Chapter 3: Nonverbal Communication

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Chapter 3 Nonverbal Communication

• Lecture by Chris Ross

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What is Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal Communication gt is everything that
  communicates a message but does not include
  words.
• Facial expression
• Gestures
• Dress
• Timing
• Position
• Tone of voice
• Eye contact
• Smell
• Etc

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What is Nonverbal Communication

• Two Sides of Nonverbal Communication
• Decoding gt draw meaning from something you
  observe
• Encoding gt put your feelings into behavior
  through nonverbal communication

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What is Nonverbal Communication

• Two Modes of Nonverbal Communication
• Static (Fixed)gt the elements of an interaction
  that do not change during its course. (Ex
  furniture in a room)
• Dynamic (Changeable) gt movement and change
  during the course of the interaction (Ex bodily
  movement or position of someone playing poker)

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Symbolic
• Guided by Rules
• Cultural
• Personal
• Ambiguous
• Less Controlled
• Continuous

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Symbolic
• Tend to be polysemic and can be difficult to
  decide what their intended meanings are.

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Guided by Rules
• Social norms can dictate what nonverbal
  communication you can use in situations
• Rules can help evaluate a situation
• Rules tend to be learned through your
  interactions with others

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Cultural
• Different cultures have various levels of what
  nonverbal communication is appropriate.
• Ex Eye contact is not always acceptable in all
  cultures.

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Personal
• You can assign your own personal meanings behind
  the nonverbal symbols used.

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Ambiguous
• Many times people can be uncertain of what the
  nonverbal communication means. They look to
  other aspects of the communication event for
  clairity.

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Less Controlled
• You cannot always control your physical reaction
  like you can your verbal reaction to an event.
  (Ex you might be able to hold in vocalizing
  dislike for someone, but your facial expression
  shows the dislike).
• Leakage gt nonverbal communication that occurs
  without your full awareness and reveal how you
  really feel.

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Continuous
• You always are communicating nonverbally with
  people whether you realize it or not.

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Interactions with verbal communication

• Nonverbal communication may repeat your verbal
  communication in the nonverbal format.
• Nonverbal messages can be substituted for verbal
  messages when needed.
• Nonverbal messages can emphasize a verbal message

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Nonverbal messages can moderate verbal messages
  (play down what is being said).
• Nonverbal messages can contradict what is being
  verbally communicated.

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Regulators gt nonverbal actions that indicate to
  others how you want them to behave or what you
  want them to do.
• When you want to be left alone, you may cross
  your arms over your chest, look down and frown.

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Kendon Ferbers Five basic stages of a greeting
ritual

1. Sighting Recognition
2. Distant Salutation
3. Lowering your head Averting your gaze
4. Close Salutation
5. Backing Off

1. Occurs when you another person first see each
   other
2. Used to say hello w/ a wave
3. Approach the other person, breaking eye contact
4. Involves a type of physical contact
5. Taking a step back or turning to the side for
   more open space

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How Nonverbal Communication Works

• Transmits Emotional Information
• Attitude towards other person if you show
  anxiety in your face, maybe the person makes you
  uncomfortable.
• Attitude towards situation if you fidget or
  cannot make eye contact it could show
  nervousness.
• Attitude towards self you can come across as
  arrogant via their facial expression, vocal tone
  and posture for example.

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Proxemics
• Kinesics
• Vocalics
• Chronemics
• Haptics

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Proxemics gt the study of space and distance in
  communication

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Proxemics
• Territoriality gt establishment and maintenance
  of space you claim for personal use. (Ex Table
  space in class)
• Primary territory gt space that you own or have
  principal control over (Ex Your life).

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Proxemics
• Public territory gt space open to everyone but
  available for your sole temporary occupation (Ex
  Seat on a public bus)
• Personal space gt space legitimately claimed or
  occupied by a person for the time being

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Proxemics
• Body buffer zone gt imaginary aura around people
  that they regard as part of themselves (Ex
  Youre in my bubble!)

