Week 6: NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the unit, learners should be able to:

a) Discuss the forms of non-verbal communication.

b) Explain the importance of non-verbal communication in organizations Outline the

importance of visual communication

c) Explain instances when it is appropriate to use various visuals in communication

d) Explain the rules that govern the use of visuals/ graphic communication

Literally, oral communication means communication without words involving all those elements

of the communication process not embodied in word. It is a form of communication through

which we communicate bulks of our information especially emotional response not so much

upon what another person says but upon what one does.

Non-verbal communication is also known as the body language. Scientific analysis has shown

that body movements and gestures constitute 55% of effective communication. Hence, non-

verbal communication merits some earnest and thoughtful consideration.

Non-verbal communication involves things such as gestures, posture and physical appearance

and, in general, all bodily movements. It takes place without written or spoken words. Non-

verbal communication is those messages that are expressed by means other than linguistic. While

you can refuse to speak or write, it is impossible to avoid behaving non-verbally. Hence, it is

continuous and omnipresent.

All communication is affected by non-verbal which includes, the tone of voice, facial expression,

gestures, posture, demonstrations, and models among others. It is the process in which non-

verbal behaviour either alone or associated with verbal interpretation are used in a particular

context in the exchange and interpretation of messages.

Factors influencing non-verbal communications

i. Culture

ii. Context

iii. Age

iv. Gender

v. Religion

Functions/Interrelationships between verbal and non-verbal

These two are interrelated in the following ways. They can:

1) Complement each other e.g. a congratulatory e.g. wide smile, cheerful voice accompanied

by ‘I am so happy for you’.

2) Repeating- telling someone to get out and simultaneously pointing to the door or when

giving directions.

3) Substituting e.g. a wave to someone on the other side of street for farewell or greetings.
 4) Accenting /emphasize of changes, vocal tone pitch volume, use of a pause, gestures,

facial expressions, thumping on the table, frowning while saying “stop that”, all

emphasise the verbal content.

5) Contradicting verbal communication- it may be at variance with verbal message e.g. “I

am not angry” but I am glaring, clenching fists- here, the words deny anger in such a

case, you would need to rely more on the non-verbal (N.V) to get the true meaning; hence

in this case, NV has more credibility than the words.

6) Regulating- to control the flow of communication e.g. through eye contact to signal the

conversational turn of the other person, vocal pitch change others.

Media/channels and Indicators of non-verbal communication

 The senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, we observe and react to: appearance,

cloths, objects, surroundings etc.

 Habits- e.g. sight- untidy desk, sound- a sarcastic laugh, clicking of tongue, a timid knock

all indicate something about people.

Challenges associated with non-verbal cues

 They can be ambiguous-The meaning vary depending on culture and context as well as

the degree of intention

 They are continuous- you can stop talking but not with non-verbal cues
  They are multi-channel –one may communicate with eyes, hands and any other part of

the body all the same time and the person communicated to may only notice one and miss

the rest.

 They are culture bound- except in smiling (happiness) and frown for unhappiness.

Forms of Non- verbal communication

Non-verbal can be divided into these types:

1. Eye contact

Eyes are the windows to the soul. Eye contact constitutes a very important factor of face-to-face

communication. Through eye-contact, the speaker gets signals whether the channel of

communication is open. Discomfiture or nervousness results only in a brief eye contact; on the

other hand, a long and fixed gaze shows interest. Depending on our feelings, we have smiling

eyes, angry eyes, painful eyes, evasive eyes, and so on.

Functions of eye contact

 To seek feedback,

 to inform others when to talk,

 to signal the nature of the relationship - winking

 To compensate for increased physical distance.

2. Chronemics

How we perceive, use and react to time is influenced by culture e.g. in some cultures time is

precisely expressed and observed strictly while in others it is more flexibly interpreted;
punctuality speaks volumes about our perceived status of the person with whom we are going to

meet.

3. Semiotics

Involves communication through signs and symbols presentational aspects of a piece of writing;

an essay, a report are part of semiotics elements. We give credibility to professional writing than

the writing with no margins, poor handwriting, dog- eared pages and a general careless and

haphazard appearance.

Others examples include traffic lights, no smoking signs, disabled access signs road signs etc.

Signs can be divided into icons, indexes, and symbols.

Icon resembles objects it represents e.g. a portrait or photo is an iconic sign.

Index is a casual link with object interpretation e.g. smoke- normally represents fire.

