Section 2

Using Nonverbal Communication

to Create a Professional Image
GUIDE TO READING
Objectives 4. Recognize the importance of effective
1. Explain how nonverbal skills can convey nonverbal strategies such as a firm hand-
the confidence, poise, assertiveness, and shake, direct eye contact, and appropriate
immediacy needed for a positive image in use of space and distance.
professional and social contexts.
2. Describe the types of nonverbal commu- Terms to Learn
nication and their possible effects. pitch tone kinesics
3. Describe the four characteristics of voice. range rate artifacts
inflection tempo

I magine that you are a restaurant manager. At staff meetings, you

notice that one server always seems to complain loudly and often
leaves angry. Another server typically sits silently near the back of the
group. A third server can be counted on to participate with enthusiasm
and offer helpful suggestions. Which of these servers is projecting a
professional image?

As you develop competence and effective-

ness as a communicator, you will face many
challenges. Some of these challenges will
take place in your school, community, or
possibly in a business context. One of the
most important challenges will be partici-
pating effectively with coworkers, supervi-
sors, or customers in business conversations,
discussions, and presentations. To make
your communication in these situations as
effective as possible, you will want to convey
a professional image.

Barbara Walters exhibits a professional image. How can

you create a positive professional image through non-
verbal communication?

144 Glencoe Communication Applications

CHARACTERISTICS OF A
POSITIVE PROFESSIONAL
IMAGE
A positive professional image and presence
can be important to your success in profes-
sional and social contexts. It means that others
see you as poised and confident. It also means
that you consistently conduct yourself in a
businesslike manner in the workplace. Finally,
a professional image means that you can be
depended on to communicate appropriately
and effectively in any situation that may arise.
Through nonverbal communication, you
can project certain messages about yourself
and your abilities as a communicator. With
enough practice and skill, you can create a
professional image that projects all of the fol-
lowing characteristics:
• confidence
• poise
• assertiveness
• immediacy
These young ladies are projecting a positive professional image. What does an image that
projects confidence convey to others?
Image That
Projects Confidence
A strong voice and an attentive and posi-
tive attitude project an image of confidence.
These nonverbal cues show that you believe
in yourself and your communication skills.
Confidence conveys to others that you believe
you can accomplish tasks successfully and
that you can build and maintain positive
relationships.
Image That Projects Poise
People who are known for their poise gen-
erally have an ability to “read” any situation
and act appropriately. They don’t hesitate in
their speech and are seldom uncertain about
how to act in a given context. They also tend
to keep their cool in a stressful situation.
Poise stems from an understanding of com-
munication situations and a strong sense of
appropriateness and correctness. Poise sends
the nonverbal message that you are in control
of your communication and the situation.
Understanding Nonverbal Communication 145
Image That communication. In the following pages, you
will learn more about the role nonverbal
Projects Assertiveness communication plays in creating and main-
Assertiveness suggests a strong sense of pur- taining a positive professional image.
pose. It means that you are confident of your-
self and your opinions or beliefs and are not
afraid to take a stand when necessary. An
assertive individual will not allow a pushy
salesperson, a bullying coworker, or an incon- TYPES OF NONVERBAL
siderate friend to treat him or her unfairly.
Instead, that person will project verbal and
COMMUNICATION
nonverbal messages that convey logical rea- Have you thought about how the way
soning and command respect. you laugh, the way you dress, how you use
space, and how you protect your territory
Unlike an aggressive person, an assertive
convey nonverbal messages about you?
individual does not try to impose his or her
Perhaps you have not considered how your
ideas on others, forcing them to change or
use of time sends messages about your pri-
take action against their will. Rather, an
orities, your attitudes, and your feelings
assertive person uses tact and persuasiveness
about relationships. All of these are ways
to take a stand and, if necessary, win others
you communicate nonverbally.
over to his or her way of thinking.
There are three main types of nonverbal
communication: voice, body talk, and envi-
Image That ronmental cues. Within each of these broad
categories are a number of subcategories.
Projects Immediacy The following table lists a wide variety of
A competent communicator has a sense of nonverbal cues that people use in everyday
immediacy in interacting with others. A com- communication.
municator who has the qual-
ity of immediacy is perceived
by others as approachable, TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
friendly, and open. When Voice Body Talk Environmental Cues
you bring a problem to this
person, you usually feel satis- Pitch Dress and grooming Space and distance
fied that you have his or her Range and Posture Territory
full attention. Immediacy— inflection
especially when used in com-
bination with confidence, Volume Muscular tone and tension Touch
poise, and assertiveness—is a Quality and tone Movement and gesture Time
valuable aspect of projecting
Duration: Rate Facial communication Artifacts
a professional image.
and tempo
As these characteristics
Pause and silence Eye communication Color
illustrate, image depends on
more than just strong verbal Laughter Fragrance and odor
skills. It also relies heavily
Vocalizations
on effective nonverbal

