Chapter 5 Nonverbal Communication: The Messages of Action, Space, Time

1

• Chapter 5Nonverbal CommunicationThe Messages
  of Action, Space, Time Silence

2

• Nonverbal behavior is often directly
• linked to a cultures worldview and
• value orientation.

3
Importance of Nonverbal Communication

• ? Judging internal states people use nonverbal
  communication to express attitudes and emotions
• ? First impressions
• ? Managing interaction

4
Defining nonverbal communication

• any message other than words that we assign
  meaning to
• For U.S. U.K. cultures
• - 65 of a message is nonverbal - 35 is
  verbal - When the verbal message contradicts
  the nonverbal, people usually believe the
  nonverbal over the verbal

5
Functions of nonverbal communication

• - Repeating- Complementing (illustrators)
  supplement the verbal
• - Substituting substitute for the verbal words
  e.g. ok- Regulating regulate interaction
  e.g. head nods backchanneling
• - Contradicting- Expressing emotion
  happiness, anger, sadness- Expressing affection
  love intimacy endearment- Indicate status
  differences
• - Indicate type of relationship

6
Principles of Nonverbal communication

1. You cannot stop sending nonverbal messages You
   cannot, NOT communicate!
2. Nonverbal communication is often ambiguous
3. In American culture U.K., when the verbal
   message contradicts the nonverbal messages, we
   believe the nonverbal over the verbal (aka
   channel consistency vs.. channel discrepancy)
4. Much of nonverbal communication is culture
   specific culturally bound

7
Types of Nonverbal Signals

• - Physical appearance dress body type, skin
  color, hair, eye color, etc.
• Judgments of beauty are learned.Point we
  need to be tolerant of external differences so
  that we do not let these differences impede
  communication.

8

• Body movement/kinesics posture and gestures
  (using ones hands and arms)
• o emblems substitute for words
• o illustrators supplement the verbal o
  regulators regulate interaction
• Facial expressions gosh!, really??!!

9
Eye contact gaze

• In the U.S. culture U.K. cultures
• ? a sign of attention and interest
• ? regulates interaction
• ? the average length of gaze is 2.95 sec.
• (when gaze is lt 1.18 sec., we tend to think
  the person is not interested, shy or
  preoccupied)
• ? direct eye contact is considered an
  expression of honesty and forthrightness

10
Haptics

• a type of kinesic behavior involving touch
• reflects a cultures attitudes and values
• types sexual, playful, control, ritual,
  greeting or departure, task-related, accidental,
  etc.
• some cultures are more touch avoidant than others.

11
Smell

• ? Odor communicates
• ? Smell and memory are closely connected
• ? Smell can alter moods and increase alertness

12
Paralanguage/vocalics

• The sounds we generate apart from words rate,
  tone, pitch, pauses, volume, laughter, accents,
  dialects, noises backchanneling (mmm hmm).

13
Space Distance or Proxemics

• a persons use of space is directly related to
  the value system of his/her culture.
• personal space when your space is violated, you
  react your reaction is a manifestation of your
  cultural background.
• U.S. culture territory 0 18 intimates 1
  4 casual personal distance 4
  12 impersonal/social distance 12 gt public
  distance - Seating furniture arrangement
  illustrate power relationship

14
Time/Chronemics

• How we use time communicates something.
• Culture plays a substantial role in how we
  perceive and use time.
• Our use of time is very much dictated by the
  values of our culture.
• - Past, Present future time orientations
• Monochronic (M-time) time is fixed in nature
  time is a scarce resource
• Polychromic (P-time) time is holistic stress
  people over process unstructured (p. 196)

15
Silence

• silence communicates
• silence is also speech
• silence holds a powerful message
• knowing when and when NOT to speak is to gain
  intercultural competence
• e.g. Japanese - It is the duck that squawks that
  gets shot. American The squeaky wheel gets
  the oil.

16
Types of Nonverbal Ability

• ? Encoding skill
• ? Decoding ability (sensitivity)
• ? Skill in regulating or controlling
  nonverbal communication
• ? Competence regarding these abilities (skills)
  depends on knowing the rules of the specific
  culture.

17
Nonverbal Communication and Culture

• From your use of eye contact to the amount of
  volume you employ during interaction, your
  culture influences the manner in which you send
  and receive nonverbal symbols.
• Being able to achieve interaction goals (becoming
  competent) depends on knowing the rules of the
  culture(s) were dealing with.
• Be careful not to assume that people are
  communicating only when they talk.