Paralanguage: Nonverbal
Communication
“People are more frightened of being
lonely than of being hungry, or being
deprived of sleep, or of having their
sexual needs unfulfilled” (Frieda
Fromm Reichmenn).
Paralanguage: Nonverbal
Communication
Communication by means
other than language.
Paralanguage includes
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Facial expressions
Tones of voice
Gestures
Eye contact
Spatial arrangements
Patterns of touch
Expressive movements
Silence
Paralanguage includes
intentional and unintentional
nonverbal messages
Paralanguage may be:
• Complementary
• Unconscious
• Learned
Universals and Cultural
Variations
• eyebrow flash, the nose wrinkle
• basic emotions:
--happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, and
surprise
The functions of nonverbal
communication
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To repeat what was said verbally
To complement what was said verbally
To contradict to what was said verbally
To substitute for what would be said
verbally
• To regulate and manage the communication
event
Nonverbal communication
divided into
• Kinesic and Proxemic acts
• Kinesics: The study of nonverbal
gestures, facial expressions, eye contact,
and body posture
• Proxemics: The study of the use of space,
touch, and distance as features of
nonverbal communication.
Inborn Nonverbal Actions
• Smiling
• Crying
Universality versus Relativism
• Birdwhistell (1970)
• Emblems: are gestures understood by
participant of a communicative community
to express a specific meaning
Cultural Specific Emblems
• Can you guess what the
following gestures from
Japan, France and Iran
mean?
Could reflect social status and
gender
• Dominance versus subordination
In North America
---more space---take less space
---stare at others ---less eye contact
--- smile more-- smile less
Dangers of overgeneralizations
• Cannot assume everybody in a culture
behaves the same way
• Infrequent actions should not be used to
characterize a culture
• We should not ignore that nonverbal
behaviors are part of complex
communication processes
How do we communicate with
those we don’t know?
• Leonard Zunin (The First Four Minutes,
1972)
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Three common behaviours:
• which side of the path” look
• I acknowledge you” look
• Look—away priority”
Proxemics
• Edward, T Hall in 1963
• refers to touch and issues of personal space
Distance Between Faces
Tone of Voice
very close (3-6")
soft whisper
close (8-12")
audible whisper
neutral (20-36")
neutral (4.5-5')
across the room (8-20')
soft voice, low volume
full voice
loud voice
Type of Message
top secret or sensual
very confidential
personal subject matter
non-personal information
talking to a group stretching the limit
All nonverbal communication is
best understood within cultural
context
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Body movements
Eye contact
Facial expressions
Touch
Silence also part of nonverbal
communication
• Sends nonverbal clues during
communication
• Culturally determined
• Igbos of Nigeria
Do you think that understanding
nonverbal patterns can help us
identify our own ethnocentric
attitudes?