Week 7 Nonverbal Comm.

Question 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• Nonverbal communication

Answer 1

• Nonverbal communication- messages expressed by other than linguistic means.
• Nonverbal communication plays a vital role in human interaction

Question 2

Non- verbal

Answer 2

NONVERBAL SKILLS DEFINED
• Includes messages transmitted by vocal cues that don’t involve language such as signs, laughs, and other assorted noises as well as the non-linguistic dimensions of the spoken word such as volume, rate, pitch, and so on.
• Your paralanguage, gender and, the rate and speed of your voice are related to nonverbal communication.
• The language you speak (verbalize) - is not.
• Most communication scholars wouldn’t define sign , languages as nonverbal, however, because they are symbolic in nature, like words.

Question 3

Verbal

Answer 3

Question 4

Non verbal

Answer 4

Question 5

Decoding

Answer 5

communication.
• Nonverbal encoding and decoding skills are a strong predictor of popularity, attractiveness, an socio-emotional well- being.
- Decoding: The ability to ‘read’ nonverbal messages
• Good nonverbal communicators are more persuasive and have greater success in setting ranging from careers to playing poker to romance.

Question 6

Emotional intelligence-

Answer 6

Emotional intelligence- the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions and be sensitive to other’s feelings.
Researchers recognize that it’s impossible to study spoken language without paying attention to its nonverbal dimensions.

Question 7

CHARACTERISTICS OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
ALL BEHAVIOUR HAS COMMUNICATION VALUE

Answer 7

• No matter what we do, we give off information about ourselves through our posture, clothing, facial expressions, eyes, etc.
Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Question 8

• 1. Repeating.

Answer 8

CHARACTERISTICS OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION SERVES MANY FUNCTIONS
• 1. Repeating. Nonverbal behaviours that duplicate the content of a verbal message.
• Not used as a way of listening to help.
• People remember comments accompanied by gestures more than those made with words alone.
- For example: Giving verbal directions to a location and at the same time pointing with a finger to the
area

Question 9

2. Complementing

Answer 9

• 2. Complementing. Nonverbal behaviour that reinforces a verbal message.
• Complementing nonverbal behaviours match th thoughts and emotions that the communicator expressing verbally.
• Verbal and nonverbal messages match
- For example, imagine the difference between sayin
“thank you” with a sincere facial expression and tor of voice, and saying the same words in a deadpan manner and with a monotone voice.

Question 10

3.Substituting

Answer 10

• 3. Substituting. Nonverbal behaviour that takes the place of a verbal message.
• Nonverbal substituting is sometimes used when communicators are reluctant to express their feelings- instead they sigh, roll their eyes, or yawn.

Question 11

4.Accenting

Answer 11

• 4. Accenting. Nonverbal behaviours that emphasize part of a verbal message.
• Just as we use italics to emphasize an idea in print, so do we use nonverbal devices to emphasize oral messages
• For example: pointing an accusing finger adds emphasis to criticism; emphasizing certain words with the voice “ It was your idea”) or adding a bit of sarcasm. ( “NO” or “No????”)

Question 12

5. Regulating

Answer 12

• 5. Regulating. A function of nonverbal communication in which nonverbal cues control the flow of verbal communication between and among individuals.
• Conversations are regulated by nodding (“| understand” or “keep going”) looking away (lack of attention), or moving toward the door (ending the conversation).
• Of course, such nonverbal signals don’t guarantee that the other party will pay attention, interpret, or respond in the ways we hope.

Question 13

• 6. Contradicting.

Answer 13

• 6. Contradicting. Nonverbal behaviour that is inconsistent with a verbal message.
• People often simultaneously express different and even contradicting messages in their verbal and nonverbal messages.
- we tend to believe the nonverbal message instead of the words.
- Example: Mixed Messages
have great news to share.
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Question 14

7. Mixed messages

Answer 14

• 7. Mixed messages. Situations in which a person’s words are incongruent with his or her nonverbal behaviour.
- Example: Being visible upset when asked if you are upset and you respond, ‘no, I am fine!

Question 15

Leakage

Answer 15

• When message senders are telling lies, their nonverba behaviour sometimes gives them away.
• This is known as leakage and it can come through a number of nonverbal channels.

• Leakage. Nonverbal behaviours that reveal informatio a communicator does not disclose verbally.

Question 16

Deception cues

Answer 16

• Deception cues. Nonverbal behaviours that signal the untruthfulness of a verbal message.

