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).

Paralanguage: Nonverbal Communication

Communication by means other than language.

Nonverbal communication

Impact of a Message
Face-To-Face Communication
Words 7%

Tone 36%

Body Language

Tone

Words

Body Language 57%

Impact of A Message
Voice Communication
Words 14%

Tone

Words

Tone 86%

NV messages communicate feelings & emotions. E.g. a smile , a wink ;-)

NV messages are more believable than verbal ones. Let us consider the following examples:
Hey are you mad or something? asks Rahul. (Big Sigh) Oh no, I am not mad, responds Ritu (in a subdued tone of voice and without making an eye contact). You sure? Because you are acting funny, like you are ticked off.(one more try and then Rahul will most likely give up). I SAID IM NOT MAD, OKAY? WILL YOU LEAVE IT ALONE PLEASE ?

Dont give me that confused look you know what I am talking about. Hey, is it really you ? You sound like your sister on the phone.

If I tied your hands together, I bet you couldnt talk.

Dont give this silent treatment , say something!

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

Paralanguage includes intentional and unintentional nonverbal messages

Paralanguage may be:

Complementary Unconscious

Learned

Universals and Cultural Variations

eyebrow flash, the nose wrinkle basic emotions: --happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, and surprise

The functions of nonverbal communication

To repeat what was said verbally To complement what was said verbally To contradict to what was said verbally To substitute for what would be said verbally To regulate and manage the communication event

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.

Inborn Nonverbal Actions

Smiling Crying

Universality versus Relativism

Birdwhistell (1970)
Emblems: are gestures understood by participant of a communicative community to express a specific meaning

Cultural Specific Emblems

Can you guess what the following gestures from Japan, France and Iran mean?

Could reflect social status and gender

Dominance versus subordination In North America ---more space---take less space ---stare at others ---less eye contact --- smile more-- smile less

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

How do we communicate with those we dont know?

Leonard Zunin (The First Four Minutes, 1972) Three common behaviours: which side of the path look I acknowledge you look Lookaway priority

Types of Nonverbal Communication

Kinesics Facial Expressions :Reveal thoughts and express emotions & attitude Appearance : influences perceptions of credibility and attractiveness

Body Movement, Gestures & Postures : communicate information, status, warmth, reliability , interest in others, attitudes & liking Oculesics(Eye Contact :Conveys trustworthiness, interest) sincerity, honesty &

Proxemics(space, territory and distance)

Space : Provides information about status, power and intimacy Public: >12; general layout
Social: 12-4; descriptions Personal: 4-18; anecdotes, pleas Intimate: <18

Territory : Provides cues as to use, ownership,& occupancy of space

Paralanguage (voice tone, pitch etc)

Communicates emotion & clarifies the meaning of the message through pitch, rate and volume

Haptics(touch) Communicates intimacy, affection & rejection Olfactics(study of smell)

Chronomics (study of time)e.g. Rigid time momochromic

 Kinesthetic Communication provides a powerful link which inspires trust & action. It is Visceral Personal Emotional

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

Distance Between Faces Tone of Voice very close (3-6") soft whisper close (8-12") audible whisper neutral (20-36") neutral (4.5-5') soft voice, low volume full voice

Type of Message top secret or sensual very confidential personal subject matter non-personal information

across the room (8-20')

loud voice

talking to a group stretching the limit

All nonverbal communication is best understood within cultural context

Body movements Eye contact Facial expressions Touch

The Nature of Nonverbal Messages :

Culture bound. Rule governed. We develop rules or expectations for appropriate non verbal behavior in ourselves and others. NVC is ambiguous, as meanings for different actions vary from person to person. NVC is continuous and flow from one situation to another. NVC is non linguistic and does not have the regularities of vocabulary, grammar, and pattern that language has.