Nonverbal Communication

Topics
How Nonverbal Communication is Defined Principles of Nonverbal Communication Types of nonverbal communication

Action Speaks Louder than Words!!

ZIDANE

Hes probably very angry.

Nonverbal Communication
All kinds of human messages/responses expressed without using words Expressed both consciously and unconsciously

Principles of Nonverbal Communication

Accounts 93% of the total meaning of communication Gestures and body language How we utter words (inflection, volume) Features of environments that affect meaning (temperature, lighting), and Objects that affect personal images and interaction patterns Five principles of nonverbal communication

Ambiguous
We can never be sure that others understand the meanings we intend to express with our nonverbal behavior Meanings change over time reflect and perpetuate distinct organizational identities learned and guided by rules, like verbal communication (what to do and how to do in some situations)

Interact with Verbal Communication

Five ways of interaction (Andersen, 1999; Guerrero & Floyd, 2006) repeat verbal messages

highlight verbal communication

complement, or add to, words

Nodding head while saying yes

Using inflection to emphasize certain words forceful gestures and increase in volume, capital or boldfaced letters to symbolize emphasis

 contradict verbal messages

Saying Nothings wrong in a hostile tone of voice

Substitute for verbal behaviors

Shrugging shoulders instead of saying I dont know.
Replacing spoken messages.

Regulates Interaction
tell us when to speak and keep silent we look at others to signal when were finished talking

Establishes Relationship-Level Meanings

often expresses how people feel about one another conveys the three dimensions of relationship-level meaning:
responsiveness, liking, and power

Responsiveness
using eye contact, inflections, facial expressions, and body posture to show interest in others expressing lack of interest (Westerners) by avoiding or decreasing visual contact and adopting a passive body position or turning away from the other person Harmony in peoples postures and facial expressions may reflect how comfortable they are with each other (Guerrero & Floyd, 2006) and how much they support each other (Trees, 2000)

Liking
Smiles and friendly touching usually are signs of positive feelings, whereas frowns and belligerent postures express antagonism Proxemity and eye contact between mens and womens conversations

Power
asserting dominance and to negotiating status (Andersen, 1999; Remland, 2000) men generally assume more space and use greater volume and more forceful gestures to assert their ideas Space also expresses power. (CEOs usually having large, spacious offices, entry-level and midlevel professionals having smaller offices, and secretaries often having minuscule workstations)

 Silence, a powerful form of nonverbal communication, means of exerting control.

sometimes use silence to stifle others conversation in meetings

Silence accompanied by a glare is doubly powerful in conveying disapproval

Reflects Cultural Values

Most Westerner cultures--inappropriate to touch or hold hands with same-sex friends. But symbol of closeness in many Asian cultures (Orbe & Harris, 2001) The United States--highly individualist culture, people want private spaces, and resent (sometimes fight) anyone who trespasses on the territory Use of time, handling of gifts varies from culture to culture

Types of Nonverbal Communication

Kinesics (face and body motion) Chronemics (perception and use of time) Paralanguage (vocal qualities) Proxemics (personal space) Silence Haptics (touch) Physical appearance Territoriality Olfactics (smell)

Kinesics
Body language or kinesics: - Body Movement - Gestures - Posture - Facial Expressions - Eye Contact Communication depends heavily on the actions, postures, movements and expression of our bodies by Desmond Morris(1979).

Be Aware About Your Body Language

In spite of your intelligence you may not get a job. Even though you are not a best scorer, you may get a good job by your nonverbal behavior

Before people started speaking languages. Gestures were the only medium of communication & of revealing ones intensions

and few are related to ones culture

where as some are learnt

Gestures may not be inborn as crying , shouting etc. Some gestures however are genetic;

What is physiognomy?
The interpretation of outward appearance, especially The feature of the face to discover a persons predominant Temper & Character.

Fear

Anger

Surprise

Happiness

Disgust

Sadness

Telling a Lie

Attention

Fear or Frustration

Winning Face

Eye Contact

Eyes which can find out the behavior

Eye is the window of the mind

Maintaining good eye contact shows respect and interest in what they have to say.

 Western cultures see direct eye to eye contact as positive (advise children to look a person in the eyes). But within USA, African-Americans use more eye contact when talking and less when listening. Nepal, Japan, Africa, Latin American, Caribbean avoid eye contact to show respect.

