NON-VERBAL

COMMUNICATION

THINGS THAT YOU DON’T REALLY SAY; BUT THEY

SAY A LOT ABOUT YOU
Nonverbal
Communication
WHAT IS NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION?

 Nonverbal communication has been defined as communication

without words.

 It includes apparent behaviors such as facial expressions, eyes,

touching, and tone of voice, as well as less obvious messages
such as dress, posture and spatial distance between two or more
people.

 A communication where action speaks louder than words.

What is Nonverbal
Communication?

 Nonverbal communication
includes sending & receiving
messages without using words.
 Examples include:
 Physical Appearance
 Body Language
 Pictures, Symbols & Drawings
First Impressions

 You  What can you do?

only have seven seconds
to make a first impression!  Attitude

 Studies  Posture
have shown that
nonverbal cues have 4x the  Smile

impact on the impression you  Eye Contact

make over anything you say.  Good handshake
 Lean in (body language)
Nonverbal
Communication
ACTIVITY
Body Language

 What three tips does Faye

give?
 Posture
Where are your shoulders?
 Gesture
What are you doing with your
hands?
 Stance
Are you stationary or moving?
Nonverbal Communication in
Workplace Exchanges

 Body language is important when you speak, but it is

equally important as you listen.
 Active listening is the process of giving the sender
feedback that indicates your receipt and understanding of
the message.
 Connect – smile, eye contact
 Feedback – lean in, nod, take notes
 Observe –speed, pitch and volume
Functions of Nonverbal Communication
 Message Reinforcement
 “I love you” & kisses

 Message Negation
 “We need to spend less time together” & moving

closer
 Message Substitution
 Pointing/gestures/ “OK” sign

 Message Accentuation
 “I’m so angry!” & pulling on hair

 Message Regulation
 eye contact/posture/gestures

 Signals flow of conversation

Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

 Intentional or unintentional
 Ambiguous

 Primary

 Continuous

 Multi-channeled
Nonverbal
Communication
ACTIVITY 2
Your Body Language
Shapes Who You Are

 Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing”

can impact chances for success.
 Consider what you see in the audience. Does your body language at
this moment reflect the attitude that you would like others to
perceive?
 List one interesting research statistic about first impressions and / or
body language.
 How do “alphas” display their nonverbal communication in the
classroom?
 How is nonverbal communication most commonly expressed by the
millennial generation (technology trends)? Does this societal shift
positively or negatively impact your face-to-face interactions?
Global Impact – Body Language

 India
Shaking your head from side-to-
side is an affirmative (yes) gesture.
 Japan
Removing your shoes before
entering a home or place of
worship is a sign of respect.
 Middle East
Showing the soles of one’s shoes is
rude.
Think About It!

 In which countries are speakers expected to look at and speak directly to listeners?

 In which countries should speakers show respect by averting their eyes, speaking

in soft tones and approaching their subject indirectly?

 Cultural Example

A Canadian will say “no” by simply stating “no,” whereas a Korean who wants to
communicate the same message may say, “That might be very difficult.”
Types of Nonverbal Communication

 Kinesics
 Paralanguage
 Vocal interferences
 Spatial Usage
 Self-presentation
cues
Kinesics

 Eye Contact
 Facial expressions
 Gesture
 Posture
 Touch
 EYE CONTACT

Staring- challenges
Glances - socially acceptable timing
Appraisal- may indicate interest
 FACIAL EXPRSSION

Facial expressions
reflect emotion, feelings
and attitudes.
Posture and Gestures
 Posture sends messages:
 Content and confident? Angry and belligerent? Worried and discouraged?
 Flight or Fight
 The way you feel about those with whom you are communicating
 Gestures sends messages:
 Movements of arms, legs, hands, and feet send messages about us
 Gestures do not have universal meanings
 GESTURES

 GESTURES of a person include

attitude or movements. For
example, when a boy is sad he
may droop his head and walk
slowly.
 Or, if a girl is happy, she might
run and jump or stand up
straight and put her hands in the
air.
POSTURE

•Reactions to an invasion of your space

•Getting defensive

•Becoming aggressive

•Retaliation
 Haptics
 Haptics – the study of the use of touch
 Culturally conditioned
 Correlates positively with openness, comfort with relationships

 Can reflect status

 Valued differently by different cultures

 TOUCH

Touching and being touched

are essential to a healthy life
Touch can communicate
power, empathy,
understanding
 Paralanguage
 Paralanguage – vocal cues that accompany language
 Pitch

