Law and Language

Nonverbal Communication
Objective:
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Media Communication

Verbal Non-Verbal

Oral Sign Language

Speaking Visual Signs

Meta-communication

Listening Audio Signs

Paralanguage
Reading Object Language

Written Action Language

Thinking
Kinesics
Emblems
Proxemics

Illustrators
Haptics

Regulators
Occulesics

Olfactics Adaptors

Chronemics Affect Display

Postures

Appearances

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Nonverbal behaviour is better indicator of true thoughts and feelings than spoken (verbal) language.

Functions of Nonverbal Communication

Accenting Adding emphasis to the verbal message.
Contradicting Signaling the opposite of the verbal message.
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Substituting Replacing the verbal message.

Complementing Sending the same message nonverbally.
Regulating Controlling the flow of the verbal message.

SIGN LANGUAGE
A Sign language is any means of communication through pictorial representation or bodily movements,
especially of the hands and arms, used when spoken communication is impossible or not desirable. In
linguistic terms, sign languages are as rich and complex as any oral language, but they are not "real
languages". It is a conventional communication which is a part of nonverbal communication.

Visual Signals
To keep people informed in impersonal ways several signs and signals are displayed to communicate
important messages, like the sign boards indicating directions, instructions or alerts along the roadside. In
interpersonal communication this involves simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and
movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's thoughts.
Examples of Sign language are:
1. Sign language for people who are deaf and blind
2. Sign language for children and adults with special needs
3. Sign language for babies - a most fabulous way to understand and communicate with hearing baby,
before he or she can speak!
Kinesics like emblems, illustrators and regulators are also visual sign language.

Audio Signals
Metacommunication
A Metacommunication is a message that, although not expressed in words, accompanies a message that is
expressed in words. For example, “Don’t be late for work” communicates caution; yet the sentence may
imply (but not expressed in words) such additional ideas as “You are frequently late, and I’m warning you,”
or “I doubt your dependability” (Metacommunication). Metacommunication includes implied meanings,
perhaps through tone of voice, word choice, omissions, or silence. The phrase “reading between the lines”
applies to both oral and written communication. Metacommunication may be intentional or unintentional.
For example, the words “Good luck” may imply that you will need luck to succeed. The words “You look
nice today” may suggest that you looked terrible yesterday.

Paralanguage
Paralanguage refers to how something is said, not what is said. Paralinguistic activity can be categorized
into:
Voice Qualities – Voice qualities encompass:
-Pitch range (actual range of pitch),
-Vocal lip control (the degree of hoarseness in a voice),
-Glottis control (sharp or smooth transitions in pitch),
-Articulation control (precise or slurred speech),
-Rhythm control (level of smoothness),
-Resonance (thickness or thinness of tone),
-Pitch control (ability to vary range of pitches), and
-Tempo (rate of speech)
A Soft, low pitched and slow rate voice indicates liking
A high-pitched voice indicates anger
Moderate pitch, volume and rate indicates boredom.

Vocalizations – vocal cues outside language structure:

- Vocal Characterizers give information about the speaker’s emotional or physical state. They
include sounds such as laughing, clearing the throat, grunting, crying, giggling, moaning, sighing, and
yawning. Characteristics are distracting and annoying.

In rare instances they can be used for effect but typically they should be avoided.

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- Vocal qualifiers are cues that provide variety within a specific utterance. This category
includes intensity (loudness or softness), pitch height (high or low), extent (duration of
sound), and rate. A temporary increase in rate or volume, for example, indicates
impatience or anger, respectively.

Nonverbal meaning from qualifiers is clearly illustrated by repeating the sentence,

“I didn’t say he stole your car”
“I didn’t say he stole your car”
“I didn’t say he stole your car”
“I didn’t say he stole your car”
“I didn’t say he stole your car”
“I didn’t say he stole your car”

- Vocal segregates are used in place of words and have connotative meaning. They are simply
pauses – periods of silence between utterances – but may include “uh-huh” (yes), “shhh”
(be quiet), and “uh-oh” (no). Filter sounds like “er” and “ah” are also considered
segregates.

Applicants who took longer than the average three seconds to respond to interviewer
questions were rated less confident, less organized, and less ambitious than those who
responded more quickly.

ACTION LANGUAGE

Kinesics
Sometimes called “body language,” kinesics refers to the way gestures and body movement send messages.
There are five categories of kinesics behaviour:
• Emblem – A movement or gesture that has a direct verbal translation.
Examples: A hitchhikers thumb, two-finger victory sign, wave of the hand to say Hello.

• Illustrator – A movement or gesture that accompanies and illustrates a verbal message. They are usually
intentional by the sender and cannot normally be interpreted without the use of words.
Examples: Holding your hands apart while saying, “the fish was this big!”

