Contents

1) Introduction of Non-Verbal Communication. 2) Types of Non-Verbal Communication. 1. Appearance. 2. Body Language. 3. Silence, Space and Time. 3) Strategies for an Effective Non-Verbal Delivery. A. Postures. B. Gestures. C. Movement. D.Appearance. E. Facial Expression.

Non-Verbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly Visual) cues between people. It is also seen as the nonlinguistic transmission of information through visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic channels. Nonverbal communication encompasses much more, such as use of voice (paralanguage), gaze, touch, distance, time, and physical environments or appearance. Messages sent through haptics, or gestures, facial expressions and touch, or body language and posture, physical distance; and eye contact, are all types of nonverbal communication. Even speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation, and stress etc. Written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the physical layout of a page. However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-toface interaction, where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction. Nonverbal communication involves the processes of encoding and decoding. Encoding is the act of generating the information such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures. Decoding is the interpretation of information from received sensations from previous experiences. We use 38% verbal communication, 7% written communication and 55% nonverbal communication.

Types of Non-Verbal Communication

There are three main types of non-verbal communication: 1. Appearance. 2. Body Language. 3. Silence, time, and space.

1. Appearance:
Appearance means nonverbal impressions that affect receivers attitudes toward the verbal message even before they read or hear them. There are following two types include in appearance: Appearance of Written Message. Appearance of Oral Message.

Appearance of Written Message

The appearance of envelopes for example the size, weight, postage etc. may impress the receiver as important, routine, or junk mail. Telegrams, mailgrams, express mail, and private courier mail also have distinctive envelopes that have various important. The title page, kind of paper used, length, format, and neatness also communicate nonverbally. Finally, the language itself, aside from its contents, communicates something about the sender.

Appearance of Oral Message

Whether you are speaking to one person face to face or to a group in a meeting, personal appearance and the appearance of your surroundings convey nonverbal stimuli that affect attitudes toward your spoken words. A. Personal Appearance Personal Appearance includes clothing, hairstyles, neatness, jewelry, cosmetics, posture, and stature. These convey impressions regarding occupation, age, nationality, social and economic level, job status and good or poor judgment, depending on circumstances. B. Appearance of Surroundings Appearance of Surroundings include room size, location, furnishings, machines, architecture, wall decorations, floor, lighting, windows, view, and other related features wherever people communicate orally. Surroundings will vary according to status and according to country and culture.

2. Body Language
Body language is also part of non-verbal communication. Body language includes facial expressions, gestures, posture and movement, smell and touch, and sounds.

Facial expressions
The eyes and face are especially helpful means of communicating nonverbally. These can reveal hidden emotions, including anger, confusion, enthusiasm, fear, joy, surprise, uncertainty, and others. Direct eye contact is considered desirable when two people converse. The people whose eyes droop or shift away from the listener is thought to be either shy or dishonest and untrustworthy.

Postures
There are many different types of body positioning to portray certain postures, including slouching, towering, legs spread, jaw thrust, shoulders forward, and arm crossing. The posture or bodily stance exhibited by individuals communicates a variety of messages whether good or bad. Posture can be used to determine participant's degree of attention or involvement. When you stand straight and balance your weight on both feet, you give the impression of complete control, of poise. Your outward appearance mirrors your inner mood. Conversely, when draped over podium with your shoulders sagging, you give the felling of depression, of lack of control.

Gestures and Movements

At a simplistic level any movement of the hands, arms, head, and shoulders are defined as gestures. Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without words. Common gestures include raised fist, byebye, and thumbs up, waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts. Gestures are used intentionally and serve a clear communicative function. Every culture has their own set of gestures, some of which are unique only to a specific culture. Very similar gestures can have very different meanings across cultures.

Smell and Touch

Various smells and fragrances sometimes convey the emotion of the sender and sometimes affect the reactions of the receiver, especially if the receiver is sensitive to scents. Also touching people can communicate friendship, love, approval, hated anger, or other feelings. A kiss on the cheek, pat on the shoulder, or slap on the back is prompted by various emotions.

Voice and Sounds

Your voice quality and the extra sounds you make while speaking are also a part of nonverbal communication called paralanguage. 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.

3. Silence, time, and space

Silence
Consider how you feel when you make an oral request that is met with silence or think about the confusion you feel when your written message generates no response. For example you wrote a request to your supervisor for additional funds for a project you are developing. If you receive no answer for several weeks, what is your reaction? Do you assume that the answer is negative? Do you wonder if your supervisor is merely very busy at the moment and hasnt been able to answer your request? Do you think your supervisor is rude or considers your request unworthy of an answer?

Time
Waiting when an important request is ignored causes problems and attitude changes. In the preceding example, after the long silence, should you ask again? Time is important in many ways. How do you feel when you are dept waiting two hours after the scheduled time for an interview? Concepts of time, however, vary across cultures and even in the United States. Americans, and Germans, for example, are quite punctual. Middle Eastern business people think little of arriving after an agreed upon time, not out of discourtesy but rather a feeling that the task will be accomplished regardless of time. If you arrived on time for a meeting in Portugal, your host might wonder why you came so early.

