Nonverbal Communication: Sharing Meaning without Words

1. 6 Nonverbal Communication: Sharing Meaning without Words

2. Nonverbal Communication: Sharing Meaning without Words • Nonverbal Communication: Sharing Meaning without Words • Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Distinctions • Interconnectedness of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication • Types of Nonverbal Communication • Communicating Competently with Nonverbal Cues • Summary

3. Nonverbal Communication: Sharing Meaning without Words • The principal purpose of this chapter is to show how we might improve our nonverbal communication with others. 1. Compare and contrast nonverbal and verbal communication. 2. Develop an appreciation for the power of various types of nonverbal communication necessitating a keen regard for its competent use. 3. Suggest ways to communicate competently with nonverbal codes.

4. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Disorders • Nonlinguistic • Nonverbal communication is not structured for meaning • It possesses no explicit set of rules, grammar, or syntax. • Nonverbal communication does not exhibit displacement because it communicates only about the here and now. • Nonverbal communication can show only minimal productivity. • Nonverbal communication is not self-reflexive.

5. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Distinctions • Number of Channels • Verbal communication is single-channeled, but nonverbal communication is multi-channeled (Burgoon, 1985). • Degree of Ambiguity • Nonverbal communication is at least as ambiguous as language. • Knowing the individual well markedly aids the accurate perception of nonverbal cues.

6. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Distinctions • Focus On Controversy • Nonverbal Courtship Cues: Mass Market Misinformation 1. Should we ever try to use nonverbal cues to convince others to like us? Why or why not? Is it ethical to do this since it is manipulative? 2. Is there any truth in the National Enquirer list of “irresistible signals” that “women can't resist”? How do you think a woman would likely respond to such nonverbal communication? Why?

7. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Distinctions • Discrete Versus Continuous • Nonverbal communication has no discrete beginning and end.

8. Interconnectedness of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication • Repetition • Consistency of verbal and nonverbal communication increases the clarity and credibility of the message. • Accentuation • Accenting enhances the power and seriousness of verbal messages. • Substitution • Sometimes nonverbal clues substitute for verbal messages.

9. Interconnectedness of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication • Regulation • Conversation is regulated by nonverbal clues. • Contradiction • Sometimes we contradict verbal messages with nonverbal cues. • These are mixed messages—inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal messages

10. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Physical Appearance • Body Adornment • Physical appearance, from adornments we put on our bodies to physical features we accentuate or camouflage, is of no small concern to us.

11. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Physical Appearance (continued) • Body Shape and Size • Despite cultural differences, some standards of physical attractiveness related to body shape and size seem to be universal. • Diverse cultures favor bilateral symmetry--that is, the right and left sides should match. • The waist-to-hip ratio in women was found to be a more important characteristic than facial features, height, body weight and other physical attributes (Singh, 1993). • Some research suggests that an attractive physique for men is relatively broad shoulders and narrow waist and hips (the wedge shape).

12. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Physical Appearance (continued) • Clothing • Clothing expresses a person's identity. • Hair • Hair style expresses self-concept. • Eyes • Eye contact is an important aspect of nonverbal communication.

13. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Facial Communication (continued) • Facial Expressions • The face signals specific emotional states. • Members of diverse cultures recognize the same emotions from specific facial expressions, but they don't necessarily perceive the same intensity of emotion. • There are differences in display rules--culture-specific prescriptions that dictate the appropriateness of behaviors (Ekman, 1993) for facial expressions.

14. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Gestural Communication • When we communicate with others, gestures accompany our verbal messages, even when we aren't aware that we're using them. • Manipulators are gestures made by one part of the body, usually the hands, that rub, pick, squeeze, clean, or groom another part of the body. • They have no specific meaning, although people observing manipulators may perceive nervousness, discomfort, or deceit from such gestures.

15. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Gestural Communications (continued) • When we communicate (continued) • Illustrators are gestures that help explain what a person says to another person. • They have no independent meaning of their own. • Emblems are gestures that have precise meaning separate from verbal communication.

16. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Touch Communications • Significance of Touch • Voluminous research on infant and child development reveals that touch is not only beneficial, but even critical for life itself. • Touch is essential to the expression of love, warmth, intimacy, and concern for others. • Compared with other cultures, Americans are a “nontactile society.”

17. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Touch Communications (continued) • Types of Touch • The functional-professionaltouch is the least intense form of touching. • The social-polite touch occurs during initial introductions, business relationships, and formal occasions. • The friendship-warmth touch is the most ambiguous type of touch and leads to the most misunderstandings between people.

18. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Touch Communications (continued) • Types of Touch (continued) • The love and intimacy touch is reserved only for a very few, special individuals--close friends, family members, spouses, and lovers. • The sexual touch is the most personal, intimate touch, and the most restricted.

19. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Touch Communications (continued) • Touch Taboos 1. Strangers are the “untouchables.” 2. Harmful touches should be avoided. 3. Avoid startling touches. 4. Avoid the interruption touch. 5. Don't move others. 6. Avoid “rub-it-in” touches.

20. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Voice Communication • Our voice communicates information about our age, sex, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and regional background.

21. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Voice Communication • Vocal cues, or paralanguage are usually divided into three classifications (Samovar & Porter, 1995): • Vocal characterizers (laughing, yelling, moaning, crying, whining, belching, yawning). • Vocal qualifiers (volume, tone, pitch, resonance, rhythm, rate). • Vocal segregates (“uh-hum,” “uh,” “mm-hmm,” “oooh,” “shh”).

22. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Space Communication • Distance • Anthropologist Edward Hall (1969) has identified four types of spatial relationships--intimate, personal, social, and public--based on distances between individuals communicating. • Not recognizing the cultural differences associated with distance can make an individual seem pushy and aggressive or distant and stand-offish.

23. Type Intimate Personal Social Public Table 6-1 Four Types of Spatial Relationships and Their Characteristics Types of Nonverbal Communication Distance 0-18in. 18in-4ft 4ft-12ft 12ft or more Usage of Nonverbal Cues Loving, showing tenderness Conversing with intimates, friends Business talk, social conversing Lectures, speeches Overlapping Nonverbal Cues Limited eye contact, touch, smell Eye contact, some touching, gestures Formal vocal tone, gestures, eye contact Eye contact, gestures, vocal tones

24. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Territoriality • Territoriality is a predisposition to defend geographic area, or territory, as one's exclusive domain (Burgoon et al., 1996). • Environment • The design of our environment shapes communication.

25. Types of Nonverbal Communication • Focus On Controversy • Gated Communities 1. Do you like the idea of gated communities? Would you like to live in a gated community? Is it ethical to create these enclaves that keep out mostly minorities and the poor? 2. Can you think of alternatives to gated communities that might produce the benefits proponents claim occur without closing off communication with groups who can't afford to live in such neighborhoods?

26. Communicating Competently with Nonverbal Cues • Monitor nonverbal communication. • Resist jumping to conclusions. • Observe multiple nonverbal cues. • Recognize cultural differences. • Strive for consistency. • Get in sync with others.

27. Summary • Nonverbal communication affects our communication with others in powerful ways, yet nonverbal communication is often ambiguous and difficult to read. • Much of the advice on nonverbal communication offered in the popular media is incorrect or overstated because a single nonverbal cue is given too much emphasis.