• Regulator – A movement or gesture that regulates conversation.

Examples: raising your hand, lifting your head, and raising your eyebrows to gain the floor
during a conversation.

• Adapter – A movement or gesture that satisfies some physical or psychological need. Adapters are not
conscious behaviors; they are used in response to heightened emotional arousal
Examples: Physical adapters: rubbing your eyes when tired, shifting positions on a chair
after sitting for a long time. Psychological adapters: are used for emotional release. Twisting
your hair or biting your nails when you are nervous.

• Affect Display – An unintentional movement or expression that conveys a mood or emotional state.
They convey mood and reactions. These are usually unintentional movements that reflect
the sender’s true emotions.
Examples: slumping in a chair, indicating fatigue or boredom, or a sad face reflecting
problems in your life.

Other aspects of Kinesics:

Posture The way one sits, stands and walks is highly communicative, although factors such as gender and
age also affect posture. Two primary dimensions of posture are:
Immediacy is the degree of closeness you feel towards another. Body movements that reflect an attitude of
immediacy are direct body orientation, symmetrical positioning, and leaning forward.
Relaxation is conveyed by a relaxed posture, asymmetry of positioning, and leaning backward.
By the use or nonuse of these dimensions you demonstrate your openness or willingness to communicate.
The postural stances between interactants can be grouped into three major classifications:

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i. Inclusive or Non-inclusive – which are the positions of group that either include or disregard
other people.
ii. Face-to-face or Parallel body orientation – which is the postural relationship between two people
during a conversation.
iii. Congruence and Incongruence – which are the similarity and dissimilarity of posture between
interactants.
These postural stances provide information about status, affiliation, agreement, liking and attitudes.

Kinesics is influenced by individual communicator styles:

Assertive communicator: are dominant, independent and they use frequent gestures and movements.

Responsive communicator: projects understanding, sympathy, warmth, and friendliness.

Versatile communicator: adapts to the behaviour of the other.

Proxemics
Proxemics refers to how you use and communicate with space. One area of proxemics is personal space, the
space around your body to which you attach ownership. Cultural norms and personal feelings about space
will affect your choices about the use of this space.
Hall identified three types of space:
Feature-fixed space (permanently arranged space such as a building),
Semi-fixed space (space rearrangable objects such as furniture), and
Informal space The informal space has been further specified into zones. These zones are physical
distances between people that are maintained in different situations:
Intimate: 0 –18 inches
Personal: 1½ – 4 feet
Social: 4 – 12 feet
Public: more than 12 feet

The intimate zone is reserved for lovers, very close friends, and intimate family members;
the personal zone for close friends and relatives;
the social zone for professional interactions, such as business transactions or teacher-student conferences,
and
for casual talks, and the public zone to keep distance between the interactants, such as public speakers and
concert performers with the audience.
Allowing another person one of your space depends on your culture, preference, affiliation, control, status
etc.

Appearance
Appearance affects not only perceptions of attractiveness, but also judgments about a person’s background,
character, personality, status, and future behaviour. These perceptions are inferred from body shape and size,
facial features, skin colour, and clothing.
Body shape has been categorized into three types:
• Endomorphic – which is rounded (oval or pear shaped and often heavy),
• Mesomorphic – which is triangular (broad shoulders and slim waist), and
• Ectomorphic – which is straight (thin and bony with little muscle tone).

An ideal body type is decided by the cultural background, time period (1950’s, 1960’s, etc.), personality traits and these are said to be not under ones
total control. However one element of appearance – Clothing, is under control.

Facial Expression
Different facial expressions are associated with different emotions, and these emotions are displayed by
distinct areas of the face. For example:
- Happiness is shown in the areas of cheek / mouth and eye / eyelid area of the face.
- Sadness and fear are conveyed in the eye / eyelid area;
- Surprise is portrayed in the cheek / mouth, eye / eyelid, and brow / forehead areas.
Ekman and Friesen have classified smiles into three types:

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• Felt Smiles – are automatic reflexes to positive emotions, such as happiness or delight.
• False Smiles – are used to portray positive emotions that aren’t actually felt. There are three
kinds of false siles.
i. Phony smiles – used when no emotion is felt
ii.Masking smiles – used to cover up negative emotions.
iii.Dampened smiles – used to conceal positive emotions.
• Miserable Smiles – are responses to negative emotions, with no attempt made to conceal
unhappiness.

Felt and miserable smiles are true reflections of emotions whereas false smiles are concealers of emotions.