Question 17

INFLUENCES OF NONVERBAL
Communication

Answer 17

INFLUENCES OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• The way we communicate nonverbally is influenced to a certain degree by how we are socialized in terms of gender and culture.

Question 18

INFLUENCES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
GENDER

Answer 18

Question 19

INFLUENCES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
CULTURE

Answer 19

• Cultures have different nonverbal languages as well as verbal ones.
- For example, a legendary mayor of New York was fluent in English, Italian, and Yiddish. Researchers who watched his campaign speeches with the sound turn off found that they could tell which language he was speaking by the nonverbal cues he used
• However, some nonverbal behaviours are universal.
• Smiles and laughter are signals of positive emotions, while sour expressions convey displeasure in every culture.

Question 20

Kinesics

Answer 20

• The first type of nonverbal communication to be discussed is kinesics: the study of body position and motion.
- This includes body orientation, posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements.

Question 21

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION BODY MOVEMENT - Body Orientation

Answer 21

• Body Orientation: the degree to which we face toward or away from someone with our body, feet, and head.
- facing someone directly = interest/ facing away = a
desire to avoid involvement.
- For example: When you are being questioned and you position your body away from the person and avoid involvement in the questioning by the way you have positioned your body.

Question 22

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
BODY MOVEMENT - Posture

Answer 22

• Posture: the way people carry themselves.
• It might be the least ambiguous type of nonverbal behaviour.
• Tension and relaxation also offer clues about feelings. We assume relaxed postures in nonthreatening situations and tighten up in threatening situations.
• The lower- status person is generally the more rigid, tense appearing one, whereas the higher-status one is more relaxed.

Question 23

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
BODY MOVEMENT - Gestures

Answer 23

• Gestures: motions of the body, usually hands or arms, that have communicative value.
• Some social scientists claim that a language of gestures was the first form of human communication, preceding speech by tens of thousands of years.
• The most common forms of gestures are called illustrators: movements that accompany speech but don’t stand on their own, (e.g.: when giving directions verbally with nonverbal gestures/ Remove the words from your directions and it’s unlikely that the person would find the location.).
- Think also of people who like to “talk with their hands” even when they’re on the phone and can’t be seen by the other party. We tend to use illustrators more often when we are emotionally aroused -trying to explain difficult ideas when we’re furious, horrified, agitated, distressed, or excited.

Question 24

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
BODY MOVEMENT - Gestures

Answer 24

• A second type of gestures is emblems
• Emblems: deliberate nonverbal behaviours that have a precise meaning, known to virtually everyone within a cultural group.
• Unlike illustrators, emblems can stand on their own and often function as replacements for words.
- Examples:
• We all know that a head nod means yes, a head shake means no, a wave means hello or goodbye, and a hand to the ear means “I can’t hear you.”
• While the thumbs up sign means “good” to us, it is considered an obscene gesture in Iraq and several other countries

Question 25

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
BODY MOVEMENT - Adaptors

Answer 25

• A third type of gestures is adaptors, also known as manipulators
• Adaptors/ manipulators: consists of unconscious bodily movements in response to the environment (fiddling with your hands, clicking a pen, even shivering).

Question 26

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
BODY MOVEMENT - Face and Eyes

Answer 26

• Face and Eyes: while the face and eyes are the most noticed parts of the body, their nonverbal messages are not the easiest to read; it is almost impossible to read the complexity of facial expressions and their corresponding emotions; the speed at which facial expressions can change

Question 27

TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
BODY MOVEMENT - Face and Eyes

Answer 27

• The face is a tremendously complicated channel of expression for several reasons.
• First, there are at least eight distinguishable positions of the eyebrows and forehead, eight of the eyes and lids, and ten for the lower face
•Second, there’s the speed at which facial expressions can change.
- For example, slow-motion films show microexpressions, those brief expressions that flit across a subject’s face in as short a time as it takes to blink an eye.

Question 28

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS

Answer 28

• Individual factors such as:
- voice,
- touch, and
- physical attractiveness
• are also related to nonverbal communication.

Question 29

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
VOICE

Answer 29

• People are often surprised to find voice included as nonverbal communication, but social scientists use the term paralanguage to describe nonverbal vocal messages.

Question 30

Paralanguage

Answer 30

• Paralanguage: non linguistic means of vocal expression: rate, pitch, tone, volume, pauses.

