
communicationour facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and tone of voicethat
speak the loudest. The ability to understand and use nonverbal communication, or body
language, is a powerful tool that can help you connect with others, express what you really mean,
and build better relationships. Before people developed language as a communication tool, they
used body language to make their wants and needs known to other people. That being said, when
we communicate, non-verbal cues can be as important, or in some cases even more important,
than what we say.
When we think about communication, we often focus on how we exchange information
through words. Nonverbal communication is a process of generating meaning using behavior
other than words (Patel, 2014). We use non-verbal cues such as gestures, expressions and vocal
inflection to reinforce, contradict, substitute, complement or emphasize our verbal
communication (Gamble & Gamble, 2013). Rather than thinking of nonverbal communication as
the opposite of or as separate from verbal communication, its more accurate to view them as
operating side by side.
Nonverbal communication contains both vocal and non-vocal elements. A vocal element
of nonverbal communication is paralanguage, which is the vocalized but not verbal part of a
spoken message, such as speaking rate, volume, and pitch (Mishra, 2009). Non-vocal elements of
nonverbal communication include body language such as gestures, facial expressions, and eye
contact.
Non-vocal Elements of Nonverbal Communication:
Non-vocal elements of nonverbal communications include gestures displayed through
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body language (kinesics), different types of touch (haptics), the physical distance between the
communicators (proxemics), and how you appear to others (Gamble & Gamble, 2013).
Kinesics:
The word kinesicsRefers to the study of hand, arm, body, and face movements. comes
from the root word kinesis, which means movement, and refers to the study of hand, arm,
body, and face movements. There are three main types of gestures: adaptors, emblems, and
illustrators (Gamble & Gamble, 2013). Adapters are touching behaviors and movements that
indicate internal states typically related to arousal or anxiety, examples of this may be
subconsciously clicking you pen, fidgeting, or nervously playing with your hands. Emblems are
gestures that have a cultural agreed-on meaning, such as a thumbs up to express that something
is positive or good (Patel, 2014). Emblems can also be in motion, by circling your index finger
around the side of your head you are saying He or she is crazy. Illustrators are body cues that
support or reinforce what you are saying, pointing your finger while telling someone where to go
(Patel, 2014).
Within kinesics are also head movements, posture, eye contact, and facial expressions.
Head movements communicate interest and attentiveness. A head up typically indicates that you
are engaged, while a head down signals a negative or unfriendly attitude. Also, a headshake back
and forth is a universal sign signifying no. Your posture can drastically change how someone
perceives you. Some examples of this are: crossing your arms may come off as defensive or
guarded, putting your hands on your hips subconsciously shows assertiveness, or how leaning
forward shows that you are paying close attention.
The eyes are the window to the soul. No really, they are. The face and eyes are the
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main point of focus during communication and tend to display the most emotion. Eye contact
sends and receives important signs that help us interpret others behaviors, convey information
about our thoughts and feelings, and enables connection between one another (Stalter, 2009).
You can use eye contact to determine whether someone is engaged, confused, or just outright
bored. Our eyes also send information to others. Eye contact signals to others whether you are
available for communication or not. People avoid eye contact when they want to avoid
conversation, whereas people make strong eye contact when trying to engage with another.
Making a lot of eye contact with someone says that you are actively listening and involved in
what the other person is saying (Stalter, 2009). Eye contact can also be used to intimidate or flirt
with others. Eye contacts play a major role in nonverbal communication.
Last but not least, facial expressions. Our faces are the most expressive part of our
bodies. Our faces are the prime communicator of emotion (Patel, 2014). Much research has
supported a universal core group of facial expressions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise,
and disgust (Calero, 2005). Although, deciphering what people are thinking or feeling from their
facial expressions is usually easier said than done. Generally, the better you know someone the
better you will become at understanding what their facial expressions mean.
