Nonverbal Communication
buttons.Types of Nonverbal Communication
Kinesics is the study of how we use body movement and facial expressions. We interpret a great deal of meaning through body movement, facial expressions, and eye contact. Many people believe they can easily interpret the meanings of body movements and facial expressions in others. The reality is, it is almost impossible to determine an exact meaning for gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact. Even so, we rely a great deal on kinesics to interpret and express meaning. We know that kinesics can communicate liking, social status, and even relational responsiveness (Mehrabian). Facial expressions are a primary method of sharing emotions and feelings. For example, imagine yourself at a party and you see someone across the room you are attracted to. What sort of nonverbal behaviors do you engage in to let that person know? Likewise, what nonverbal behaviors are you looking for from them to indicate that it's safe to come over and introduce yourself? We are able to go through exchanges like this using only our nonverbal communication.
Haptics is the study of touch. Touch is the first
type of nonverbal communication we experience as humans and is vital to
our development and health. Those who don't have positive touch in their lives are less
healthy both mentally and physically than those who experience positive
touch. We use touch to share feelings and relational meanings. Hugs,
kisses, handshakes, or even playful roughhousing demonstrate relational
meanings and indicate relational closeness. In western society, touch is
largely reserved for family and romantic relationships. Generally girls
and women in same-sex friendships have more liberty to express touch as
part of the relationship than men in same-sex friendships. However,
despite these unfortunate social taboos, the need for touch is so strong
that men are quite sophisticated at finding ways to incorporate this
into their friendships in socially acceptable ways. One such example is
wrestling among adolescent and young-adult males. Do you ever wonder why
you don't see as many women doing this? Perhaps it's because wrestling
is socially acceptable for men whereas women are more likely to hug,
hold hands, and sit touching one another. In contrast, an exchange
student from Brazil recognized the differences in touch between cultures
when arriving in the United States. She was surprised when someone
hesitated to remove an eyelash from her face and apologized for touching
her. In her country, no one would hesitate to do this act. She
realized how much more physical touch is accepted and even expected in
her culture. Cultural norms around touch and gender constructs, and
everyone can prevent and limit touching behaviors in ways that are
comfortable to them.
Tattoos, hair style, dress, and makeup are all part of personal appearance.
Personal Appearance, Objects, and Artifacts are types of nonverbal communication we use on our bodies and surroundings communicate meaning to others. Consider your preferences for hair-style, clothing, jewelry, and automobiles, as well the way you maintain your body. These choices express meanings to those around you about what you value and, as well as your social status. As with most communication, our choices for personal appearance, objects, and artifacts occur within cultural contexts, and are interpreted in light of these contexts. Consider the recent trendiness and popularity of tattoos. While once associated primarily with prison and armed services, tattoos have become mainstream and are used to articulate a variety of personal, political and cultural messages.
Proxemics is the study of how our use of space influences the ways we relate with others.
It also demonstrates our relational standing with those around us
(May). Edward Hall developed four categories of space we use in the U.S.
to form and maintain relationships. Intimate space consists of space
that ranges from touch to eighteen inches. We use intimate space with
those whom we are close (family members, close friends, and intimate
partners). Intimate space is also the context for physical fighting and
violence. Personal space ranges from eighteen inches to four feet and
is reserved for most conversations with non-intimate others (friends and
acquaintances). Social space extends from four to twelve feet and is
used for small group interactions such as sitting around a dinner table
with others or a group meeting. Public space extends beyond twelve feet
and is most often used in public speaking situations. We use space to
regulate our verbal communication and communicate relational and social
meanings. A fun exercise to do is to go to a public space and observe
people. Based on their use of the above categories of space, try to
determine what type of relationship the people are in: Romantic, Family,
or Friends.
Environment as Nonverbal
Our use of our environment are nonverbal acts through our use of spaces we occupy like are homes, rooms, cars, or offices. Think of your home, room, automobile, or office space. What meanings can others perceive about you from these spaces? What meanings are you trying to send by how you keep them? Think about spaces you use frequently and the nonverbal meanings they have for you. Most educational institutions intentionally paint classrooms in dull colors. Why? Dull colors on walls have a calming effect, theoretically keeping students from being distracted by bright colors and excessive stimuli. Contrast the environment of a classroom to that of a fast food restaurant. These establishments have bright colors and hard plastic seats and tables. The bright colors generate an upbeat environment, while the hard plastic seats are just uncomfortable enough to keep patrons from staying too long--remember, its FAST food (Restaurants See Color As Key Ingredient). People and cultures place different emphasis on the use of space as a way to communicate nonverbally.
