Paralanguage: Nonverbal Communication

1. Paralanguage: Nonverbal Communication “People are more frightened of being lonely than of being hungry, or being deprived of sleep, or of having their sexual needs unfulfilled” (Frieda Fromm Reichmenn).

2. Paralanguage: Communication by means other than language.

3. Paralanguage includes • Facial expressions • Tones of voice • Gestures • Eye contact • Spatial arrangements • Patterns of touch • Expressive movements • Silence

4. Paralanguage: refers to all nonverbal communication actions (Kinesics and Proxemics)

5. Paralanguage includes intentional and unintentional nonverbal messages

6. Paralanguage may be: • Complementary • Unconscious • Learned

7. Universals and Cultural Variations • eyebrow flash, the nose wrinkle • basic emotions: --happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, and surprise

8. The functions of nonverbal communication • To repeat what was said verbally • To complement what was said verbally • To contradict what was said verbally • To substitute for what would be said verbally • To regulate and manage the communication event

9. Nonverbal communication divided into • Kinesic and Proxemic acts • Kinesics: The study of nonverbal gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and body posture • Proxemics: The study of the use of space, touch, and distance as features of nonverbal communication.

10. Inborn Nonverbal Actions • Smiling • Crying

11. Universality versus Relativism • Birdwhistell (1970) • Emblems:are gestures understood by participant of a communicative community to express a specific meaning

12. Cultural Specific Emblems Can you guess what the following gestures from Japan, France and Iran mean?

13. Could reflect social status and gender: In North America • Dominance versus subordination ---more space---take less space ---stare at others ---less eye contact --- smile more-- smile less

14. Dangers of overgeneralizations • Cannot assume everybody in a culture behaves the same way • Infrequent actions should not be used to characterize a culture • We should not ignore that nonverbal behaviors are part of complex communication processes

15. How do we communicate with those we don’t know? • Leonard Zunin (The First Four Minutes, 1972) Three common behaviours: • Which side of the path” look • I acknowledge you” look • Look—away priority”

16. Proxemics • Edward, T Hall in 1963 • refers to touch and issues of personal space

18. Distance Between Faces Tone of Voice Type of Message very close (3-6 inches) soft whisper top secret or sensual close (8-12 inches) audible whisper very confidential neutral (20-36 inches) soft voice, low volume personal subject matter neutral (4.5-5 feet) full voice non-personal information across the room (8-20 feet) loud voice talking to a group stretching the limit

23. All nonverbal communication is best understood within cultural context • Body movements • Eye contact • Facial expressions • Touch

24. Silence also part of nonverbal communication • Sends nonverbal clues during communication • Culturally determined • Igbos of Nigeria

25. Do you think that by studying nonverbal patterns can help us identify our own ethnocentric attitudes?