 Habitual pitch

 Volume

 Rate

 Pauses

 Non-fluencies

 Silence
PARALANGUAGE

 Pitch
 Volume
 Rate
 Quality
 Intonation
VOCAL INTERFERENCES

 Extraneous sounds or words that interrupt fluent speech

 “uh,” “um”
 Filler
Territoriality and Personal Space
 Territoriality
– the need to demonstrate a possessive or
ownership relationship to space
 Markers – used to establish territory or reserve one’s
space
 Space and Distance
 Distances
 Intimate: 0-18 inches
 Personal: 18 inches to 4 ft.
 Social: 4 to 12 ft.
 Public: 12 ft. to limit of sight
 Spaces
 Informal: highly mobile and can be quickly changed
 Semifixed-feature: the use of objects to create distance
 Fixed-feature: relatively permanent objects to define the environment around us
SPATIAL USAGE

Proxemics
 Intimate distance

 Personal distance
 Social distance
 Public Distance

 Territory
SELF-PRESENTATION CUES

 Physical Appearance

 Time (Chronemics)

 Olfactory Communication
 SOME OTHER ELEMENTS OF NON VERBAL
COMMUNICATION

Personal space at work

Your office
Your desk
A table in the cafeteria
that you sit at regularly
 Colors
 Color affects us emotionally and physiologically

 Some of the emotions colors can trigger:

 Excitement

 Warmth

 Passion and sensuality

 Happiness

 Relaxation

 Persuasion
Color Influences Communication

Yellow cheers Red excites Blue comforts

and and and
elevates moods stimulates soothes

In some
In some cultures
cultures white suggests
black suggests purity
mourning
 Chronemics
 Using time to communicate
 The meaning of time differs around the world

 “Time talks”

 Last minute invitations

 Habitual tardiness

 Leaving early

 Allocation of certain activities to appropriate times

 Structure time differently

 Clothing and Artifacts
 Artifactual communication – the use of personal adornments
 Extremely important in creating a first impression
 Dress and chosen images should change as our roles change
 Sometimes the basis for judgments regarding success, character,
dominance, and competence
CULTURAL INFLUENCES

Non verbal signals

vary form culture to
culture
 In the United States it is a symbol for good job
 In Germany the number one
 In Japan the number five
 In Ghana an insult
 In Malaysia the thumb is used to point rather than a finger
Olfactics

 Sense of smell
 Perceptionsof
odors/scents
 Good

 Bad

 Yucky!
 Curry
Gender and Nonverbal Behavior
 Visual Dominance – measured by
comparing the percentage of looking while
speaking with the percentage of looking
while listening
 Men – higher levels of looking while
speaking
 Women – higher levels of looking while
listening
Diversity and Nonverbal Behavior
 Contact cultures vs. Low-contact cultures
 Different cultures may express emotion or intimacy in different
ways
 Cultural background also affects their use of touch and personal
space
 Identicalnonverbal cues may still convey different meanings in
different cultures
Diversity and Nonverbal Behavior
High-context cultures Low-context cultures
 Information drawn from  Emphasis is on words
surroundings  Nonverbal less important
 Environment  Segment/compartmentalize
 Warmer climates communication
 Gestures  Knowledge is commodity
 Mood  Need to know basis
 Environment
 Cooler climates
Diversity and Nonverbal Behavior
Western Cultures: Eastern Cultures:
 Time is manipulated  Time simply exists

 Time is  Time in present is more important

 Present than past or future
 Past  Time is a limited pool
 Future  Time has a ripple effect
 Time is resource
 Time is aspect of history
Improving Nonverbal Communication
Skills
 When sending messages

 Be conscious of nonverbal behavior

 Be purposeful in use of non-verbals
 Make sure non-verbals are not distracting
 Match verbal and nonverbal communication
 Adapt to the situation
 When receiving messages

 Don’t automatically assume

 Consider gender, culture and individual
differences
 Payattention to all aspects of nonverbal
communication
 Use perception checking
Expensive Mistakes

 When Nike learned that

this stylized “Air” logo
resembled “Allah” in
Arabic script, the
company apologized
and pulled the shoes
from distribution.
How can
nonverbal
communication THINK ABOUT IT!
impact a
company’s
public image?
Cross Cultural Communication

 Video: A world of food tastes and taboos in different cultures

My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Group Discussion

• What were the cultural aspects of nonverbal

communication readily noticed in the film?

 Cues and context

 Face; Posture; Gestures
 Paralanguage

 Clothing