17/11/2023, 06:27 An Introduction to Communication: Bodily Movements and Facial Expressions | ecampus-flsh

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8. Bodily Movements and Facial Expressions

Nonverbal communication: Bodily Movements and Facial Expressions

Bodily movements and facial expressions

Bodily movements, including posture, gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions, are nonverbal cues that serve important
functions in human communication. Kinesics is the study of how we use bodily movements in communication.

Non-vocal phenomena such as facial expressions, head or eye movement, and gestures may add support, emphasis, or particular
shades of meaning to what people are saying (verbally). We interpret and express a great deal of meaning through bodily
movements. These phenomena are known as kinesic features.

American psychologist, Paul Ekman, categorized bodily movements on the basis of their functions and meanings into five categories.
These categories are emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators, and adaptors. Let us define and illustrate each of these
categories.

Emblems are nonverbal movements that SUBSTITUTE for words. They are deliberate (intentional) body movements that can easily
translate into speech. They are body motions that replace words. Examples of emblems include nodding one’s head to mean yes or in
agreement, a beckoning first finger to mean come here, an open hand held up to mean stop, shrugging one’s shoulders to mean I don’t
care, waving one’s hand to mean hello or goodbye, turning the head from side to side to mean no or show disagreement. We need to
pay attention to emblems and what they mean in different cultures. They may mean something else in another culture.

Illustrators are nonverbal movements that accompany or reinforce verbal messages. They are body cues that support or reinforce
speech. They are movements or gestures that emphasize what is being said. Examples of illustrators include direction pointing, i.e.
when one gives information to someone, one may indicate position by pointing. We may describe by using hands to imitate shape or
size, i.e. using one’s hands to show how big, tall, thin, or short someone or something is. For example, we may say: I keep a pet dog this
big and you show the size by your hands.

Illustrators tend to be more universal than many in the other four categories of movement.

Affect displays (called also emotional expressions) are unintentional movements of the face and body that reveal internal feelings
and emotions; they reflect emotional states of being. They display the nature of a pronounced physical sensation. Affect displays are
generally unconscious. For example, when someone stubs or strikes one’s toe or foot against some object, he or she not only says
ouch, he or she makes a face that displays the pain he or she feels; when we are angry, it is naturally expressed on our face as well as
elsewhere in our body; when we are embarrassed, our face is likely to redden or blush; assuming a slouching or bent body position or
posture may indicate low spirits or bad mood.

Regulators are nonverbal cues that regulate the flow of conversation and prevent chaos. They are nonverbal signals that indicate
whose turn it is to speak. They are intentional cues that influence turn taking in naturally occurring conversation, group discussions,
and public speaking. They are nonverbal movements that control the flow or pace of communication. Turn taking in conversations is
generally managed with gestures and gaze. Examples of regulators include pointing to a participant as a permission to have the floor,
directly looking at a person if you expect an answer, starting to move away when you want the conversation to stop, gazing at the
floor or looking away when you are not interested, and yawning (fake or genuine) and glancing at your watch when you are bored.
However, turn taking regulators may vary from one culture to another.

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17/11/2023, 06:27 An Introduction to Communication: Bodily Movements and Facial Expressions | ecampus-flsh

Adaptors are forms of nonverbal communication that we do so that we feel better or ok in a communication situation. They can be
thought of as behaviours that are done to meet a personal physical or psychological need as one adapts to the specific situation.
Adaptors include rubbing one’s hands together in order to feel good, hair twisting, scratching, tugging one’s ear. They also include
object adapting, i.e. manipulating an object in our environment such as pen tapping or adjusting one’s glasses in order to feel better.

Given the low level of awareness of adaptors by the person doing them, the observer is sometimes more aware of them than the
doer. Adaptors may then serve unintentionally as clues to how a person is feeling. Adaptors may be increased when the level of
anxiety goes up in the situation.

Some nonverbal cues serve more than one function. For example, nodding the head can be an emblem for yes but can also be a
regulator that means go on, continue. Hair twisting may be an adaptor, being done as an attempt to feel better in a situation, but it can
also be an affect display reflecting the high level of anxiety of a person.

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