Chapter 4
Understanding
Nonverbal Messages
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Communication Principles
Appropriately
adapt your
message to
others
Listen and
respond
thoughtfully
to others
Be aware of
your
communication
Effectively
use and
interpret
nonverbal
messages
Effectively
use and
interpret
verbal
messages
Understanding Nonverbal
Messages
 Why Focus on Nonverbal Communication?
 The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
 Codes of Nonverbal Communication
 How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues More
Accurately
Nonverbal Communication Defined
Communication other than written or spoken
language that creates meaning for someone
 sign language is one exception to this
definition
Why Focus on Nonverbal Communication?
 Nonverbal Messages
Communicate Feelings
and Attitudes
 most significant source
of emotional
information is the face
(Albert Mehrabian)
 vocal cues
 approximately 93% of
emotional meaning is
communicated
nonverbally
Why Focus on Nonverbal Communication?
 Nonverbal Messages Are
Critical to Successful
Relationships
 Nonverbal Messages
Serve Various Functions
for Verbal Messages






substitute
complement
contradict
repeat
regulate
accent
The Nature of Nonverbal
Communication
 Culture-Bound
 Rule-Governed
 Ambiguous
 perception checking
 Continuous
 Non-Linguistic
 Multichanneled
Codes of Nonverbal Communication
 Appearance
 Artifacts
VS.
Would You Invest?
Codes of Nonverbal Communication
 Body Movement, Gestures, and Posture
 Kinesics refers to the study of human
movements, gestures, and posture
 emblems
 illustrators
 affect displays
 regulators
 adaptors
Codes of Nonverbal
Communication
 Kinesics Research
 quasi-courtship
behavior–nonverbal
actions we consciously
and unconsciously
exhibit when we are
attracted to someone
 courtship readiness
 preening
 positional cues
 appeals to invitation
Codes of Nonverbal Communication
 Eye Contact
 Facial Expressions
 Touch (Haptics)
 touch ethic
 The Voice
 paralanguage or vocalics
 back-channel cues
 response latencies
Codes of Nonverbal Communication
 Environment, Space, and Territory
 physical environment
 space (proxemics)
 intimate space
 personal space
 social space
 public space
Edwin T. Hall’s Zones of Space
Social
Intimate
Personal
Public
Codes of Nonverbal
Communication
 Territory
 Territoriality
 territorial markers
How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues
Immediacy Cues
Proximity:
Close, forward lean
Body Orientation:
Direct, could be side-by-side
Eye Contact:
Eye contact and mutual eye contact
Facial Expression:
Smiling
Gestures:
Head nods, movement
Posture:
Open and relaxed, arms oriented
toward others
Touch:
Cultural-and context-appropriate
Voice:
Higher pitch, upward pitch
How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues
 Immediacy
Arousal
Dominance