Nonverbal

Communication

1
What is nonverbal
communication?
• “Oral and nonoral messages expressed by
other than linguistic means.”
• Messages transmitted by vocal means
that do not involve language
• Sign language and written words are not
considered nonverbal communication
 Nonverbal Communication
• Nonverbal Communication: a system of
symbolic behaviors that includes all forms
of communication except words.
Example: body language
• “The most important thing in
communication is to hear what
isn’t being said.”
- Peter F. Drucker
Austrian writer and editor
3
Nonverbal Communication
Definition
Message components other than words
that generate meaning
 60-70 percent of meaning may be nonverbal
 Nonverbal communication is multidimensional
 Nonverbal communication Includes physical
appearance, body movement, facial expressions,
touch, vocal characteristics, vocal tone, etc.

4
Nonverbal
Communication
• All the ways we convey
messages and feelings without
words.
• Organized into three categories:
– Sounds (tone of voice, laughter)
– Body Language (movement,
posture, eye contact)
– Environmental factors (touch,
distance, objects, etc.)

5
Functions of
Nonverbal
Communication
• Expands verbal communication by:
– Reinforcing a message
– Contradicting the message
– Substituting for messages

• Conveys emotional and relationship

dimensions of a message.

6
 Characteristics of
Nonverbal Communication
• Subconscious: nonverbal communication is often sent
and received on a subconscious level. We are usually
not aware of the messages we send nonverbally.
• Contextual: nonverbal communication
depends on the situation in which is
occurs.
• Ambiguous: the meaning is open to
interpretation and often confusing.
• Cultural: nonverbal communication has
a distinct cultural nature.

7
 Nonverbal Communication &
Professional Image
A positive professional image is important to your success
in professional and social contexts.
Through nonverbal communication
you can create a professional
image that projects
– confidence
– poise
– assertiveness
– immediacy

8
Nonverbal Communication Is

9
Relation to Verbal
Communication
• Repetition
• Substitution
• Accentuation
• Compliment
• Contradict
• Regulate
There are 7 types of
nonverbal behavior
• Proxemics
• Haptics
• Chronemics
• Kinesics
• Artifacts
• Vocalics or Paralanguage
• Environment
PROXEMICS (distance)
• Different cultures have different comfort
levels of distance
• As children grow older and become less
dependent on parents they require more
space
• Men tend to take up more space than
women
Example: When you go to the movies with
someone of the opposite sex who usually
gets the armrest?
Edward T. Hall’s 4 levels of
distance
• Intimate: 0 to 18 inches
• personal: 18 inches to 4 feet
• social: 4 to 10 feet
• public: 10 feet to infinity
14
HAPTICS (touch)
The power of touch:
• A (1997) study found that strangers that were
touched were more likely to return change left
in a phone booth(Klienke)
• A (1992) study found that food servers who
used touch received larger tips (Hornick)
• Library study (1976) found that students who
were slightly touched by clerk while checking
out library books evaluated the library much
more favorably than those who were not
touched.
CHRONEMICS (time)

How is time used to communicate?