Symbol is sign an arbitrary sign; lacks resemblance to object it represents or even a causal link

e.g. a dove is a symbol of peace.

4. Kinesics

The study of bodily movements that form a part of non-verbal communication is known as

kinesics. It is an integral part of our communication and includes:

i) Facial expression: The face is said to be the mirror of the mind. Whatever we feel is reflected

on our face. The face can convey energy, anger, grief, sincerity and a host of other feelings and

emotions. A smile means friendliness, while a frown means anger. A creased forehead shows

worry while a raised eyebrow shows surprise. Hence, it is very important to exercise a check and
control over our feelings. Although this is a difficult task, you can get positive results with

continuous efforts.

ii) Gesture: Gestures are small body movements that transmit some message. It can even be the

transmission of specific information. Some gestures may be conscious while others may be

involuntary. Some gestures have an almost universal meaning, such as a headshake for a “no” or

a handshake as a “hello”. Then there are other gestures that may have regional meanings. Strictly

speaking, gestures are a part of body language because our head and hands tend to communicate

by themselves in their own way.

iii) Posture: Posture is the position adopted by the body. It helps in conveying a message. Each

movement or position of the body has expressive or defensive functions. Thus, the posture is an

important element in non-verbal communication. It reveals a great deal about an individual.

Posture concerns the overall bearing of the body. It includes the angle of inclination and the

position of the arms and the legs. A raised head indicates openness, while a tilted head indicates

curiosity. However, one should remember that none of these postures have any specific

meanings of their own. They acquire meanings in association with other symbols and in the

context of communication.

5. Tone and pitch of voice:

The tone and pitch of the voice are important aspects of communication. Tone means the manner

of speaking, while the pitch means the level of the voice. The volume in which communication is

made has the potential of revealing the sender’s attitude. The pitch can spell out the urgency,

while the tone indicates the mental condition.

6. Clothes:
A man is often judged by his appearance. His clothes play an important role in enhancing his

personality. Shabbily dressed people may cut a sorry figure. It is vital for one to look

professional and efficient. Accessories also play a major role in non-verbal communication.

Clothes and accessories relate to physical as well as socio-cultural characteristics. Sometimes,

clothes and accessories manage to live up to the expectations of the receiver, while at times they

send a message through a violation of these expectations.

7. Paralanguage

The world of communication that involves signs, signals, pitch, tone and fluctuations to convey

meaning is paralanguage. Para means ‘like’ or ‘akin’. Paralanguage means “like language” but

not actually a language. Anything that performs the task of communication as a language

without being a language in the conventional sense of the word falls within the purview of

paralanguage. Paralanguage is used to describe a wide range of vocal characteristics which help

to express and reflect the speaker’s attitude. It is non-verbal because it does not consist of words.

Verbal communication is concerned with the content of the message – what is being conveyed?

On the other hand, paralanguage is basically concerned with the manner in which the message is

conveyed – how is it being conveyed? Paralanguage depends on voice, intonation, pitch, pause,

volume, stress, gestures and signals. Through pitch and volume variation, stress on words, etc.

one’s voice can convey enthusiasm, confidence, anxiety and the speaker’s mental state and

temperament.

Components of Paralanguage
 Voice: Voice is the first signal that we receive or use. A good listener can gauge a lot

from the voice itself. There are various categories of voices. A voice can be sweet, soft,

musical, cultivated, pleasant, nasty, clear or indistinct, among other things. The voice can

help reveal a speaker’s background, mental state, education, sex and temperament.

 Intonation: Intonation is the modulation of the voice and the shift in stress. Intonation is a

part of effective communication. For example, a message with serious content should not

be delivered in a high tone, but in somber tone.

 Pitch: Pitch is the vocal slant of the voice. It is very important because it reveals the

speaker’s frame of mind. An unusually high pitch may reflect agitation. An unchanging

pitch may be boring or monotonous, decreasing the listener’s span of attention. The pitch

may also help us understand the speaker’s social position. A person in a position of

authority uses a higher pitch than a subordinate. The flaring of tempers usually results in

a change in the pitch.

 Pause: A pause emphasizes a message. A pause is to speech what a comma is to prose. A

pause at the wrong place may lead to miscommunication. For example, the difference

between ‘fruit trees’ and ‘fruit, trees’ is vast.

 Volume variation: The speaker should adjust the volume of his voice depending on the

size of the audience. Larger the audience, the louder the voice should be. Volume

variation makes the speech effective. Sometimes changing from loud to soft and from

soft to loud have the desired effect.

