NON-VERBAL CUES

Psychology Presentation
Anamta Ali
B.A. II SEM 3
College Roll No. – 194115
University Roll No. 190380020052
Non Verbal Communication
Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through
a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, and
the distance between two individuals. It includes the use of visual cues such as body
language (kinesics), distance (proxemics) and physical environments/appearance, of
voice (paralanguage) and of touch (haptics). It can also include the use of time
(chronemics) and eye contact and the actions of looking while talking and listening,
frequency of glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate (oculesics).
Types of Non-Verbal Communication
 Body movements (kinesics), for example, hand gestures or nodding or shaking the head, which are
often the easiest element of non-verbal communication to control;
 Posture, or how you stand or sit, whether your arms are crossed, and so on;
 Eye contact, where the amount of eye contact often determines the level of trust and trustworthiness;
 Para-language, or aspects of the voice apart from speech, such as pitch, tone, and speed of speaking;
 Closeness or personal space (proxemics), which determines the level of intimacy, and which varies
very much by culture;
 Facial expressions, including smiling, frowning and blinking, which are very hard to control
consciously. Interestingly, the broad facial expressions that show strong emotions, such as fear, anger,
and happiness, are the same throughout the world; and
 Physiological changes, for example, you may sweat or blink more when you are nervous, and your
heart rate is also likely to increase. These are almost impossible to control consciously and are
therefore a very important indicator of mental state.
Importance of Non-Verbal Cues
According to some authors, nonverbal communication represents two-thirds
of all communications. Nonverbal communication can portray a message
both vocally and with the correct body signals or gestures. Body signals
comprise physical features, conscious and unconscious gestures and signals,
and the mediation of personal space. The wrong message can also be
established if the body language conveyed does not match a verbal message.
Nonverbal communication strengthens a first impression in common
situations like attracting a partner or in a business interview: impressions are
on average formed within the first four seconds of contact. First encounters or
interactions with another person strongly affect a person's perception. When
the other person or group is absorbing the message, they are focused on the
entire environment around them, meaning the other person uses all five
senses in the interaction: 83% sight, 11% hearing, 3% smell, 2% touch and
1% taste.
Disadvantages of nonverbal
communication
People who have studied in mainly nonverbal communication may not be skilled as a
verbal speaker, so much of what they are portraying is through gestures and facial
expressions which can lead to major cultural barriers if they have conflict with
diverse cultures already. "This can lead to intercultural conflict (according to
Marianna Pogosyan Ph.D.), misunderstandings and ambiguities in communication,
despite language fluency." Nonverbal communication makes the difference between
bringing cultures together in understanding one another, appearing authentic. Or it
can push people farther away due to misunderstandings in how different groups see
certain nonverbal cues or gestures. From birth, children in various cultures are taught
the gestures and cues their culture defines as universal which is not the case for
others, but some movements are universal. Evidence suggests humans all smile when
happy about something and frowning when something is upsetting or bad.
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