Improving Verbal and Nonverbal Group Interactions
This resource explains how nonverbal communication can supplement or replace verbal communication. One thing to remember is that people tend to believe nonverbal communication more than verbal communication. It also explores time, physical characteristics, body movements, touch, paralanguage, artifacts, and environment.
Nonverbal Communication Can Be Intentional or Unintentional
Suppose you are working as a salesclerk in a retail store, and a customer communicated frustration to you. Would the nonverbal aspects of your response be intentional or unintentional? Your job is to be pleasant and courteous at all times, yet your wrinkled eyebrows or wide eyes may have been unintentional. They clearly communicate your negative feelings at that moment. Restating your wish to be helpful and displaying nonverbal gestures may communicate "No big deal," but the stress of the moment is still "written" on your face.
Can we tell when people are intentionally or unintentionally communicating nonverbally? Ask ten people this question and compare their responses. You may be surprised. It is clearly a challenge to understand nonverbal communication in action. We often assign intentional motives to nonverbal communication when in fact their display is unintentional, and often hard to interpret.