 Mixed signals: Mixed signals occur when the tone, pitch and facial expressions of the

speaker do not match the words that he is speaking. This confuses the listener as to the

exact motive of the speaker. For example, an individual may congratulate another, but his
 tone may be cold. In this case, the listener will not be sure whether the speaker is really

happy or is merely fulfilling a formality. Praise delivered in a sarcastic tone conveys

mockery.

 Proper word stress: Communication can be made are effective by putting proper

emphasis or stress on the right words.

 Overall impression: A message is understood by the listener not only by the content, but

also by the manner in which the speaker conveys it. The speaker’s bearing; attitude,

dressing style, physical appearance, age, gender, accent and the quality and tone of the

voice also affect the message that gets communicated. For a message to be effective, the

overall impression given by the individual should be in consonance with the message that

he wants to convey.

Advantages of paralanguage

i) No oral communication is complete without paralanguage as it is closely connected to

language itself.

ii) To a large extent, paralanguage indicates the position and situation of the speaker,

whether in an organization or in society.

iii) It also reflects the speaker’s personality and background to a great extent.

iv) Paralanguage is indicative of the mental state of the speaker. A discerning listener can

derive the right conclusions from the pitch, tone and speed of a message. This can often

be very useful.
Limitations of paralanguage

i) Paralanguage is ‘semi’ or ‘like’ a language. It is not language by itself. Therefore, not

all the advantages associated with actual language can be attributed to paralanguage.

ii) Paralanguage involves the drawing of conclusions on the basis of a number of

peripheral (side) attributes. Such drawings of conclusions need not always be right. In

such a case, they may also serve to create undue bias. This, in itself, makes paralanguage

misleading or confusing at times.

iii) Also, as speakers may come from different backgrounds, cultures and situations, the

conclusions from paralanguage may be difficult to draw, especially to convey a message

in its entirety.

8. Proxemics or territory or space

Proxemics is another important type of non-verbal communication. The term, proxemics is

derived from the word proximity, which means closeness. Proxemics is used with reference to

space or territory. A lot of communication takes place non-verbally through the sheer manner in

which we use the space around us. Scholars have also attributed a lot of non-verbal

communication to the colour, design layout and utilization of the space around us. This is also

proxemics.

The space and distance between the speaker and the listener are an important part of non-verbal

communication. These decide what our actions and expressions should be. The amount of space

indicates the importance or the degree of formality between two individuals. You do not sit too
close to a stranger, but can close in distances with a friend. There are certain rules or social

expectations regarding the distance to be maintained. Subtle messages are committed when we

follow them or even if we flout them.

The space around us can be broadly classified as under:

 Intimate space: Most body movements take place within 18 inches around us. It is our

most intimate circle of space. Only very close people or family members can enter this

space, be it through a whisper, a pat on the back or a handshake. It means that the less the

space between the two persons communicating, the more intimate is the nature of

communication.

 Personal space: Personal space extends from 18 inches to four feet where we have

normal conversation with friends, colleagues and associates. It is used in informal talks

and impromptu discussions in which one may not be averse to taking important decisions.

 Social Space: This can be anywhere between four feet and 12 feet. It reflects a formality

of relationship. It also reflects a lack of spontaneous behaviour. An individual’s responses

are more collected and well thought-out. Social space reflects reason, planning and

control, usually associated with business communication within a formal relationship.

 Public Space: This starts from a distance of 12 feet. One has to raise one’s voice to be

heard. There is a lack of personal feelings and an added sense of detachment.

9. Hepatics

This refers to the study of touch, touching is governed by aspects like gender for example

women touch more than men do, age children touch more than adults do, relationship people

who are relating intimately will touch more. Touching can communicate message of concern,

care, love or even dislike.

 10. Silence:

Silence speaks louder than words. It lays down the relationship between communicators and

their attitude towards each other. Silence shows the inability to converse further. A student who

has not done his homework will stay mum when the teacher asks him for it.

