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Nonverbal

Nonverbal communication conveys messages through facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, body language, and the use of personal space. It functions to complement, regulate and emphasize verbal messages as well as communicate feelings and attitudes. Understanding nonverbal communication is important for developing successful relationships and interpreting the full meaning of interactions.

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Maqsood Ahmad Khan
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39 views

Nonverbal

Nonverbal communication conveys messages through facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, body language, and the use of personal space. It functions to complement, regulate and emphasize verbal messages as well as communicate feelings and attitudes. Understanding nonverbal communication is important for developing successful relationships and interpreting the full meaning of interactions.

Uploaded by

Maqsood Ahmad Khan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Nonverbal Communication

Body Language
Non-Verbal
Communication
 Non-verbal communication makes no
use of the words, sentences,
grammar and other structures that
we associate with spoken and written
language.
Non-Verbal
Communication
 Non-verbal communication includes
facial expressions, eye contact, tone
of voice, body posture and motions,
and positioning within groups.
 Verbal communication is organized by
language; non-verbal communication is
not.
Functions of NVC
Communicates feelings and attitudes
Represents one’s personality
Why focus on NVC?
• Critical to successful relationships
• Serves various functions for verbal
messages:
» Substitute
» Complement
» Contradict
» Repeat
» Regulate
Components of NVC

1. Oculesics
2. Proxemics
3. Haptics
4. Kinesics
5. Chronemics
6. Appearance
7. Facial Expressions
8. Artifacts
9. Silence
10. Colour
11. Smell
Eye Contact
• 2-4 seconds
• Involvement, Avoidance, Intimidation and Intimacy
Eye Contact
 Important way in which we
communicate our feelings towards
other people
 Staring – identified as threatening
form or behaviour
Eye Contact
 If we stare at someone, their
behaviour will change, often becoming
either defensive or at the other
extreme aggressive towards you
 Gazing – look steadily
 Eye contact – can be an index of the
closeness of a relationship that
people share
Poxemics – Space Zones
Proxemics
 The study of how we handle the space around
us, especially in relation to other people

 We create for ourselves spaces that belong to


us and to which we try carefully to control
access
 Example:
 Our homes
 Our spaces at universities or offices
Proxemics
 Determined by the situation and by the relationship we have,
or might like to have, with the person or people who are near to
us
 In crowded place such as a bus or train
 Cultural/religious differences in our attitudes to the
proximity, or nearness, of other people
 “Don’t touch” – touching things, other people, or even our own
bodies, is socially undesirable.
Touch - Haptics
• Ritualistic Touch
• Affectionate Touch
– Culture bound
1. Affection
2. Attention
3. Departure
4. Support
5. Interest
6. Greeting
7. Response
Touch - Haptics
Kinesics
Body Movement –Gestures and Posture

Types of Gestures
1. Emblems
2. Illustrators
3. Affect displays
4. Regulators
5. Adaptors
Emblems
• Thought of as sign language
• Equivalent of words
Illustrators
• Draw a clear picture f the linguistic reference
• Emphasise verbal messages
Regulators
• Actions that control the pace of a conversation
Affect Displays
• Indicate emotional states (anger, embarrassment)
• Usually occur in facial expressions
• Are uncontrollable
Adaptors
• Acts related to satisfying bodily needs
Example
Stifling a yawn, scratching, or clasping the hands to the face
in fear
Posture
• The way you sit, stand or lie in your bed. The way in
which we position our bodies

Examples
Leaning forward to the person you are speaking with
Posture
 Upright posture – people who are confident (police, army)
 Posture is another sign of the status and role within
society (army, police)
 Use posture as one means of indicating to another person
our feelings of friendship or hostility
 “hands on hips” – confrontational and hostile
 Cross legs, fold their arms
 Reinforce group identities
Appearance
Comb your hair and brush your teeth,
Shine those shoes that hide your feet,
Get dressed in a stylish sense,
‘Cuz you gotta look good for your audience
Appearance
• Height
• Weight
• Built
• Hairstyle
• Clothing
• Hygiene
• Grooming
Facial Expressions
1. Happiness 6. Disgust
2. Surprise 7. Contempt
3. Fear 8. Interest
4. Anger 9. Bewilderment
5. Sadness 10. Determination
Facial Expressions
 We face other people when we talk
 Facial expression is bound to be an
important indicator to other people
of our attitudes, state of mind and
relationships to them
Facial Expressions (cont)
 Human face has a complex
arrangement of muscles that allows
us to produce a whole range of
different expressions, most of which
are an index of our feelings (happy,
sad, pain, etc.)
 Smiling – important facial gesture
that indicate that we pleased to see
other people
Facial Expressions (cont)
 Smile vs Frown
 Smile in forced way
 A smiling television presenter
 A smiling receptionist
Silence
1. Agreement
2. Disagreement
3. Confusion
4. Respect
5. Sadness
6. Thoughtfulness, etc.
Color
• Red - exciting, stimulating, contrary, defiant, protective,
defending
• Blue - secure, comfortable, tender, soothing, peaceful,
serene
• Orange distressed, disturbed, upset
• Black powerful, strong, masterful, defiant, hostile,
melancholy, dejected
• Purple dignified, stately
• Yellow cheerful, jovial, joyful
Artifacts - Show status, interest and priorities
• Space Decoration
• Ornaments
• Jewellery
• Body Art
Review Questions
• In what way do dress and office
arrangement take part in nonverbal
communication?
• Think of ten ‘warm’ gestures that can
be employed before a small group.
Would they work as effectively
before a large group?
Application Questions
• What kind of office arrangements
would you adopt to conduct
interview? For negotiating contracts?
What ideas and feelings do these office arrangements convey?

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