5: Inter-Act,
th
13
Edition
Nonverbal
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Verbal
Communication
Nonverbal
Communication
• Spoken or written
words
• Bodily actions
and vocal
qualities that
support, modify,
or contradict
accompanying
verbal messages
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Characteristics of
Nonverbal Communication
• Intentional or unintentional
• Primary
• Ambiguous
• Continuous
• Multichanneled
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Functions of Nonverbal
Communication
• To provide information
• To regulate interaction
• To express or hide emotion and affect
• To present an image
• To express status, power, and control
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Regulate Interaction
Microsoft Photo
Facial expressions or gestures that
are used to control or regulate the
flow of a conversation
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Express Emotion or Affect
Microsoft Photo
• Facial
expressions and
gestures that
augment the
verbal expression
of feelings
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Types of Nonverbal
Communication
•
•
•
•
Body language
Paralanguage
Spatial usage
Self-presentation
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Body Language:
Kinesics
• Eye contact
• Facial expressions
• Gesture
• Posture
• Touch
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Microsoft Photo
Body Language: Touch
• Touching and
being touched are
essential to a
healthy life.
• Touch can
communicate
power, empathy,
understanding.
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Paralanguage
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•
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•
•
Pitch
Volume
Rate
Quality
Intonation
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Vocal Interferences
• Extraneous sounds or
words that interrupt fluent
speech:
– “uh,” “um”
– “you know,” “like”
• Place markers
• Fillers
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Spatial Usage
• Personal space: the space that surrounds a
person, moves with that person, and changes with the
situation as well as moment to moment
– Intimate distance: up to 18”
– Personal distance: 18”-4’
– Social distance: 4’-12’
– Public distance: more than 12’
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Spatial Use
• Acoustic space: area over which
your voice or other sounds can be
comfortably heard
• Territory: space over which we claim
ownership
• Artifacts: objects we use to adorn our
territory and communicate about our
space
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Personal Space at Work
Microsoft Photo
• Your office
• Your desk
• A table in the
cafeteria where
you sit regularly
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Color Influences
Communication
Yellow cheers
and
elevates moods
Red excites
and
stimulates
In some
cultures
black suggests
mourning
Blue comforts
and
soothes
In some
cultures
white suggests
purity
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Self-Presentation Cues
• Physical Appearance
– Race and gender
– Facial features
– Size and shape of body
– Clothing and personal
grooming
– Body art
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Microsoft Photo
Self-Presentation
• What message do
you wish to send
with your choice
of clothing and
personal
grooming?
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Use of Time
Chronemics
• Monochronic
• Polychronic
Time Orientation
• Past
• Present
• Future
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Microsoft Photo
Time
• How do we
manage and react
to others’
management of
time?
– duration
– activity
– punctuality
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Use of Smell
– Perfume
– Cologne
– Aromatherapy
– Body odor
Microsoft Photo
• Olfactory Communication through:
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Cultural and Gender
Variations
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•
•
•
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Eye contact
Facial expressions
Gestures
Touch
Paralanguage
Space
Self-presentation
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Nonverbal Signals
Microsoft Photo
Vary from culture to culture
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What does this symbol
mean to you?
• In the United States it is a
symbol for good job
• In Germany the number
one
• In Japan the number five
• In Ghana an insult
• In Malaysia the thumb is
used to point rather than a
finger
-Atlantic Committee for the Olympic Games
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Improving Nonverbal
Sending Skills
•Be mindful of your nonverbal behavior.
•Adapt nonverbal behaviors to your purpose.
•Adapt nonverbal behaviors to the situation.
•Align nonverbal and verbal communication.
•Make sure nonverbal cues do not distract
from your message.
•Eliminate distracting nonverbal behaviors.
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Improving Nonverbal
Interpretation Skills
• Be mindful that most nonverbal cues do not
have set meanings.
• Recognize culture, gender, and other
diversity when interpreting nonverbal cues.
• Pay attention to all of the nonverbal cues and
their relationship to the verbal message.
• Use the skill of perception checking.
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