NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

ARTIFACTS:
The physical objects that express one’s self and identity in short
personality of a person are called artifacts.
Sometime they tell about profession of a person. They also show one’s
interests, nature and taste.
Major artifacts include:
 Clothing
 Art
 Jewelry
 Tattoos
 Interior Design objects, etc.
For Example:
 Parents send messages to their children by giving them toys.
 Boys are given toys that invite competition and active play.
 Girls are given toys that invite discipline and appearance
attention.
 In adult life dressing sense and belongings reflect the personality of a
person.
 Women clothes are more attractive and colourful.
 Men clothes are more functional and less colourful.
Case Study:
Chinese culture because the color represents happiness and wealth. While
black in earlier years had not enjoyed popularity among Chinese, today that
color, particularly glossy and brilliant black, has turned out to be a color of
luxury. White used to be the color of sorrow in China; today, brides dress in
white for their weddings. Yet the traditional red might still be present in
various shades in decorations, or even as an additional wedding dress to
be changed into later during the festivities.
(original text by Liisa Salo-Lee, 2006)
More on artifacts:
https://youtu.be/88_ABbkUHHs
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:
The environmental elements that affect how people feel or act in
short, the behavior of communicator during interaction are called
environmental factors.
A number of environmental factors play important role in communicating
non-verbal messages to people.
Environmental factors include:
 Furniture
 Architectural Style
 Interior Designing
 Lightning Conditions
 Colors
 Temperature
 Music
 Noise
 Odor
For Example:
 The colours used in the pharmacy’s decor, the lightning and the use
of space all have been documented as important non-verbal
communication factors.
 The environment of a class room includes everything that are
necessary for students like lights, desks, chairs, white-board etc.
 The environment of a store is described below:

STORE NONVERBAL SHOPPING

ENVIRONMENT RESPONSES BEHAVIOUR

MUSIC
PLEASURE-
COLOUR DISPLEASURE TIME

SCENT AROUSAL- EXPLORATION

NONAROUSAL COMMUNICATION
TEMPERATURE
LAYOUT DOMINANCE- SATISFACTION
SUBMISSIVENES
LIGHTNING
Case Studies:
1. On the topic of environments in non-verbal communication,
participants were asked two separate questions on their perceptions
of two scenarios. In the first scenario participants were asked to
indicate their perception of a professor that had a messy desk.
Almost all of the participants stated that a messy desk stated that the
professor was unorganized, always busy, or unprofessional. One
participant reported:
"I think of professors with messy desks as professors whose
classes I want to drop.  Professors who are messy and unorganized
typically lose all of my work. I'd much prefer a professor that can keep
up with my work."
Additionally, participants were asked about their perceptions of those
professors who had a clean desk. One participant said,
"I think of professors with clean desks as more responsible. I
also think of them as more approachable and inviting."
In another question participants were asked to describe what
assumptions people might make about them based on the current
condition of their room. In general, all participants believed that their
room indicated something about them whether it was their likes,
interests, or hobbies.

2. Studies have shown that factors such as nice colour, good lightning
and cleanliness inspires feeling of comfort, pleasure and enjoyment
for completing tasks while ugly rooms create reactions such as
monotony, fatigue and irritability.
(Miller, 2005, p.29)
How Environment Effects non-verbal communication:
https://youtu.be/VdTR0CxL5iw

SILENCE:
 Lack of audible sounds or presence of sounds of very low intensity is
called silence.
Silence provides feedback informing both sender and receiver about the
clarity of an idea or its significance in the overall interpersonal
communication.
Silence can be interpreted as:
 Indication of an agreement
 Anger
 Lack of interest
 Injured feelings
 Contempt
 Respect
 Thoughtfulness
For Example:
Various cultures consider silence as essential part of communication
like;
 In Buddhism, people think silence as blessing and consider that
words contaminate experiences.
 In Japanese culture silence is linked to credibility.
 In America people are not comfortable with silence in their
conversations.
 In Pakistan, silence is considered as respect and sometimes also as
an agreement.
Silence in Non-Verbal Communication:
https://youtu.be/L96wUypruOA

VISUAL COMMUNICATION
Definition:
The transmission of information and ideas using visual ability of
people is called visual communication.
Information is transmitted in the form of symbols and imagery. Visual
communication offers a clarity which is not possible by words only.
Below are the types of visual communication:
 GIFs
 Animation
 Whiteboard Animation
 Screen Recording
 Images
 Eye contact
 Maps
 Logo’s and Monograms
 Facial Expressions
 Signals
 Posters

For Example:
 Different symbols and logos give different meanings which is the best
example of visual communication.
e.g. If the logo of McDonalds is displayed in front of us our mind
directly switches to the fast food and eating stuff like that, etc.
 Similarly, children are taught in their early ages by showing them
pictures of different things.
e.g. A child recognizes apple after seeing an apple image in his
books etc.
Visual Communication in Class Room:
https://youtu.be/a5odC5acaBQ
SOCIAL BARRIER
Definition:
The communication barrier that is based on differences and inequalities
among different people of society are called social barriers to
communication.
Includes many factors such as;
 Gender
 Age
 Race
 Educational level
 National or Cultural origin
 Violent and abusive situations
 Ability to read and write in a particular style and method
 Urban or Rural Residence
 Conflicts
 Socio-economic status, etc.
For Example:
 Gender-When men and women work together in a group, men tend
to be more assertive and well-confident. Women on the other hand
are more likely than men to express their emotions to reveal how they
feel about a situation.
 Age-Young and old people face difficulty in communication because
of their age difference and maturity level etc.
Social barrier among people’s communication:
https://youtu.be/KsHlpGdUBVI
SOCIO-ECONOMIC BARRIERS:
 • A term of social pressure in which people born in lower class prevent
to communicate with upper/elite class is called socio-economic
barrier of communication.
• Individuals may not communicate with each other due to the
difference in their social statuses.
For Example:
 People having higher ranks or posts may experience difficulty in
communicating with those having lower ranks and vice versa.
 People having bad economic conditions may not openly
communicate with those having good economic statuses.

CONCLUSION:
Referring to the first video selected for the project, the environmental
factors and silence are the non-verbal types of communication which best
explains the video. Environmental factors like presence of audience, highly
lit and well-managed stage for the guests gives a good impact to the
viewers and they develop interest towards the interview. Similarly silence of
audience in the program shows their excitement towards the story of
Rowan Atkinson.
The logo of Graham Norton show displayed on the screen (2:06) and the
facial expressions given by Rowan Atkinson are the examples of visual
communication. By seeing the logo, it is picturized in the mind that the
interview is being conducted in the Graham Norton show and facial
expressions of Rowan Atkinson clarifies the story in the minds of audience.
Referring to the second video in which a boy and a man are talking about
life, visual communication is also taking place side by side as the boy and
the man are seeing questions from the paper pieces they are holding in
their hands and reading them out then.

THE END