What does it mean to you when someone is
always late?
A study conducted by Burgoon (1989) found
that people who arrive 15 minutes late are
considered dynamic, but much less
competent, composed and sociable than
those that arrive on time.
KINESICS (behavior)
• Facial expressions
• Eye contact
• Body language
• Gestures
• Physical appearance
Facial expressions
• The face is capable of conveying 250,000
expressions (Birdwhistle, 1970)
• Smiling increases sociability, likeability,
and attraction(LaFrance & Hecht, 1995)
• Food servers who smile more often earn
increased tips (Heslin & Patterson, 1982)
• Studies conducted on students caught
cheating found that students who smiled
were treated with more leniency (LaFrance
& Hecht, 1995)
Eye contact
• Successful pan handlers establish
eye contact (Beebe, 1974)
• People are more likely to comply
when more eye contact is used
• Eye contact conveys a sense of
sincerity
• Eye contact establishes a connection
between persons
Body language
• Mirroring – building rapport with others by
mimicking their nonverbal cues
• People like those who are similar or equal
to them
• “Mirroring” body language facilitates
compliance
• Many self-help books suggest mirroring
techniques to get people to like them
Example: The book Unlimited Power by,
Anthony Robbins
Gestures
• Gestures can be seen as subtle or not
so subtle cues
• We use gestures to take the place of
words, or help us to increase
understanding of what is being said
Physical Appearance
• More attractive people are judged to be
happier, more intelligent, friendlier, stronger,
and kinder and are thought to have better
personalities, better jobs, and greater marital
competence (Knapp, 1992)
• Attractive people get more dates, higher
grades, higher tips, and lighter court
sentences than unattractive people (Dunn,
2000)
• Example:
– In a 1980 study 73 defendants who had
been rated on physical attractiveness went
to trial. Results showed that the more
attractive defendants received
significantly lighter sentences (Stewart).
ARTIFACTS (Dress,
Belongings, etc.)
• Material objects as an extension of oneself
• Clothing has the power to influence
• Change left in a phone booth was returned to
well dressed people 77% of the time, poorly
dressed people only 38% of the time
• Several studies show that fancy suits,
uniforms and high-status clothing are related
to higher rates of compliance.
• The situation governs appropriate dress
VOLCALICS
(Paralanguage)
• Use of voice to communicate
includes elements such as pitch,
rate, pauses, volume, tone of voice,
silences, laughs, screams, sighs, etc.
• Studies have found that people who talk
louder, faster, and more fluently are more
persuasive
• Deep voices are often viewed as more
credible
• Powerless style of communication
(pauses, umhs, uhs, tag questions) lowers
perceptions of credibility
ENVIRONMENT
• What we surround ourselves with
• Example: The way we decorate our
house tells others a lot about us
 Environment is often used
to influence nonverbally
• Several researchers have found that
supermarkets strategically place products

• Staples such as dairy, meat and produce are

in the back or on opposite sides of the store,
in order to force shoppers to meander
through aisles where they’ll be tempted to
buy all kinds of other products
• Children’s products are usually placed on
lower shelves where they can easily be
viewed

• Snack foods, which appeal to impulsive

buyers are usually placed near check-out
areas and at the end of isles where they are
more likely to be snatched up

(Field, 1996; Meyer, 1997: Tandingan, 2001)

 Functions of Nonverbal
Communication
• Repeating
• Substituting
• Complementing
• Accenting
• Regulating
• Contradicting
• Deceiving
Repeating
• The use of nonverbal behavior to say
what you are saying in words
• Emblems- are the nonverbal behaviors
that we use to display what we mean
• Example: head nods at the same time
as someone saying “yes”
Substituting
• The use of nonverbal behaviors to say
things rather than words
• We often answer questions others ask
by responding nonverbally rather than
verbally
Example: Nodding your head to answer a
question rather than saying “yes”
Complementing
• The use of nonverbal behaviors to strengthen
what is being said with words.

• Illustrators- nonverbal behaviors that

support what is being said verbally

• Example: A friend says “I am so sorry” and at

the same time makes a sincerely sad face
Accenting
• The way we emphasize certain words in
order to clarify what we mean.

Example: “NO!” or “No????”

Regulating
• Nonverbal behaviors that control the
flow of the conversation, and tell us
when it is our turn to talk, or when the
other person is finished talking.
Example: while telling a story to a friend,
one may pause to allow room for
comments
Contradicting
• When people are saying one thing yet
their nonverbal behavior is telling us
something completely different.

Example: A friend says, “I am so sorry”

while smiling
Match the Nonverbal Quality
Nonverbal is: Examples:
A. Convincing __ 1. I took off my hat because
everyone else did.
B. Continuous
__2. I knew she was very upset
C. Less because she cried.
Structured __3. How did he know I didn’t like
D. Highly the idea; I never said a word.
Contextual __4. I though the wink meant she
agreed with me.
E. Learned
__5. I guess it was wrong to laugh
Informally
during the film’s death scene.
37
Nonverbal Behavior Can . . .
– Repeat verbal messages
• Visually repeat a verbal message
– Complement verbal messages
• Consistent with the verbal message
– Accent verbal messages
• Emphasize important elements in a
message by highlighting its focus or
emotional content

