Nonverbal Communication

Like verbal communication, we use nonverbal communication to share meaning with others. This is achieved by communicating through body language, hand gestures, facial expressions, clothing, etc. Just as there are many definitions for verbal communication, there are also many ways to define nonverbal communication, let's look at a few. Burgoon, Buller, and Woodall define nonverbal communication similar to how we defined verbal communication in Chapter 2. They state that nonverbal behaviors are "typically sent with intent, are used with regularity among members of a social community, are typically interpreted as intentional, and have consensually recognized interpretations" (113). In our opinion, this sounds too much like verbal communication and disregards the importance of nonverbal communication as a tool for interpreting truth beyond words.

George Mead, of the University of Chicago, defined the difference between what he called "gestures" and "significant symbols," while Ross Buck and Arthur VanLear, in their publication in the Journay of Communication, reaffirmed Mead's idea by stating that "gestures are not symbolic in that their relationship to their referents is not arbitrary"(524), meaning the nonverbal cues we express can happen unconsciously but still have valid and valuable meaning behind them. Think of all the ways you unconsciously move your body throughout the day. For example, at school or your job, you usually do not pay attention to the way you give off nonverbal communication such as hand gestures and facial expressions. Even so, others can and do derive meaning from your nonverbal behaviors whether they are intentional or not. An example of this is how professors watch their students' nonverbal communication in class (such as slouching, leaning back in the chair, or looking at their cell phones) and make assumptions about them (they are bored, tired, or not paying attention). These assumptions are often based on acts that are, typically, done unintentionally.

While we certainly use nonverbal communication consciously at times to generate and share particular meanings, when examined closely, it should be apparent that this channel of communication is not the same as verbal communication which is "an agreed-upon rule-governed system of symbols". Rather, nonverbal communication is most often spontaneous, unintentional, and may not follow formalized symbolic rule systems. With this in mind, we define nonverbal communication as any meaning conveyed through sounds, behaviors, and artifacts other than words. To help explain this idea, it is useful to consider some of the differences between verbal and nonverbal communication.