Nonverbal clues incorporate all the correspondence between individuals that do not have a direct

verbal translation. Nonverbal clues is the communication between people through sending and
receiving wordless cues. It includes the use of visual cues such as body language(kinesics),distance
(proxemics) and physical environment/appearance, of voice(paralanguage) and of touch (haptics). It
also includes the use of time (chronemics) and eye contact and the actions of looking while talking and
listening, frequency of glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate (oculesics).

Only a small percentage of the brain processes verbal communication. As infants, nonverbal
communication is learned from social emotional communication, making the face rather than voice the
dominant communication channel. As children become verbal communicators, they begin to look at
facial expressions, vocal tones, and other non verbal elements more subconsciously. Culture plays an
important role in nonverbal communication, and it is one aspect that helps to influence how learning
activities are organized. This helps in communicating with the people of different languages and
cultures. They help in expressing views to others even of different communities. These distinctions can
frequently prompt miscommunication between individuals of various societies. Such examples are:

 Gestures: A speaker or listener gestures and hand movement can support and emphasize their
state of mind. It is so because though the gestures do not overtly convey something but the
impact created by them is telling enough. Therefore, it is advisable to use hand movements and
gestures appropriately so that the impact created by them is graceful and suits the occasion.
Emblems are gestures that have a specific agreed on meaning or meanings with cultures.
Emblems can be still or in motion. In the United States, a thumbs-up can mean “I need a ride” or
“Okay!”. Individuals in the United States use the “ok” sign to convey that something is
acceptable but in Japan, the same hand symbols means “money”.
 Head Movement and Postures: The term posture refers to the way we sit, stand and carry
ourselves during different activities we undertake everyday. Our posture communicate the way
we visualize the world around us. So as a professional ones has to cultivate and maintain
elegance in his/her way of sitting and standing and walking postures. In terms of head
movements, a head nod is a universal sign of acknowledgement in cultures where the formal
bow is no longer used as a greeting. In these cases, head nod is essentially serves as an
abbreviated bow. An innate and universal head movement is the headshake back and forth to
signal “No”. In America, standing with hands on the hips may suggest power or pride, but in
Argentina, it may suggest anger or challenge.
 Eye contact: The eyes are said to be windows to the soul and they convey a lot. They convey the
emotions and feelings one goes through and it is a fact that one can lie with words but the eyes
will give away the truth. We also communicate through eye behaviors, primarily eye contacts.
The face and eyes are the main point of focus during communication, and along with our ears
our eyes take in most of the communicative information around us. We’ve all been in that
awkward situation where a teacher asks a question, no one else offers a response, and he/she
looks directly to us as if to say, ”what do you think?” In that case, the teacher’s eye contact is
used to cue us to respond. In many Asian cultures, avoiding eye contact is seen as a sign of
respect. However, those in Latin and North America consider eye contact important for
 conveying equality among individuals. In Ghana, if a young child looks an adult in the eye, it is
considered an act of defiance.
 Facial Expression: Our faces are the most expressive part of our bodies. It can communicate an
array of different emotions. Smiles are the powerful communicative signals and, as you’ll recall,
are a key immediacy behavior. People generally perceive smiles more genuine when the other
person smiles “with their eyes”. Winking is a facial expression particularly varied in meaning. In
Latin America, the gesture is often considered a romantic or sexual invitation while Chinese
consider the gesture rude.
 Haptics: Study of touching communication known as “haptics”, which includes handshake,
kissing (cheek,lips,hand), back slapping, high fives, a congratulatory gesture on the shoulder and
brushing an arm. Contacting is dealt with uniquely in contrast to one nation to another and
socially adequate levels of contacting shift from one culture to another. In America, using a firm
handshake is considered appropriate to greet a stranger or another business professional. In
France, however, it is common to kiss someone you greet on both cheeks.