38
Nonverbal Behavior Can . . .

- Regulate verbal messages

• Manage the flow of a conversation
- Substitute for verbal messages
• Takes the place of verbal
language
- Contradict verbal messages
• Conflicts with the meaning of
spoken words

39
 Tattoos and Body
Piercings
• Many people have negative perceptions of
employees who display tattoos or body
piercings at work.
• Most employees with tattoos or body
piercings conceal them on the job.
• BUT . . . 36 percent of 18-29 year olds
now have tattoos—making them middle
class consumer items rather than acts of
rebellion.
40
 Gesture Examples
Examples
Types
1. Making the okay sign
Emblems 2. Expresses the same meaning as
a word in a particular culture

Illustrators 1. Holding up two fingers and saying

“She called twice”
2. Used with a verbal message that
would lack meaning without the words
Adaptors 1. Pounding your first in anger
2. Habitual gestures that help
manage and express emotions
41
 Types of Gestures
Which type of gesture has
the following characteristics?
A. Has the same meaning
as a word?
B. Used with a verbal
message that would lack
meaning without the
word?
C. Habitual action that helps
manage and express
emotions?

42
 Facial Expressions
• We can produce more than 1,000 different
facial expressions.
• Facial expressions allow non-speakers to
contribute to conversations.
• Lack of eye contact may be seen as
rudeness, nervousness, or dishonesty.
• Eye contact norms are culturally
determined.
• Eye contact influences interaction.

43
 Adapting Facial
Expressions
• Masking: Conceals • Intensification:
true emotions with Exaggerates facial
false facial expressions
expressions Example: __________
Example: __________
• Deintensification:
• Neutralization: Reduces emotional
Shows no emotion facial expressions
Example: __________ Example: __________

44
 Eye Behavior
Eye contact can . . .
• aid comprehension.
• signify status or leadership.
• express emotion.
• indicate a willingness to communicate.

Fill in the Blank:

When we try to understand what someone is
saying, most of us will look at a speaker more
than _____ percent of the time.

45
 Vocal Expressiveness
• Volume – refers to the loudness of your
voice
• Pitch- refers to how high or low your
voice sounds
• Word Stress – refers to the “degree of
prominence given to a syllable within a
word or words within a phrase.”
Give three different meanings to each sentence
by stressing the word in italics:
– I was born in New Jersey.
– I was born in New Jersey.
– I was born in New Jersey.
46
 The Dark Side of
Nonverbal Behavior
• Each year, approximately 1.5 million
women and 800,000 men are victims of
violence from an intimate partner.
• Women hit men as often as men hit
women.
• Each year, 15% of homicides in the
workplace are committed by co-workers.

47
 Territoriality
Territoriality
The sense of personal ownership that is
attached to a particular space

Examples
• Your usual seat in a classroom or meeting
room
• Marking your territory with objects (purse,
book, coat, food)

48
 PowerPoint Quiz
When you wave hello or goodbye to
someone, you are using nonverbal
communication to . . .
A. repeat a verbal message.
B. complement a verbal message.
C. accent a verbal message.
D. regulate a verbal message.
E. substitute for a verbal message.

49
 Expectancy
Violation Theory
Your expectations about nonverbal behavior
affect how you interact with others and how
you interpret the meaning of nonverbal
messages.
Examples of Expectancy Violation
• Not facing forward in a crowded elevator
• _____________________________________
• _____________________________________

50
 Types of Nonverbal
Communication
Nonverbal Communication
Physical Vocal Time
Appearance Expression
Body Silence Attractiveness
Movement
Gestures Space Environment

Eye Behavior Distance Clothing &

Accessories

51
 Physical Appearance
Provide examples of how physical
appearance affects communication
• Attractiveness: _________________________
_______________________________________
• Clothing and Accessories: ______________
• Hair: __________________________________
• Tattoos and Body Piercings: ____________
_______________________________________

52
 Improve Your
Nonverbal Communication
• Be Other-Oriented: Give serious
attention to, concern for, and interest in
other communicators.
• Use Immediacy Strategies: Be open
and approachable.
– Use direct eye contact
– Use natural body movements and vocal variety
– Maintain closer physical distance

53