Interpersonal
Nonverbal
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Verbal
Communication
Nonverbal
Communication
• The words we
use
• Actions, vocal
qualities, and
activities that
typically
accompany a
verbal message
2
The Nature of Nonverbal
Communication
• Affective
• Ambiguous
• Continuous
• Multi-channeled
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Functions of Nonverbal
Communication
• Substitute
• Complement
Verbal
Communication
• Contradict
4
Nonverbal
Communication
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Facial expression and eye contact
Kinesics (body motion)
Proxemics and personal space
Artifacts
Touch (haptics)
Paralanguage
Chronemics (time)
Physical characteristics
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When nonverbal
and verbal
contradict, we
tend to accept
the nonverbal
inference.
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Uses of Body Motion
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•
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Emblems
Illustrators
Affect display
Regulators
Adaptors
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Emblems
Microsoft Photo
• Nonverbal
gestures that take
the place of a
word or phrase
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Illustrators
Microsoft Photo
Nonverbal gestures that complement
what a speaker is saying
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Affect Displays
Microsoft Photo
• Facial
expressions and
gestures that
augment the
verbal expression
of feelings
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Regulators
Microsoft Photo
Facial expressions or gestures that
are used to control or regulate the
flow of a conversation
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Adaptors
Microsoft Photo
• Body motions
that are used to
relieve tension
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Facial expression is the
strongest nonverbal
communicator
Of the face the eye
communicates more than
any other feature.
13
Microsoft Photo
Eye Contact
The majority of
people in the
United States and
other Western
cultures expect
people to look them
in the eye when
communicating.
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Microsoft Photo
Eye Contact
• Japanese direct their
gaze to a position
around the Adam’s
apple.
• Chinese, Indonesians,
and Mexicans lower
their eyes as a sign of
deference.
• Arabs look intently into
others’ eyes showing
keen interest.
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Paralanguage
Vocal communication minus the words
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Pitch
Volume
Rate
Quality
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Microsoft Photo
Touch
• Touching and
being touched are
essential to a
healthy life
• Touch can
communicate
power, empathy,
understanding
17
Microsoft Photo
Self-Presentation
• What message do
you wish to send
with your choice
of clothing and
personal
grooming?
18
Microsoft Photo
Time
• How do we
manage and react
to others’
management of
time
– duration
– activity
– punctuality
19
Polychronic and monochronic
variations of time exist within
cultures. Should we ask
polychronics to conform in the
workplace?
20
Proxemics - how we use the
space around us - our environment
• Intimate distance, up to 18”, is appropriate
for private conversations between close
friends.
• Personal distance, from 18”- 4’, is the space
in which casual conversation occurs.
• Social distance, from 4’ – 12’, is where
impersonal business such as job interviews
is conducted.
• Public distance is anything more than 12’
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Personal Space at Work
Microsoft Photo
• Your office
• Your desk
• A table in the
cafeteria that you
sit at 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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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
25
To improve our
communication . . .
We need to monitor our own nonverbal
communication and exercise care in
interpreting that of others.
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