Palm facing down indicates

Telling some body to sit down or stopping some body

Facing up position (gesture of submission)

FACING DOWN POSITION

(REQUEST WITH AUTHORITY )

Equality

When a person rubs his palms together he is communicating something positive

News of success Cheerful

If a person Sits back, crosses her arms and legs, it is definite that her decision is negative

Gripping arms around the body tightly indicates

the person is waiting for a call or anxious to know a thing that is unfamiliar

Folding arms indicates the social status also

Boss intends to speak to his juniors

Chronemics
The study of our use of time Ancient cultures have established their own system in measuring time which differs from one to another. Example :
The usage of time varies from culture to Muslims use moon-based calendar system.

culture. Example :

Arabs engage in up to half an hour of informal conversation before turning to business.

Paralanguage
Examples: Paralanguage include the Loudness indicates strength following: in Arabic cultures, indicates - Vocal characterizers confidence and authority to such as laughter and the Germans and softness indicates weakness; sobs. it is opposite to Asian - Vocal qualifiers, such But culture. Loudness indicates as intensity(loud/soft), impoliteness to the Nepalese/Thais; indicates pitch (high/low), extent loss of control to the (clipping). Japanese. Generally, one - Vocal segregates, such learns not to shout in Asia for nearly any reason. as Uh, Um and Uh Gender based as well: women huh.

tend to speak higher and more softly than men.

Proxemics
The study of our use of personal distance is proxemics. Cultures differ substantially in their use of personal space Edward Hall (1959).

Proxemics
Distance Description Voice

Private situation Intimate Touching to 18 with people who inches are emotionally Close. Personal 18 inches to 4 Handshake feet Distance.

whisper

Soft voice

Social

4 to 12 feet

Distance between customers and Full voice people. Teacher in a classroom. voice

Public

12 feet

Silence
Silence can communicate
Agreement Disagreement Confusion Respect Sadness Thoughtfulness, or any number of meanings

Use of Silence in Asia

Silence in Asia has commonly been entirely acceptable whereas in the West silence has generally been considered socially disagreeable. Oliver(1971)

Haptics Study of Touch

Touch can communicate : Affection Attention Announcing a response Greetings Departures Support Sexual interest Jones and Yarbrough(1985)

Clothing
Clothing can reflect cultural heritage.
Example:

Clothing can reflect subgroup identity.

Example:

of

Traditional clothing

Gambia

US Army Combat Uniform

Territoriality
Territoriality refers to how space can be used to
communicate messages. Spaces can encourage democracy (Sennet, 1999). Example : --Pnyx and Agora in ancient Greece.

Pnyx

Territoriality

Agora

each culture has its own customs in space planning. e.g: Feng Shui in Chinese culture

Olfactics
The study of communication via smell is called Olfactics. In all cultures, women can detect odors in lower concentrations, identify them more accurately and remember them longer than men Doty et al. (1984)

Example:

Western culture fear of offensive natural smells

Olfactics
(billion dollar industry to mask objectionable odors with what is perceived to be pleasant ) again connected with attractiveness concept. Many other cultures consider natural body odors as normal (Arabic). Asian cultures (Filipino, Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Nepali, Indian) stress frequent bathing and often criticize western culture of not bathing often enough!

Nonverbal Issues and Misinterpretation

Nonverbal actions and their different meaning due to cultural differences.

Gestures
Gestures varies from culture to culture For example: Pointing : US with index finger; Japanese with entire hand, in fact most Asians consider pointing with index finger to be rude. Counting: Thumb = 1 in Germany, 5 in Japan

Gestures

USA=OK

JAPAN=MONEY

RUSSIA=ZERO

BRAZIL=INSULT

Posture
Bowing (not done, criticized,
or affected in US; shows rank in Japan) Hands in pocket (disrespectful in Turkey) Sitting with legs crossed (offensive in Ghana, Turkey) Showing soles of feet (Offensive in Thailand, Saudi Arabia)

Slouching (rude in most

Northern European areas)

Touch
Touch is culturally determined and each culture has a clear concept of what parts of the body one may not touch. In Western culture, handshake is common (even for strangers), hugs, kisses for those of opposite gender or of family (usually) on an increasingly more intimate basis. Most Africans touch on greeting but are annoyed if touched on the head (good boy, good girl overtones).

Touch
Islamic and Hindu: typically dont touch with the left hand. To do so is a social insult. Left hand is for toilet functions. In Nepal, India/Bangladesh (some other Asian countries) to receive anything from others is only allowed with right hand. Islamic cultures generally dont approve of any touching between opposite-sex (even hand shakes). But consider such touching (including hand holding, hugs) between same sex to be appropriate.

