Chapter 5 Nonverbal Communication: The Messages of Action, Space, Time & Silence

1. Chapter 5Nonverbal Communication:The Messages of Action, Space, Time & Silence

2. Nonverbal behavior is often directly linked to a culture’s worldview and value orientation.

3. Importance of Nonverbal Communication:  Judging internal states – people use nonverbal communication to express attitudes and emotions  First impressions  Managing interaction

4. Defining nonverbal communication • any message other than words that we assign meaning to For U.S. & U.K. cultures: - 65% of a message is nonverbal - 35% is verbal - When the verbal message contradicts the nonverbal, people usually believe the nonverbal over the verbal

5. Functions of nonverbal communication: - Repeating- Complementing (illustrators) – supplement the verbal - Substituting – substitute for the verbal words e.g. “ok”- Regulating – regulate interaction e.g. head nods; backchanneling - Contradicting- Expressing emotion – happiness, anger, sadness- Expressing affection – love; intimacy; endearment- Indicate status differences - Indicate type of relationship

6. Principles of Nonverbal communication: • You cannot stop sending nonverbal messages; You cannot, NOT communicate! • Nonverbal communication is often ambiguous • In American culture & U.K., when the verbal message contradicts the nonverbal messages, we believe the nonverbal over the verbal (aka channel consistency vs.. channel discrepancy) • Much of nonverbal communication is culture specific; culturally bound

7. Types of Nonverbal Signals: - Physical appearance – dress; body type, skin color, hair, eye color, etc. Judgments of beauty are learned.Point: we need to be tolerant of external differences so that we do not let these differences impede communication.

8. Body movement/kinesics – posture and gestures (using one’s hands and arms) o emblems – substitute for words o illustrators – supplement the verbalo regulators – regulate interaction • Facial expressions – “gosh!”,“really??!!”

9. Eye contact & gaze In the U.S. culture & U.K. cultures:  a sign of attention and interest  regulates interaction  the average length of gaze is 2.95 sec. (when gaze is < 1.18 sec., we tend to think the person is not interested, shy or preoccupied)  direct eye contact is considered an expression of honesty and forthrightness

10. Haptics • a type of kinesic behavior involving touch • reflects a culture’s attitudes and values • types: sexual, playful, control, ritual, greeting or departure, task-related, accidental, etc. • some cultures are more touch avoidant than others.

11. Smell  Odor communicates  Smell and memory are closely connected  Smell can alter moods and increase alertness

12. Paralanguage/vocalics • The sounds we generate apart from words: rate, tone, pitch, pauses, volume, laughter, accents, dialects, noises & backchanneling (“mmm hmm”).

13. Space & Distance or Proxemics • a person’s use of space is directly related to the value system of his/her culture. • personal space – when your space is violated, you react; your reaction is a manifestation of your cultural background. U.S. culture territory: 0 – 18” intimates 1 – 4’ casual personal distance 4 – 12’ impersonal/social distance 12’ > public distance - Seating – furniture arrangement; illustrate power & relationship

14. Time/Chronemics How we use time communicates something. Culture plays a substantial role in how we perceive and use time. Our use of time is very much dictated by the values of our culture. - Past, Present & future time orientations • Monochronic (M-time) – time is fixed in nature; time is a scarce resource • Polychromic (P-time) – time is holistic; stress people over process; unstructured (p. 196)

15. Silence • silence communicates • silence is also speech • silence holds a powerful message • knowing when and when NOT to speak is to gain intercultural competence • e.g. Japanese - “It is the duck that squawks that gets shot.” American – “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”

16. Types of Nonverbal Ability:  Encoding skill  Decoding ability (sensitivity)  Skill in regulating or controlling nonverbal communication  Competence regarding these abilities (skills) depends on knowing the rules of the specific culture.

17. Nonverbal Communication and Culture: • From your use of eye contact to the amount of volume you employ during interaction, your culture influences the manner in which you send and receive nonverbal symbols. • Being able to achieve interaction goals (becoming competent) depends on knowing the rules of the culture(s) we’re dealing with. • Be careful not to assume that people are communicating only when they talk.