Case In Point
Use of Space
Feng Shui
Feng Shui, which means wind and water, is the ancient Chinese art of living in harmony with our environment. Feng Shui can be traced as far back as the Banpo dwellings in 4000 BCE. The ideas behind Feng Shui state that how we use our environment and organize our belongings affects the energy flow (chi) of people in that space, and the person/people who created the environment. The inclusion or exclusion, and placement, of various objects in our environments are used to create a positive impact on others. The theory is to use the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth to design a space. Feng Shui is applicable to cities, villages, homes, and public spaces. The Temple of Heaven in Bejing, China is an example of Feng Shui architecture. To keep harmony with the natural world, the Temple houses the Hall of Annual Prayer which is comprised of four inner, 12 middle, and 12 outer pillars representing the four seasons, 12 months, and 12 traditional Chinese hours.
Chronemics is the study of how people use time. Are you someone who is always early or on-time? Or, are you someone who arrives late to most events? Levine believes our use of time communicates a variety of meanings to those around us. Think about the person you know who is most frequently late. How do you describe that person based on their use of time? Now, think about someone else who is always on time. How do you describe that person? Is there a difference? If so, these differences are probably based on their use of time. In the U.S., we place high value on being on time, and respond more positively to people who are punctual. But, in many Arab and Latin American countries, time is used more loosely, and punctuality is not necessarily a goal to achieve. You may have heard the expression, "Indian time" to refer to "the perception of time [that] is circular and flexible". This is the belief that activities will commence when everyone is present and ready; not according to an arbitrary schedule based on a clock or calendar. Neither approach is better than the other, but the dissimilar uses of time can create misunderstandings among those from different cultural groups.
Paralanguage is the term we use to describe vocal qualities such as pitch, volume, inflection, rate of speech, and rhythm. While the types of nonverbal communication we've discussed so far are non-vocal, some nonverbal communication is actually vocal (noise is produced). How we say words often expresses greater meaning than the actual words themselves. Sarcasm and incongruence are two examples of this. The comedian Stephen Wright bases much of his comedy on his use of paralanguage. He talks in a completely monotone voice throughout his act and frequently makes statements such as, "I'm getting really excited" while using a monotone voice, accompanied by a blank facial expression. The humor lies in the incongruency - his paralanguage and facial expression contradict his verbal message. Watch an example of his humor. Whenever you use sarcasm, your paralanguage is intended to contradict the verbal message you say. As Professors we have found that using sarcasm in the classroom can backfire when students do not pick up our paralinguistic cues and focus primarily on the verbal message. We have learned to use sarcasm sparingly so as not to hurt anyone's feelings.
Nonverbal Communication and You
Emojis
Emojis
In the mid 2010s Emojis surged in popularity becoming literal icons
for nonverbal communication. We have the ability to send facial and
contextual expression to each other and can even hold parts of
conversations solely using Emojis. Reflective of our emotional and
physical reactions to communications Emojis are a simple and convenient
way to express emotion online and in messages between anyone. The
context that plain text often lacked can be supplemented with the use of
emojis making conversations more lively and closer to physical
communication by including the nonverbals like tone and facial
expression to an otherwise dry form of communicating.
Finally, silence serves as a type of nonverbal communication when we do not use words or uterances to convey meanings.
Have you ever experienced the "silent treatment" from someone? What
meanings did you take from that person's silence? Silence is powerful
because the person using silence may be refusing to engage in
communication with you. Likewise, we can use silence to regulate the
flow of our conversations. Silence has a variety of meanings and, as
with other types of nonverbal communication; context plays an important
role for interpreting the meaning of silence. For example, the Day of
Silence protest which has taken place every year since 1996 is a day
which students use their silence as a tool to get people to stand up for
LGBT rights. Here, like in the Women in Black movement, the
participants believe that silence sends a louder message than anything
they could say. Do you think they are right? What do you think are the
advantages and disadvantages of using silence as a political strategy?
You should now recognize the infinite combination of verbal and nonverbal messages we can share. When you think about it, it really is astonishing that we can communicate effectively at all. We engage in a continuous dance of communication where we try to stay in step with one another. With an understanding of the definition of nonverbal communication and the types of nonverbal communication, let's consider the various functions nonverbal communication serves in helping us communicate.