Touch

Nonverbal Behavior and Perception

A Matching Quiz
1. Insecurity 4. Confidence 2. Defensiveness 5. Nervousness 3. Cooperation 6. Frustration

Short breaths, tsk sound, clenched hands, wringing hands Steepled hands, hands behind back, hands on lapels of coat, broad gestures Arms crossed, sideways stance, touching and rubbing nose, rubbing eyes, drawing away Open hands, upper body in sprinters position, sitting on edge of chair, hand-to-face gestures Clearing throat, whew sound, whistling, smoking, fidgeting, tugging ears Pinching flesh, chewing pen, biting fingernails

Nonverbal Behavior and Perception

A Matching Quiz
1. Insecurity 4. Confidence 2. Defensiveness 5. Nervousness 3. Cooperation 6. Frustration

6 Short breaths, tsk sound, clenched hands, wringing hands Steepled hands, hands behind back, hands on lapels of coat, broad gestures Arms crossed, sideways stance, touching and rubbing nose, rubbing eyes, drawing away Open hands, upper body in sprinters position, sitting on edge of chair, hand-to-face gestures Clearing throat, whew sound, whistling, smoking, fidgeting, tugging ears Pinching flesh, chewing pen, biting fingernails

Nonverbal Behavior and Perception

A Matching Quiz
1. Insecurity 4. Confidence 2. Defensiveness 5. Nervousness 3. Cooperation 6. Frustration

6 Short breaths, tsk sound, clenched hands, wringing hands 4 Steepled hands, hands behind back, hands on lapels of coat, broad gestures Arms crossed, sideways stance, touching and rubbing nose, rubbing eyes, drawing away Open hands, upper body in sprinters position, sitting on edge of chair, hand-to-face gestures Clearing throat, whew sound, whistling, smoking, fidgeting, tugging ears Pinching flesh, chewing pen, biting fingernails

Nonverbal Behavior and Perception

A Matching Quiz
1. Insecurity 4. Confidence 2. Defensiveness 5. Nervousness 3. Cooperation 6. Frustration

6 Short breaths, tsk sound, clenched hands, wringing hands 4 Steepled hands, hands behind back, hands on lapels of coat, broad gestures 2 Arms crossed, sideways stance, touching and rubbing nose, rubbing eyes, drawing away Open hands, upper body in sprinters position, sitting on edge of chair, hand-to-face gestures Clearing throat, whew sound, whistling, smoking, fidgeting, tugging ears Pinching flesh, chewing pen, biting fingernails

Nonverbal Behavior and Perception

A Matching Quiz
1. Insecurity 4. Confidence 2. Defensiveness 5. Nervousness 3. Cooperation 6. Frustration

6 Short breaths, tsk sound, clenched hands, wringing hands 4 Steepled hands, hands behind back, hands on lapels of coat, broad gestures 2 Arms crossed, sideways stance, touching and rubbing nose, rubbing eyes, drawing away 3 Open hands, upper body in sprinters position, sitting on edge of chair, hand-to-face gestures Clearing throat, whew sound, whistling, smoking, fidgeting, tugging ears Pinching flesh, chewing pen, biting fingernails

Nonverbal Behavior and Perception

A Matching Quiz
1. Insecurity 4. Confidence 2. Defensiveness 5. Nervousness 3. Cooperation 6. Frustration

6 Short breaths, tsk sound, clenched hands, wringing hands 4 Steepled hands, hands behind back, hands on lapels of coat, broad gestures 2 Arms crossed, sideways stance, touching and rubbing nose, rubbing eyes, drawing away 3 Open hands, upper body in sprinters position, sitting on edge of chair, hand-to-face gestures 5 Clearing throat, whew sound, whistling, smoking, fidgeting, tugging ears Pinching flesh, chewing pen, biting fingernails

Nonverbal Behavior and Perception

A Matching Quiz
1. Insecurity 4. Confidence 2. Defensiveness 5. Nervousness 3. Cooperation 6. Frustration

6 Short breaths, tsk sound, clenched hands, wringing hands 4 Steepled hands, hands behind back, hands on lapels of coat, broad gestures 2 Arms crossed, sideways stance, touching and rubbing nose, rubbing eyes, drawing away 3 Open hands, upper body in sprinters position, sitting on edge of chair, hand-to-face gestures 5 Clearing throat, whew sound, whistling, smoking, fidgeting, tugging ears 1 Pinching flesh, chewing pen, biting fingernails