Facial Management Techniques:

Intensification or exaggerating what you feel (e.g., when you exaggerate surprise about the birthday gift
from your parents even though you found it hidden in the closet a week earlier);

Deintensification or downplaying what is felt (e.g., withholding tears at a sad movie even though you want
to cry);

Neutralization or eliminating all expression of emotion (e.g., when a paramedic remains expressionless at
the scene of a car accident so the injured will stay calm); and

Masking or replacing an expression that shows true feeling with one that is deemed appropriate (e.g.,
congratulating a new bride with a smile even though you dislike her new husband intensely).

Styles of expression associated with behaviour:

Withholders intentionally neutralize all emotions from display.
Revealers show their true feelings all the time and make no attempt to conceal emotions.
Unwitting expressors believe they are masking their emotions, but their true feelings are still evident.
Blanked expressors believe they are displaying the emotion they are feeling, but their faces are
expressionless.
Substitute expressors unintentionally substitute one emotional expression for another.
Frozen-effect expressors show, at least in part, one particular emotion all the time.
Ever-ready expressors use the same initial expression as a response to any situation.
Flood-effect expressors expose their faces with one particular expression that will always be recognizable
even when they display another emotion.

Haptics
Tactile communication, or Haptics, refers to touching behaviour.
Heslin on the basis of intimacy of interactants classified touch into five types:
Functional-professional refers to touching that is used to perform a job.
Example – Physicians, dentists and hairstylists.

Social-polite is used in a social function and is restricted by the social rules of the culture.
Example – A handshake between American men and a kiss between Arabic men.

Friendship-warmth conveys liking and affection between people who know each other.
Example – Back patting and hugging are messages of affection and friendship but not necessarily love.

Love-intimacy is used by lovers and spouses to communicate love and closeness. Kissing, embracing, and
caressing the cheek are love-intimacy touches. Although this type of touch is intimate, it does not necessarily
involve sexual activity. In fact this type of haptic communication may be used by parents and children and
other relatives; and

Sexual arousal is an intense form of touch and plays an important part in intimate relationships. However,
this type is also used in non-intimate relationships.

Oculesics
Eye contact with another person commands involvement. The eye area is one of the least controllable regions
of the face, and as a result, your eyes can expose your emotional state. Interpersonal encounters usually

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begin with eye contact to signal interest, and attention at times. The type and amount of eye contact can
indicate the nature of a relationship and can show status, type of relationship, and stage of relationship.
From a general perspective, eye behaviour can serve six important communicative functions. The eyes can –
a. influence attitude, change and persuasion,
b. indicate degrees of attentiveness, interest, and arousal,
c. express emotions,
d. regulate interaction,
e. indicate power and status, and
f. form impressions in others.

Eye behaviour can be of the following types:

Mutual Gaze involves two people looking the direction of each other; that is, they share mutual eye contact.
Mutual gaze is used for
- ensuring if someone is listening,
- flirting, and
- establishing a connection with someone.
Gaze aversion occurs when only one person is attempting to make an eye contact. It is used to signal
disinterest in a person or topic, or to signal the end of a conversation.

Gaze omission is similar to gaze aversion in that one person does not make eye contact with another. It is
unintentional act.

Staring is one aspect of the eye behaviour that has negative connotations; by most standards it is considered
rude and socially unacceptable. Staring is regarded as invasion of privacy or a threat to the individual.

Olfactics
The perception of scents and smells is referred to as Olfactics. Scents are usually refers to odors and aromas
associated with people or animals. Smells are usually associated with both people and inanimate objects or
the environment (garbage, flowers). Scents and smells can produce strong reactions and can add intensity to
positive or negative perceptions. Offensive odors will increase distance between interactants and shorten the
time of the interaction. Pleasant smells will increase communication with another.

Chronemics
How we use our time and how we feel about time sends strong nonverbal messages. Chronemics refers to
how people perceive and structure time. Time orientation falls into three categories:

Psychological time orientation is the way you perceive or feel about time. There are three applications of
psychological time orientation:
Past oriented people assign particular value to past events;
Present oriented people live and work for the present; and
Future oriented people live and work for the future.
A person’s orientation will determine the importance that person ascribes to conversation content, the length
of the interaction, the urgency of the interaction, and punctuality. Differences in psychological time
orientation can create communication problem.

Biological time orientation is determined by biological cycles (biological clock). It determines when you are
most active, both physically and mentally. Biological time affects how you perceive others and how they
perceive you and thus can be a source of communicative problem.

Cultural time orientation is the way a culture uses time. There are three time systems in any culture:
Technical time (scientific measurement);
Formal time involves the way a culture measures, values and uses time. (e.g., “time is money”).
Informal time involves punctuality and duration.

OBJECT LANGUAGE
Artifacts

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Artifacts are closely associated with clothing. These are the accessories used for decoration or identification.
Jewelry, glasses, hats, badges, tattoos, purses, and briefcases are all personal artifacts and they can
communicate your self-image, affiliation and social attitudes.

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