Question 31

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
VOICE

Answer 31

• Two types of pauses:
• 1. Unintentional pause: when people collect their thoughts before deciding how best to proceed with their verbal message.
- For example: Liars tend to have more unintentional pauses because they often make up stories on the fly.
• 2. Vocalized pause: includes the use of vocal fillers(‘um”,
)
“er”, ‘uh”) or filler words( “like”, ‘okay”, “ you know”)
- Research shows that vocalized pauses reduce a person’s perceived credibility and negatively affect perceptions of candidates in job interviews.
• Paralanguage can affect behaviour.
- For example: communicators are most likely to comply with requests that are delivered by speakers whose rate is similar to their own.

Question 32

Scarcasm

Answer 32

• Sarcasm is created through the use of both emphasis and tone of voice to change a statement’s meaning to the opposite of its verbal message.

Question 33

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
TOUCH

Answer 33

• Haptics: the study of touching.
• Touch can communicate many messages and signify a variety of relationships.
• Functional/ professional (dental exam, haircut)
• Social/ Polite (handshake)
• Friendship/ Warmth (clap on back)
• Aggression (shoves, slaps)
Hapde touch
• Sexual arousal (some kisses, strokes).

Question 34

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
APPEARANCE

Answer 34

• Whether or not we’re aware of the fact, how we look sends messages to others.
• There are two dimensions to appearance: physical attractiveness and clothing.
• Physical Attractiveness: People that are deemed physically attractive receive many social benefits. Both men and women whom others find attractive are rated as being more sensitive, kind, strong, sociable, and interesting than their less fortunate brothers and sisters.
• The influence of physical attractiveness begins early in life ( preschool age…3+)

Question 35

EXTERNAL FACTORS
PHYSICAL SPACE - Proxemics

Answer 35

• External factors such as distance, environment, and time are also related to nonverbal communication.
Physical Space:
• Proxemics: is the study of how people and animals use space.
I
- The distance we place between ourselves an others
- There are at least two dimensions to proxemics:
distance and territoriality.

Question 36

Zone distances

Answer 36

EXTERNAL FACTORS
PHYSICAL SPACE - DISTANCE
FOUR DISTANCE ZONES by Edward Hall
1. Intimate distance - from skin contact to 45 cm
2. Personal distance - from 45 cm to 1.2 m
3. Social distance - from 1.2 m to 3.6 m
4. Public distance - extending outward from 3.6 m

Question 37

EXTERNAL FACTORS
PHYSICAL SPACE - TERRITORIALITY

Answer 37

• Territoriality: the notion that an area is claimed by an individual or a group of individuals.
• Territory remains stationary; any geographical area, such as work station, room, house, or other physical space, to which we assume some kind of
“ rights “ is out territory.
• How people use space communicates about power and status (we knock before entering a boss’s office, but the boss can just walk into our work space without hesitating).

Question 38

EXTERNAL FACTORS
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Answer 38

• Physical environment. Physical settings, architecture, and interior design also affect our communication.
• Environment can also shape the kind of interaction that takes place in it. In one experiment, subjects working in a “beautiful” room were more positive and energetic than those working in “average” or “ugly” spaces

Question 39

EXTERNAL FACTORS
SMELL

Answer 39

• Smell
• Olfactics: the study of smell, is another dimension nonverbal communication.
• Smell is related to attractiveness; it is also associated with memory, helping us form and recall events and information.
- For instance, buyers looking at new homes are influenced by how they smell, just as we’re attracted to people who smell good and repelled by those who do not.

• Having a sense of smell is related to a positive quality of life and those suffering from smell disorders lose interest in sex and feel depressed.

Question 40

EXTERNAL FACTORS
TIME

Answer 40

• Time
• Chronemics: the study of how humans use and structure time.
• The way we handle time can express both intentional and unintentional messages.
- For instance, sending a delayed response-or no response at all-to a work e-mail can create an impression of untrustworthiness, especially from a subordinate or peer
• Time serves as a relationship marker: the amount of time spent with a relational partner sends important messages about valuing that person.
• Time is measured and valued in mediated communication: quick responses to e-mail messages or postings get positive appraisals vs. tardy or neglected ones.
• Another issue related to time is the notion of silence, which can have a variety of interpretations.
• It can mean that individuals are comfortable with one another or it offers space to think about and contemplate something.
• On the other hand, it can be construed as anger, avoidance, lack of interest, and so forth.