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Proxemics and Halls Four Types of Personal Space
• Intimate distance 18 inches
• Personal distance 18-48 inches
• Social distance 48-144 inches
• Public distance 12-25 feet

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Kinesics gt refers to the movement that takes
  place during the course of an interaction.
• Posture
• Gesture
• Illustrators
• Eye Contact

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Kinesics
• Posture gt position of your body during an
  interaction.
• Conveys three attitudes about self, others and
  situation.

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Kinesics
• Gesture gt defined as a movement of the body or
  any of its parts in a way that conveys an idea or
  intention or displays a feeling or an assessment
  of the situation.
• Can be split broadly into two sorts those that
  are not expressed in words (emblems) and those
  that signal something in words (illustrations).

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Kinesics
• Illustrators gt directly related to speech as it
  is being spoken and are used to visualize or
  emphasize its content. (Ex Discussing how to
  use a baseball bat and showing the person how to
  swing).

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Kinesics
• Eye Contact gt refers to the extend to which you
  look directly into the eyes of another person.
• Gaze gt a rewarding look by one person who is
  looking at another.

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Vocalics gt (sometimes called paralanguage)
  refers to vocal characteristics that provide
  information about how verbal communication should
  be interpreted and how you are feeling.
• Ex The tone you use to express anger

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Vocalics
• Can use ton or pitch to emphasize parts of
  sentence to denote importance.
• Use of rate to stress importance
• Silence can be used to convey messages as well

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Vocalics
• Backchannel Communication gt vocalizations by a
  listener that give feedback to the speaker to
  show interest, attention or a willingness to
  listen.
• Turn taking gt when yuou hand over speaking to
  another person.

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Chronemics gt encompasses use and evaluation or
  time in your interactions, including the location
  of events in time.
• Emotions can impact chronemics. Boring lectures
  seem to take forever, but a meaningful
  conversation with a good friend can fly by.

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Haptics gt study of the specific nonverbal
  behaviors involving touch

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Elements of Nonverbal communication

• Haptics/Heslins Functions of Touch
• Functional/Professional touch is permitted by
  context (Ex Medical exam)
• Social/Polite Touch is formal (Ex Handshake)
• Friendship/Warmth Touch is an expression of
  regard.
• Love/Intimacy Touch is special, only allowed
  with those you are close.

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Interacting System of Nonverbal Communication

1. Nonverbal communication is related to the words
   used with it. It can impact what is sad and
   understood.
2. Nonverbal communication has a relationship with
   other nonverbal messages.
3. Nonverbal messages can be interpreted on its
   context
4. Nonverbal interpretation is affected by the
   relationship to the other person.

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Improving Use of Nonverbal Communication

• Speaker/Encoder

• Listener/decoder

• Affirming
• Blending
• Consistency
• Directness
• Emotional Clarity

• Attending
• Bonding
• Coordinating
• Detecting/Decoding
• Encouraging

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Chapter Assignments

• Discussions
• How does nonverbal communication regulate
  interactions?
• How can you improve your use of nonverbal
  communication?

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Chapter Assignments

• Buddy/Group Work
• Ask your friends how good they believe themselves
  to be at determining when other people are not
  telling the truth
• In a group play two truths and a lie. Each
  person will write down two things that are true
  and one lie. Another person will read the
  statements about someone. Watch them and ask
  follow up questions. Can you figure out through
  their nonverbals if they are lying to you?

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Chapter Assignments

• Written Work
• How do television shows use the placement of
  furniture to add something to the story?
• If a member of another culture is breaking a rule
  of nonverbal communication in your culture,
  should you tell them? Why or why not?
• Look at television or news stories involving
  police putting someone in a car. What percentage
  of the police touch the persons head? In what
  other circumstances, if any, do people open the
  car door for someone else and then touch the
  persons head who is getting in? What do you
  think they are trying to convey?