VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Introduction

The definition of communication

The basic steps of communication are:

Communication (from Latin commnicre, meaning "to share") is

the act of conveying intended meanings from one entity or group to
another through the use of mutually understood signs and semiotic rules.

1. the forming of communicative intent.

2. message composition
3. message encoding and decoding.
4. transmission of the encoded message as a sequence of signals using a specific channel
or medium
5. reception of signals
6. reconstruction of the original message
7. interpretation and making sense of the reconstructed message.

Verbal communication

Spoken or Verbal Communication: face-to-face, telephone, radio or television and

other media.

Effective verbal or spoken communication is dependent on a number of factors and

cannot be fully isolated from other important interpersonal skills such as non-verbal
communication, listening skills and clarification. Human language can be defined as a system
of symbols (sometimes known as lexemes) and the grammars (rules) by which the symbols
are manipulated. The word "language" also refers to common properties of languages.
Language learning normally occurs most intensively during human childhood. Most of the
thousands of human languages use patterns of sound or gesture for symbols which enable
communication with others around them. Languages tend to share certain properties,
although there are exceptions.

Non-Verbal Communication
Non-Verbal Communication: body language, gestures, how we dress or act - even
our scent.
Nonverbal communication describes the process of conveying meaning in the form of
non-word messages. Examples of nonverbal communication include haptic communication,
chronemic communication, gestures, body language, facial expression, eye contact, and how
one dresses. Nonverbal communication also relates to intent of a message. Examples of intent
are voluntary, intentional movements like shaking a hand or winking, as well as involuntary,
such as sweating. Speech also contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, e.g.
rhythm, intonation, tempo, and stress. There may even be a pheromone component. Research
has shown that up to 55% of human communication may occur through non-verbal facial
expressions, and a further 38% through para-language. It affects communication most at the
subconscious level and establishes trust. Likewise, written texts include nonverbal elements
such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words and the use of emoticons to convey
emotion. Nonverbal communication demonstrates one of Wazlawick's laws: you cannot not
communicate. Once proximity has formed awareness, living creatures begin interpreting any
signals received. Some of the functions of nonverbal communication in humans are to
complement and illustrate, to reinforce and emphasize, to replace and substitute, to control
and regulate, and to contradict the denotative message.