Important aspects/principles of Non-verbal communication

a) Non-verbal communication is continuous- there are no turns.

b) N.V can be both intentional and unintentional; sometimes we change postures, touch our

faces, tap our feet unconsciously or gesture as we talk over the phone e.g. we can shake

or nod our head to communicate intentionally.

c) N.V communication conveys emotions not ideas; it’s our primary means of conveying

emotion e.g. our enthusiasm, tiredness, anger passion.

d) It provides cues not facts.

e) It can be ambiguous and not always easy to judge accurately, accuracy increases as we

know each other better, knowledge provides a baseline so that we are aware when there

are deviations from the norm; there can be a variety of meanings.

f) It should be read as clusters; it’s important to take in the whole picture. E.g. it is not

always true that standing with hands on the hips, feet apart signals determination or

closed arms defiance. We need to consider the facial expression e.g. whether smiling,

frowning, level of tension, spatial r/ship etc.

g) It occurs within a context; context helps us interpret e.g. a wink e.g. while making a

statement or someone else is speaking.

 h) It is influenced by culture; despite this there are some areas of similarity or communality

e.g. smiling-happiness, non- smiling dominance there are pointing shrugging, nodding,

clapping, beckoning, waving pat on the back, thumbs up.

i) It is gender influenced; women smile more than men. For women, smiling has a social

purpose while for men it’s a pure reflection of how they feel, women look at their

conversation partners more than men do.

j) Non-verbal are rule governed; we learn them by observation e.g not to look happy,

cheerful in a funeral.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION

This refers to graphic communication, it’s used to express relationship between things e.g. age

and height, to express unusual shapes and complicated movements.

Things to consider when doing/ using visual

 The audience characteristics e.g. size of the audience, age, level of education etc

 Time allocated for a presentation

 Relevance of the visual to the audience

 Availability of the resources needed

Importance of visual aids

 They simplify information.

 They aid memory.

  They summarize complex information.

 They capture attention.

Samples of visual communication

A. Organization Charts.

These are diagrams which show the whole organization structure of the firm. They may indicate

functions, departments and their sections or posts. Organization Charts may be presented in

vertical or horizontal format.

Example

Managing
Director

Accounts Marketing Personnel

B. Flow Charts

Charts are diagrams that do represent the flow of information or activities from one part to

another which are connected by arrows. The direction pointed by the arrows is where the

information or activities are flowing towards.

Examples of flow charts

 Source Media Audience

Feedback

FEEDBACK

C. Tables

This is a representation of some statistical information, in a manner that will be easily understood

and mostly using numeric representation.

Example

Category Non-Citizens Citizens Totals

Senior Staff 15 13 28

Junior Staff 25 26 51

Totals 40 39 79

Tables make it easier for a reader to summarize and interpret statistical information. Analysis of

the information is also eased.

Linear Graphs

This is a diagram that represents information using loci points which are the joint points between

the X and Y axis. The points are joined by a line.

Example:

Rainfall - Yield relationship

70
60
50
40
Yield

Rainfall
30
20
10
0
Rainfall

From the above graph we note that as rainfall increases, the yield also goes up. When line graphs

are drawn accurately it is easy to locate the values of a point along the line. Large figures as

those represented in millions can be drawn to scale.

D. Bar Charts
Bar Charts are representations of information using Bars. The points of intersection are indicated

by use of bars.

For example:

Comparison of rainfall

120
100
80
Rainfall
60 Maximum
40 Minimum
20
0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998
Year

The tallest bar shows the highest rainfall while the shortest bar indicates the lowest rainfall

recorded.

E. Pictographs

These are information represented in the form of figures or symbols. The value for each figure is

indicated by either the size or the number of figures shown. Pictograhps are usually interesting

and easily understood.

Example:

Jan

Feb
 Mar

= 1000 Units.

F. Pie Charts

These diagrams present information in a circular form. It is easy to estimate percentages in such

diagrams. This is often used when it is necessary to show the relationship of a part to a whole. It

is preferable not to use too many segments in the pie rest the impact is lost. Shading may be used

to focus special attention on a single segment. They should be used to show simple relationships

because when they are complex they become had to interpret. In a school it can be used for

gender representation (two that is male and female) but not for individual performances

representation in class (say class of forty students)

G. Models

A model is a replica of an actual object; it is used when an object is:

 Too small to be seen e.g. a human cell,

 Too inaccessible to the eye e.g. a human heart,

 Too large to be displayed e.g. a building,

 Models are effective as they show how something looks like and they are three

dimensional.
REVISION QUESTIONS

i) “ A picture is worth a thousand words” Justify this assertion in line with graphical

communication

ii) Explain the advantages and disadvantages that non-verbal communication has over

other forms of communication.

iii) Explain why visual aids are recommended to a personal making a presentation.