Nonverbal Communication
(The Silent Language):
Messages of Action, Space, Time and
Silence
Nonverbal
Communication
• Usually responsible for first impressions
• Doesn’t lie (a clenched jaw shows you’re
angry or stammering speech shows that
you’re nervous)
• Is culture bound
Nonverbal
Communication
Two General Classifications
1. Those primarily produced by the body
(appearance, movement, facial expression,
eye contact, touch, smell, and paralanguage)
•2. Those combined with setting (space, time and
silence)
Nonverbal
Communication
There is a story about the presidential debate of Nixon and Kennedy in
1960 where people listening via radio awarded the victory to Nixon while
those watching the debate on television awarded the victory to Kennedy.
This was explained by the fact that though President Nixon had very
persuasive words during the debate, he was tense, sweating and seemed
quite uncomfortable. On the other hand, President Kennedy was relaxed
and able to convey a positive and convincing body language during the
debate. Since that incident, researchers have demonstrated that a
message is perceived in 3 different ways:
Nonverbal
Communication
Body Language (kinesics)
Kinesics are the physical cues that are visible
and send a message about 1) your attitude
toward the other person, 2) your emotional
state, 3) your relationship with the environment
Kinesics includes body posture, body motion,
gestures, facial expressions, eye contact.
Nonverbal
Communication
Eye Contact
In American culture, we reveal whom we like and dislike just by the amount
that we look at them. We generally look most at those whom we like . In
general, people avoid looking at someone they don’t like.
As people increase their liking for one another, they increase the amount
of mutual gazing that they do. (Mutual gaze is when two people are looking
into each other's eyes). The most obvious example of this occurs along the
continuum of relationships. Romantic relationships have the highest
amount of mutual gaze.
What about other cultures?
.
Nonverbal
Communication
Sense of Touch (haptics)
Who can touch whom, where, when and how
Nonverbal
Communication
Physical Appearance:
Body artifacts (clothing, piercings, tattoos) and
attractiveness
Nonverbal
Communication
Environmental Factors
Elements of setting that affect how we feel
and act (color, temperature, lighting, room
design)
Nonverbal
Communication
Space and Distance (proxemics)
•Personal space (intimate, personal, social
and public
•Seating
•Furniture arranging
Nonverbal
Communication
Time (chronemics)
•Informal time (how late is “late”?)
•Perceptions of past, present and future
•Monochronic (fixed) and polychronic (holistic
time) (Edward T. Hall)
Nonverbal
Communication
Paralanguage:
Paralanguage are the sounds that don’t have written
form that modify meaning or convey emotion.
Includes: rate, sounds, murmurs, gasps, volume,
pitch, inflection, laughing, high speed
Nonverbal
Communication
Silence : East vs. West
“What is real is, and when it is spoken it
becomes unreal.” (Buddhism)
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
(American saying)
Nonverbal
Communication
Artifacts
Elements of the environment that
communicate by virtue of people’s use of
them.
Nonverbal
Communication Exercise
Split into small “culture” groups and discuss one of
the elements of nonverbal communication.