Take a quiz to
discover the world
of no words!
NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATON
(COMM 3409)
Department of Communication Studies
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Prepared by Dr. Susanne Jones
Ford Hall 278
What basic emotion is
expressed on the face of
this baby?
a.a positive emotion
b.a negative emotion
What basic emotion is
expressed on the face of
this baby?
a.a positive emotion
b.a negative emotion
While we’re not always able to determine people’s
EXACT emotional expressions, we can always tell
whether people’s BASICALLY express positive or
negative emotions.
How much of all
communication is
nonverbal in
nature?
a.40%
b.50%
c.60%
d.More than 60%
How much of all
communication is
nonverbal in
nature?
a.40%
b.50%
c.60%
d.More than 60%
Believe it or not!! Some
communication scholars actually
claim that about 85% of what we
communicate is nonverbal-We
might not always be successful in
communicating nonverbally as this
picture suggests, but you should
take a class to find out just how farreaching nonverbal communication
actually is!!!
When people invade our personal bubble (our
personal space), we
a. fight to protect what’s ours.
b. run for our lives.
When people invade our personal bubble (our
personal space), we
a. Fight to protect what’s ours
b. Run for our lives
Because we don’t have many natural defenses, we tend to flee the
situation—or at least we should! Things are different when someone
invades our territory (e.g., home). We tend to fight what’s ours.
Physical attractiveness
a. Is not nearly as important as
psychological characteristics
(e.g., trust) when we select a
mate.
b. Is guided by many evolutionary
principles.
c. Is usually only secondary when
we select a mate.
d. Is influenced by many nonverbal
features.
Physical attractiveness
a. Is not nearly as important as
psychological characteristics
(e.g., trust) when we select a
mate.
b. Is guided by many evolutionary
principles.
c. Is usually only secondary when
we select a mate.
d. Is influenced by many nonverbal
features.
Much of what strikes us as physically attractive in a potential partner is based
on evolutionary principles. Take facial symmetry, for instance……
The more facially symmetric a person (equally proportional
facial halves), the more attractive we find that person—think of
Christopher Walken and Russell Crowe—there you have it. By
the way…Walken ROCKS!!!
Gestures, such as giving high
fives or OK signals
a.have the same meaning
across cultures
b.have different meanings
across cultures
c.often have multiple
meanings
d.need to be learned
Gestures, such as giving high
fives or OK signals
a.Have the same meaning
across cultures
b.Have different meanings
across cultures
c.Often have multiple
meanings
d.Need to be learned
Many gestures are culturally-specific and need to be learned. So,
watch out when you travel to distant waters. The OK signal
actually has an obscene meaning in Greece and connotes
worthlessness in France (Axtel, 1991).
How good are we at
DETECTING a Liar?
a.We almost always correctly
detecting a liar.
a.We are only as good as
chance.
a.We are better at detecting a
liar when we know the potential
liar really well
How good are we at
DETECTING a Liar?
a.We almost always correctly
detecting a liar.
b.We are only as good as
chance.
c.We are better at detecting a
liar when we know the potential
liar really well
‘tis true—we are usually pretty bad at detecting liars, but
when we know the person well, we notice behavioral
deviations much more easily. Actually…did you KNOW
that the voice is the single best indicator to detect a
liar!!!!
What are the six
universal emotions
almost always
immediately
recognized?
Check out the
following pictures and
guess the emotional
expressions
Click to see whether
you were right….
As you can see, the world of Nonverbal
Communication is broad and mysterious.
We can hone our abilities to communicate
more competently by learning more about
nonverbal communication!