Question

Speech is the most common and effective means of communication, but various forms of nonverbal communication are also important. Please list them, and to what extent and under what circumstances do the latter substitute for speech and to what extent do they complement speech?

Answer 1

Nonverbal communication (NVC) between people is communication through sending and receiving wordless clues. It includes the use of visual cues such as body language (kinesics), distance (proxemics) and physical environments/appearance, of voice (paralanguage) and of touch (haptics).

1. Facial Expressions

Facial expressions are responsible for a huge proportion of nonverbal communication. Consider how much information can be conveyed with a smile or a frown. The look on a person's face is often the first thing we see, even before we hear what they have to say.

While nonverbal communication and behavior can vary dramatically between cultures, the facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar throughout the world.

2. Gestures

Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without words. Common gestures include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts. Other gestures are arbitrary and related to culture.

In courtroom settings, lawyers have been known to utilize different nonverbal signals to attempt to sway juror opinions.

An attorney might glance at his watch to suggest that the opposing lawyer's argument is tedious or might even roll his eyes at the testimony offered by a witness in an attempt to undermine his or her credibility. These nonverbal signals are seen as being so powerful and influential that some judges even place limits on what type of nonverbal behaviors are allowed in the courtroom.

3. Paralinguistics

Paralinguistics refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language. This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch. Consider the powerful effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of a sentence. When said in a strong tone of voice, listeners might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone of voice might convey disapproval and a lack of interest.

Consider all the different ways simply changing your tone of voice might change the meaning of a sentence. A friend might ask you how you are doing, and you might respond with the standard "I'm fine," but how you actually say those words might reveal a tremendous amount of how you are really feeling. A cold tone of voice might suggest that you are actually not fine, but you don't wish to discuss it.

4. Body Language and Posture

Posture and movement can also convey a great deal on information. Research on body language has grown significantly since the 1970's, but popular media have focused on the over-interpretation of defensive postures, arm-crossing, and leg-crossing, especially after publishing Julius Fast's book Body Language. While these nonverbal behaviors can indicate feelings and attitudes, research suggests that body language is far more subtle and less definitive than previously believed.

5. Proxemics

People often refer to their need for "personal space," which is also an important type of nonverbal communication. The amount of distance we need and the amount of space we perceive as belonging to us is influenced by a number of factors including social norms, cultural expectations, situational factors, personality characteristics, and level of familiarity. For example, the amount of personal space needed when having a casual conversation with another person usually varies between 18 inches to four feet. On the other hand, the personal distance needed when speaking to a crowd of people is around 10 to 12 feet.

6. Eye Gaze

The eyes play an important role in nonverbal communication and such things as looking, staring and blinking are important nonverbal behaviors. When people encounter people or things that they like, the rate of blinking increases and pupils dilate. Looking at another person can indicate a range of emotions including hostility, interest, and attraction.

People also utilize eye gaze a means to determine if someone is being honest. Normal, steady eye contact is often taken as a sign that a person is telling the truth and is trustworthy. Shifty eyes and an inability to maintain eye contact, on the other hand, is frequently seen as an indicator that someone is lying or being deceptive.

7. Haptics

Communicating through touch is another important nonverbal behavior. There has been a substantial amount of research on the importance of touch in infancy and early childhood. Harry Harlow's classic monkey study demonstrated how deprived touch and contact impedes development. Baby monkeys raised by wire mothers experienced permanent deficits in behavior and social interaction. Touch can be used to communicate affection, familiarity, sympathy, and other emotions.

Each of these channels has certain characteristics that can either help or hinder communication, depending on the circumstances, the message, and the sender and audience.

Communication channels are often considered from the standpoint of richness, or the degree to which a channel is able to convey the amount of information transmitted in face-to-face communication. Because communicating face-to-face allows sender and receiver to use and observe nonverbal communication and vocal qualities that complement or contradict the verbal message, it is said to be the richest channel, with other channels being less rich as supplemental elements are removed from the transmission.

Nonverbal

Nonverbal communication includes everything that isn’t specifically verbal. It includes gestures, facial expressions, posture, dress and other aspects of appearance, space, time, and paralanguage. As has been mentioned previously (see Communication and Behavior), people have been communicating nonverbally a lot longer than they have been communicating with language. For this reason, much nonverbal communication takes place below our level of conscious awareness, and messages communicated orally and in writing always have a nonverbal component. In this sense, communication is redundant. The verbal message is always accompanied by a nonverbal message that reinforces, complements, or contradicts the verbal message.

Nonverbal communication typically communicates attitudes, feelings, status, and other affective (emotional) messages. It is often used to indicate relationships, both among elements in the external environment and between and among people. Consider for a moment how often you point to show someone where something is or use your hands to indicate the size of something. We use our hands to “say” hello and goodbye and to communicate encouragement and success as well as disappointment and anger.

Facial expressions and posture communicate emotions. The face and body show others whether a person is happy, sad, angry, conciliatory, agitated, or calm. In conversation, nonverbal messages provide insight into what another person is thinking and feeling but may not be saying. In business, nonverbal messages help regulate activities, including verbal (both oral and written) communication flow. The “territory” allocated executives, for example, serves at least two purposes: (1) it protects them from intrusions that would interfere with their ability to accomplish important tasks, and (2) it communicates their status to others.

Among the most important nonverbal components in organizational communication are the following:

• Space
  • Between people (proxemics)
  • Allocated to people (territory)
• Time
  • Amount (duration and frequency)
  • Kind (exclusive or shared)
  • Wait (who waits for whom and how long)
• Kinesics
  • Open postures and signals (inviting communication)
  • Closed postures and signals (discouraging communication)
• Appearance
  • Conforming (matches others in dress and appearance)
  • Nonconforming (mismatches others in dress and appearance)

Nonverbal communication does not have advantages and disadvantages in the same way other communication channels do in that other channels automatically include a nonverbal component. Used well, nonverbal communication can increase credibility and help ensure effective communication. Used badly, it can undermine the communication process.

One of the principal causes of difficulty in cross-cultural communication, for example, is differences in nonverbal communication. Even when people learn each others’ languages, patterns of nonverbal behavior typically operate below a person’s level of conscious awareness, so differences in body language, patterns of eye contact, and meanings associated with gestures may all cause misunderstandings.

Differences in conceptions of space and time may also cause problems. In some cultures, people in conversation stand very close to one another, while those in other cultures prefer more personal space. Even when a person is consciously aware of such differences, it may be difficult to avoid an unconscious tendency to move closer or farther away based on the norms of one’s own culture.

If you grew up in the United States, you probably learned that time is money and that you should avoid wasting it, spend it wisely, and save it when possible. For this reason, people from the States (and typically from Canada and much of Northern Europe) like to be punctual and efficient in their use of time. Personal calendars and Personal Information Managers (PIMs) abound in the States, where people need to be on time for meetings and arrange their schedules weeks—and perhaps months—in advance. People from other cultures are often more casual about time, paying less attention to the clock or calendar, and acting when things feel right rather than at a specific time on a specific day.