Space
If you step into an empty elevator, where do you stand? If the elevator then fills up with people, where do you move? The need for personal space decreases as the number of people increases. In the United States, the need for personal space in a two person conversation is about 18 inches. The need for space is less in many Middle Eastern countries and more in most Scandinavian countries. Consider the common dance of the diplomats in which an American and a Saudi Arabian fall into conversation. The Saudi takes step forward, the American edges backward the Saudi advances, the American retreats. By the end of the conversation, the American feels bullied, and the Saudi feels insulted.

Strategies for an Effective Non-Verbal Delivery

There are following strategies includes in effective nonverbal delivery: A. Postures. B. Gestures. C. Movement. D. Appearance. E. Facial Expression.

A. Postures
There are many different types of body positioning to portray certain postures, including slouching, towering, legs spread, jaw thrust, shoulders forward, and arm crossing. The posture or bodily stance exhibited by individuals communicates a variety of messages whether good or bad. When you stand straight and balance your weight on both feet, you give the impression of complete control, of poise. Your outward appearance mirrors yours inner mood. Conversely, when draped over a podium with your shoulders sagging, you give the feeling of depression, of lack of control. However, a casual posture may also be adapted to the audience. When speaking to business conference of say 10 peoples you might sit on the edge of a table or even address them from chair. Certainly a formal talk to 200 peoples would demand more formality in posture.

B. Gestures
Any movement of hands, arms, head, shoulders are termed gestures. At a more micro level there is an entire science of body movements called kinesics, of which gestures are apart. Emblems: Behavior that has direct verbal counterpart such as the thumb up-ward for hitchhiking, the arm wave for hello or goodbye. Illustrators: Here belong the gestures, usually the arm used to describe a circle, or the finger pointing to emphasize a point. Affect Displays: Speakers may use any of the primary emotional states usually via facial expression, in which include happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt, and interest etc. Regulators: Speakers use body movements of their audience to search out response t their message. Thus listeners may nod their heads, maintain eye contact, shift their postures, incline their heads to hear better.

Adapters: These are often the unintentional movements to a physical or psychological state: scratching a nose, twisting pencil, smoothing ones hair. To Emphasize: For example, the clenched fist emphasizes a point by either hitting the palm of the hand or shaking it upright before an audience. To Point: The index finger calls attention, indicating either location or directions. To Reject: A sample phrase accompanying this gesture would be I cant believe the actions of our competitors. Here the hand may go to the side in an act of rejection. To Describe: Clearly, though your hands cannot give the precise picture of the idea or thing you are speaking about, even an approximation of size is worthwhile. Vary Gestures: Using the same action repetitiously is boring to the audience and suggests lack of creativity on your part.

C. Movement
Taking a few steps during a presentation helps hold attention, as does any moving object. There are times, however, when a lectern precludes extensive movement other than short steps to its side. Yet move if possible for the following reasons: Move t Hold Attention: At large sessions, lecterns restrict your movement. In business meetings the audience may be smaller, thus permitting you to stand behind a desk or table. Move more often from side to side rather than back and forth. But do not move continuously, like a caged lion! Move to Get Rid of Nervousness: A way of decreasing stage fright is to move about, especially in the beginning of your talk. Even the manner in which you approach the lectern tells something about you nonverbally. Are you slow and plodding, or do you move with assurance, determination, enthusiasm? The latter approach gives a confident feeling while decreasing some of your initial nervousness. Move to Suggest Transitions: Cues for transitions in writing include headings, words, and numerical hints such as 1, 2, 3, or a, b, c. In your talk, you visually supplement the oral words of transition by physically moving when making a direction shift. The audience follows you more easily. Move to Increase Emphasis: In writing we use exclamation points following emphatic statements. In speaking a movement toward the audience, accompanied by gesture, can imply you are stressing a point. Emphasis through movement suggests idea importance and holds group attention.

D. Appearance
Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles and other factors affecting appearance are also considered a means of nonverbal communication. Research on color psychology has demonstrated that different colors can evoke different moods. Appearance can also alter physiological reactions, judgments and interpretations. Just think of all the subtle judgments you quickly make about someone based on his or her appearance. These first impressions are important, which is why experts suggest that job seekers dress appropriately for interviews with potential employers.

E. Facial Expression
Facial expression could convey primary gestures. A smile or laugh suggests that your topic interests you. A frown or glare may convey nonverbal impressions that you are worried, angry, or perhaps ill at ease. You must not only feel but show interest in your ideas. Sincerity is important. Facial expression includes eye contact. Speakers who bury their head in their notes or who speak t the screen behind them lose a sense of directness with the audience. Eye contact with your listeners suggests respect and goodwill adding to a favorable impression of you as a speaker.