146 Glencoe Communication Applications

VOICE AS NONVERBAL Figure 5–3 Characteristics of Voice

COMMUNICATION
Voice, as shown in Figure 5–2, is the
human sound that is used to transmit oral
language from sender to receiver. The speak-
ing voice that carries words is often accompa-
nied or replaced by other vocal cues, such as
a sigh or a laugh.
Voice is an important aspect of your overall
communication. Studies generally agree that
when voice is involved in communication, it
accounts for 38 percent of the message received
by the receiver. When voice is involved in com-
munication, it is one of the most influential
kinds of nonverbal cues. For this reason, a
pleasant speaking voice can be very important
to creating a professional image.
Characteristics of Voice
Imagine that a supervisor called to say,
“You need to get your report in on time.” The
meaning of the words probably would be
clear. However, you would need to pay atten-
tion to the supervisor’s voice to decide
whether the call was a gentle reminder, a brief
scolding, or a stern warning. Your response
would be influenced not only by the meaning
of the person’s words but also by the charac-
teristics of his or her voice.
Figure 5–2 From Voice to Speech
Pitch
Volume
Tone
Duration
As sound, your voice has the same four
characteristics, illustrated in Figure 5–3, as all
other sounds. They are the following:
• pitch • tone
• volume • duration
The way these characteristics blend in your
speaking makes your voice unique and differ-
ent from all other voices.
Pitch Pitch is one of the most important
characteristics of voice because it is so closely
tied to the emotion of a message. Pitch is the
highness or lowness of sound on a musical
scale. Think about how you respond to the
pitch of a musical instrument or singing
voice. Whether the music energizes you,
makes you feel peaceful and calm, or makes
you feel sad or happy and “upbeat” proba-
bly depends to a large extent on the use of
high and low pitch.
Similarly, the pitch of
your voice affects oth-
ers’ interpretation and
emotional response.

High Pitch People

words, words, often associate a high-
Voice words, words, pitched voice with ex-
words, words ternal factors such as
stress, fear, tension,
excitement, frustra-
tion, or uncertainty.

Understanding Nonverbal Communication 147

High pitch can also indicate fatigue, youth, presentations can lull listeners to sleep and
uncertainty, or a low energy level. Occasional cause them to lose interest in what the speaker
use of high pitch can add variety, humor, and has to say.
enthusiasm.
Range and Inflection Vocal range and
Medium Pitch Medium pitch is the pitch inflection are both associated with pitch. Range
you use when you speak normally in conver- relates to the variations possible for a speaker to
sations, discussions, and presentations. A reach—from the highest pitch possible to the
medium pitch usually conveys calmness and lowest pitch possible. Inflection is the rising and
confidence and can be used to emphasize the falling of pitch that adds variety to speaking. A
intellectual content of a message. person’s inflection often reveals the meaning
and feeling underlying his or her message.
Low Pitch Low-pitched voices often are
Individuals who speak consistently at
described as rich, deep, or resonant. Low pitch
the same pitch without variety in range
can express a wide range of emotions from
and inflection are said to speak in a monotone.
sadness to uncertainty and from tenderness to
Unfortunately, few things kill the impact and
concern. Because they are usually pleasant to
effectiveness of a message like a monotonous
listen to, low-pitched voices can be a real asset
voice that lacks animation and inflection.
in professional and social conversations, dis-
cussions, and presentations. However, consis- Volume It is the speaker’s responsibility to
tent use of low pitch in long discussions and be clearly heard and understood by listeners in
conversations, discussions,
and presentations. Being
understood depends on clear,
articulate sounding of words.
Being heard depends on
using appropriate volume
for the situation.
Listeners tend to be sen-
sitive to the volume of the
messages they receive. For
instance, you may view a
loud, boisterous speaker as
rude or overbearing. On
the other hand, if a
speaker consistently talks
too softly, you may view
him or her as incompetent,
inconsiderate, shy, or lack-
ing confidence.
As a general rule of
thumb, use listener feed-
back to judge the appropri-
Mexican President Carlos Salinas and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney ateness of your volume. If
lean in to hear one another better. How does volume affect communication? you notice listeners leaning

