Module Seven:
Nonverbal Messages
In Pairs
In pairs turn your back to your mate.
Recount your most embarrassing moment
without looking at your partner – use
words only
Now tell the person you are looking at the
same story
7
Nonverbal Messages
Communication without words
The message sent must be received in
some way by at least one
other person
Verbal-Nonverbal Interaction
Accenting – emphasize
• I love you.
Contradicting – ie winking to show lies
Complementing – add nuances: smile, frown
Regulating – control flow of verbals: um,
pauses
Repeating – restate verbal messages:
eyebrows raised
Substituting – take place of verbals: thumbs
up, nod
Read “Thinking Critically About”
Top of page 141
Under “Examples?” answer these questions on
Angel
Nonverbal Communication Functions
 Forming and managing impressions
 Forming and defining relationships
 Structuring conversation and social interaction
 Influencing and deceiving
 Expressing emotions
 Read pages 142-3
Role Play
Two men who have not seen each other for a long time
meet on the street
Two women who have not seen each other for a long
time meet on the street
Three women sitting around the table in a bar talking
Three men sitting around the table in a bar talking
A male student telling his roommate about his
girlfriend breaking up with him
A female student telling her roommate about her
boyfriend breaking up with her
Channels of Nonverbal Communication
Body
Smell
Eyes
Face
Paralanguage
Time
Silence
Artifacts
Space
Touch
Five Types of Body Messages
Emblems are gestures that directly translate into
words – thumbs up – good job
Illustrators enhance the verbal message they
accompany – ie gesture to left
Affect displays communicate emotional meaninghappy – often unconscious
Regulators are behaviours that monitor, control,
coordinate, or maintain the speaking of others
Adaptors are gestures that satisfy a personal
need- rub nose, pick lint, shred cup
Body Appearance
Tall – short
Weight
Hair
Attractiveness
• Race
Facial Management Techniques
Intensifying - exaggerate
De-intensifying - underplay
Neutralizing - hide
Masking - substitute
See Table 7.2 on page 146
7
Eyes
Mirror of the soul
Cultural
Wide or narrow
Eye Contact
Seek feedback
Inform the other person that the channel
of communication is open
Signal the nature of a relationship
Lessen psychologically the physical
distance between you and
another person
Eye Avoidance
Help others maintain privacy
Signal lack of interest
Block off unpleasant stimuli
Heighten other senses
Lying
Space Messages
Proxemics:
Your use of space to communicate
• Intimate, personal, social, public
Territoriality:
The territory you occupy or own and the way
you protect this territory
Spatial Distance Messages
Intimate distance – touching – 46 cm
Personal distance – 46 cm – 1.2m
Social distance – 1.2m – 3.7m
Public distance – 3.6 – more than 7.6m
See Table 7.3 on page 148
Influences on Spatial Distances
Status
Culture
Subject matter
Gender
Age
Territoriality Messages
Location of homes/offices
Invasion of privacy – work
Marking territory
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgSp8znMWZI
Artifactual Messages
Colour
Clothing and body adornment
 Dress
 Hair
 Jewellery
 Body piercings
 Tattoos
Space decoration
Touch (Tactile) Messages
Haptics – the study of touch
•Positive emotion
• Playfulness
• Control
•Ritual
• Task-relatedness
Touch Avoidance
•Communication apprehension
Paralanguage – how you say something
Stress – which words
Pitch
Rate
Volume
Rhythm
Vocalizations – crying, yawning
Judgements
Punctuation is powerful
Punctuate the following:
A woman without her man is nothing
males in the class : A woman without her man,
is nothing.
Are you ready for this........ ...?
females in the class: A woman:
man is nothing.
without her,
Silence
Allows time to think
Can hurt others
Might indicate anxiety - shy
May prevent communication
Can encourage communications
May indicate nothing to say
Time Messages
Psychological time
•Past
•Present
•Future
Time Messages
Psychological time
• Cultural time
• Biorhythms
Messages from Smell
Attraction
Taste
Memory
Identification – ie toothpaste,
cleaners, significant others…
Nonverbal Cultural Differences
Facial expressions
Colours
Space
Time
• – see Table 7.4 page 157
Skill Building Exercises
Complete 7.1 and 7.2 page 162: you can use
emoticons ie:
Complete 7.3 #3 and #4 page163
Email me your results