Haptics:
We see haptics, or touch, constantly during communication. Touch is necessary for
human social development, and it can be welcoming, threatening, or persuasive. Whether its a
friendly pat on the back or a sturdy hand on your arm to show anger, touch is used to reinforce
our feelings. Touch also signals the desire for closeness (Gamble & Gamble, 2013). Generally
speaking, how often you touch someone correlates with how much you like them or are close to
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them. Of course, touch can also mark greetings or goodbyes, a handshake or hug.
Proxemics:
Proxemics is the study of how we use our personal space around us as we interact with
others (SkillsYouNeed, 2015). How close or far we stand from someone is a huge indicator of
how we feel about that person. Commonly, the closer we stand to someone indicates the greater
we like that person.
Appearance:
The way we present ourselves says a lot nonverbally. Whether we like it or not, research
has shown that people do judge a book by its cover. How you appear and express yourself is
unsurprisingly going to affect the way others see and think about you. We do not have much
control over our physical characteristics, but we do have control over how we carry ourselves
and how we dress and express ourselves.
Vocal Elements of Nonverbal Communication:
Paralanguage is the message that you send with your voice. Often it is not what you say
but how you say it that determines an interactions outcome (Gamble & Gamble, 2013). Say
someone greets you with a good morning but by the tone of their voice you clearly understood
that it was anything but a good morning. Our emotions and feelings can be conveyed through the
pronunciation of our voice. Among the elements of paralanguage are pitch, volume, rate,
articulation, pronunciation, hesitations, and silence (Gamble & Gamble, 2013).
Pitch is the highness and lowness of your voice. A lively animated pitch encourages
interaction, whereas a monotone discourages it (Gamble & Gamble, 2013). Volume is the power
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of your voice. You will receive very different feedback from people depending on whether you
are quietly whispering or yelling loudly. Rate is how fast or slow we speak. When excited or
emotional we tend to speed up the rate of our voice, whereas when we are calm and serious we
often slow down. Articulation and pronunciation are how you correctly say the words (Mishra,
2009). Hesitation and silence can drastically change the message of the conversation. Knowing
when to pause is a critical skill.
Understanding nonverbal communication can bring a whole new meaning to social
interactions. It has been said that nonverbal communication is even more crucial and important
than verbal communication. By being aware of peoples nonverbal cues and signals you can
better respond in the appropriate manner, therefore increasing interpersonal connections and
avoiding potential conflict (MindTools.com, 2015).
Nonverbal communication plays such a major role in my daily life and I have learned not
only how to better understand others feelings and desires, but also how to better communicate to
others my feelings and wants. I plan to use this knowledge to represent myself better and convey
to others what I want them to think or see. I also am excited to see how I can better resolve
conflict in my life by improving my nonverbal communication.

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
References:
Alessandra, A. J., & Hunsaker, P. L. (2006). Nonverbal Communication : EReport. [S.l.]:
Electronic & Database Pub.
Calero, H. H. (2005). The Power of Nonverbal Communication : How You Act Is More
Important Than What You Say. Los Angeles, CA: Silver Lake.
Gamble, T., & Gamble, M. (2013). Nonverbal Communication. In Interpersonal Communication
(pp. 150-185). SAGE Publications.
Knapp, M. L., & Hall, J. A. (2013). Nonverbal Communication. Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
MindTools.com. (2015). Body Language: Understanding Non-Verbal Communication. Retrieved
May 8, 2015, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/Body_Language.htm
Mishra, B. (2009). Role of Paralanguage in Effective English Communication. ICFAI Journal Of
Soft Skills, 3(2), 29-36.
Patel, D. S. (2014). Body Language: An Effective Communication Tool. IUP Journal Of English
Studies, 9(2), 90-95.
SkillsYouNeed. (2015). Non-Verbal Communication. Retrieved May 8, 2015, from
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/nonverbal-communication.html
Stalter, H., & Reed, J. (2009). CHAPTER 3: Tte--Tte: Decoding Messages from the Eyes,
Face, and Head. In , Employee Body Language Revealed: How to Predict Behavior in the
Workplace by Reading & Understanding Body Language (p. 47)