148 Glencoe Communication Applications

forward or turning one ear toward you to
hear better, speak a little louder. You also
might use perception checks to help you find
the right volume and ensure that your mes-
sage is heard.
Tone The human voice is unique
because of its tone. Tone is a specific vocal
quality. Think of how you would describe the
tone of a bell, a siren, or an alarm. Some
bells produce rich, mellow sounds, but others
sound weak and small. Sirens often are
shrill. An alarm may be harsh and grating.
Like these sounds, voices often are thought of
as pleasant or unpleasant depending upon
their tone.
The good news is that almost everyone
can develop a pleasant speaking voice.
Competent communicators usually want to
develop voices that are rich, melodic, reso-
nant, and full. One tip for developing the
full resonant voice is to breathe deeply for
speech and speak from the diaphragm like
actors and singers.
Duration Almost everyone has en-
countered a speaker who raced through his
or her words so quickly a listener could
hardly keep up. You probably also have
heard speakers plod along so slowly you
wondered if they would ever finish a sen-
tence. Duration has two related components:
rate and tempo. Rate refers to how fast or
how slowly an individual speaks. Tempo
refers to the rhythmic quality of a person’s
speech. Tempo results from variations in an
individual’s rate of speech.
The rate of a person’s speech can have a
significant effect on listeners. For example, if
a speaker talks too fast, listeners may have
difficulty following and understanding the
message. If a speaker goes too slowly, listen-
ers may tire of the slow pace and lose interest.
The key is variety. Speeding up and slowing
down the rate of speech appropriately can
TECHNOLOGY
Hearing Yourself Speak How you say something
is just as important as the words that you use to
say it. Assume that you have just won a free din-
ner with your favorite media celebrity or athlete.
The famous person wants to know why you are
such a big fan. With a classmate, develop a series
of questions that the celebrity might ask. Using
an audio recorder, tape your answers to the
questions. Listen to the recordings of yourself
and your partner. Analyze each voice’s pitch,
range, tone, and rate. Are your answers convinc-
ing? Record your responses again while
concentrating more on the sound of
your voice and compare the results.
help you create a tempo that holds listeners’
interest and helps them understand your
message.
How do you know whether or not your
rate and tempo are suitable in a given situ-
ation? The answer once again is to analyze
the feedback from your audience. If you
have a question, use perception checks and
adapt your rate to meet the needs of your
listeners.
Cues That
Accompany Speech
Speech is often accompanied by a variety
of attributes or vocalizations, such as pause
and silence, laughter, sighs, sobs, or other
sounds. Such vocal cues may be intentional
or unintentional messages about meanings
and feelings.
Pauses and Silence When you pause
in your speech, it typically is only for a brief
period of time. Silence usually refers to a longer
Understanding Nonverbal Communication 149

Laughter is an effective nonverbal cue. How does laughter contribute to
communication?
period of suspended sound. Pauses punctuate
speech by setting off specific units of thought.
They can also be used deliberately to provoke
thought, develop curiosity or suspense, create a
dramatic effect, or raise questions.
You may have heard the expression
“Speech is silver; silence is golden.” In other
words, you often can communicate more
with silence than you can with sound.
Silence, including pauses, can indicate a
willingness to listen. It also can communi-
cate a willingness to defer to another speaker
or to consider a matter carefully before
speaking. Silence can be used to express
approval, disapproval, or total apathy. It
also can be used to demonstrate courtesy,
respect, or profound emotion.
Laughter Laughter can be an extremely
effective nonverbal cue. It can clearly convey
humor, friendliness, acceptance, and good
feelings. Depending on the context, however,
it also can convey cruelty or sarcasm. Either
way, laughter can add a wealth of meaning to
150 Glencoe Communication Applications
a conversation, discussion, or
presentation. The key to using
laughter is appropriateness and
a few simple rules that are
shown in the Communication
Strategies checklist.
Vo c a l i z a t i o n s W h e n
you make sounds without
forming words with meaning,
you are vocalizing. Sounds
such as sighs, whines, or throat
clearing are all examples of
vocalizations. Vocalizations
send messages about a sender’s
feelings. A sigh, for example,
may be interpreted as wishful-
ness, boredom, or fatigue. It
also could indicate pleasure or
complete relaxation. Random
or overused vocalizations such
as “um” or “ah” tend to clutter speech and
interrupt a smooth and meaningful transfer
of information from sender to receiver.
C OMMUNICATION
SENDING POSITIVE MESSAGES
WITH LAUGHTER
Analyze the context. Is it appro-
priate to laugh in a particular
situation?
Listen to your laugh. Is it pleasant
and controlled? Generally avoid
overly loud, raucous laughter.
Laugh with others, not at them.
Learn to laugh at yourself. Lighten
up and take little mistakes, miscues,
and failures in stride.
Use laughter to promote good-
natured humor and goodwill.
 To communicate more clearly, become
aware of the vocalizations you tend to use.
Analyze them and evaluate their effect on C OMMUNICATION
your communication. If you find that
ineffective vocalizations clutter your speech, IMPROVING VOICE
you can develop your awareness and try to
eliminate them from your speech. Breathe deeply using the diaphragm
to control exhaling air.
Stand and sit tall when you speak
to allow your sound waves to
Voice Production resonate, but be sure not to draw
Voice can be a determining factor in a job your shoulders upward to your
interview, making a sale, or persuading a neck. Let your shoulders remain
group to adopt your point of view and take relaxed and unmoving while you
action. It can project an image on the tele- breathe.
phone, and it can determine whether others
Speak from the diaphragm instead
enjoy being around you or not. Remember
of the chest or head.
that with analysis, work, and practice,
almost everyone can have an effective voice Become aware of how sounds are
that is easy to listen to. Some tips for properly shaped in the oral cavity.
improving the quality of your voice are Create clear speech sounds by using
found in the Communication Strategies the hard and soft palate.
checklist.

Members of a choir must be aware of voice production. How can voice production impact one’s
communication success?

Understanding Nonverbal Communication 151