CHAPTER 6: NONVERBAL MESSAGES (PART 1)

         

What is NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION?

Source: © Thinkstock

Nonverbal communication is communication without words. Nonverbal messages don’t stop when you stop speaking either. Even when you’re silent, you’re still communicating nonverbally. For example, the gestures we make, when you smile, frown or even the way we sit and the eye contact we make, all send a strong message.

Using nonverbal communication successfully, can gain two major benefits:

   ·         ↑ ability to send and receive nonverbal signals ;

      attractiveness, popularity, psychological well-being

   ·       ↑ nonverbal skills ;

      successful at communicating information, influencing others

v   Functions of Nonverbal Communication

1. Integrating with Verbal Messages

Here are some ways in which nonverbal messages are used with verbal messages; these will help to highlight the important interaction and integration of nonverbal and verbal messages.

Accent
Underline or emphasize some part of the verbal message. For example, when a person is excited, they usually speak loud and their eyes widen, making the message clearer.

Complement
Add to or complement a verbal message. Thus, pat a person on the back to giving encouragement can increase the impact of the message.

Contradict  
Contradict a message the individual is trying to convey. For example, when someone asking how was your day and you say “good” but they roll their eyes or look down at the floor and shrug their shoulders, you know they are actually not good and they have just negated the verbal message they were sending.

Regulate
Movements may serve to regulate. For example, we use hand signals to indicate that we are done talking and it is someone else turn to talk.

Repeat
 Can repeat the message the person is making verbally. For example, follow you verbal “Is that all right?” with raised eye-brows and a questioning look.

Substitute
 Replace verbal messages. For example, a person's eyes can often convey a far more vivid message than words do.

2. Forming and Managing Impressions

We often form impressions based on seeing a person’s body size, skin colour, style of dress, eye contact and facial expressions. At the same time that you form impressions of others, you are also managing the impressions they form of you.

Here are few different strategies in order to achieve different impressions:

ü To be liked

ü To be believed

ü To excuse failure

ü To secure help

ü To hide faults

ü To be followed

ü To confirm self-image and to communicate it to others

3. Defining Relationships

We also use nonverbal signals to communicate the nature of your relationship to another person; and you with that person communicate nonverbally with each other.

“Tie signs” are signals that communicate your relationship status. They point out the ways in which your relationship is attached together. Tie signs are also used in to making sure the level of the relationship and also used to communicate your relationship status to others.

4. Structuring Conversation

When you are engaged in conversation, you give and receive cues that you are ready to speak, listen, or comment on what the speaker had just said. These cues regulate and structure the interaction. For example, you show that you are listening and that you want the conversation to continue or want to end, mostly through nonverbal signals.

5. Influencing and Deceiving

With the ability to influence, comes the ability to deceive. Relying on nonverbal cues to perceive lying is probable to get you into trouble by leading you to make incorrect conclusions.

6. Expressing Emotions

Nonverbal expressions communicate a great part of your emotional experience. Nonverbal messages often help people communicate unpleasant messages.

 v   Channels of Nonverbal Communication

There are 10 channels of  nonverbal communication :

1. Body Communication

        i.            Body Movements – KINESICS, or the study of nonverbal communication through face and body movements.

There are 5 major types of movements:

   

Emblems Body gestures that are directly translate into words and phrases.

Illustrators­             Enhance the verbal messages they accompany.

Affect displays Movements of the face but also the hands and general body that communicate      emotional meaning.

Regulators  Behaviors that observe, control, coordinate, or maintain the speaking of another       individual.

Adaptors  Gestures satisfy some personal need.  There are 2 types of adapters: ü  Alter–adaptors - movements directed at the person with whom you’re speaking ü  Object–adapters - gestures focused on objects

     ii.            Besides that, general body appearance also involves in communicates. Your body also reveals your ethnicity and may give clues to more specific nationality. General attractiveness is part of body communication too.

2. Facial Communication

It indicates the degree of pleasantness, agreement, and sympathy felt. Expressions show higher physiological arousal than those who suppress these expressions.

        i.            Facial Management

·       Facial management techniques – enable you to communicate your feeling to achieve what you want

   ü To intensity : exaggerate surprise at a part

   ü To deintensity : cover up joy in the presence of a friend who receive a bad news

   ü To neutralize : cover up sadness not to depress others

   ü To mask: express happiness to cover up disappointment

   ü To simulate : express emotion you did not feel

         Notice the changes of face expression in the picture below as you scroll down.

Source: http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/ss/understanding-body-language_2.htm

3. Eye Communication

The functions of eye movements include:

    ·       to seek feedback

    ·       to inform others that the channel of communication is open

    ·       to signal the nature of a relationship, whether positive or negative

    ·       to change the psychological distance between you and another

    ·       to help others maintain privacy through “civil inattention” (eye avoidance)

    ·       to signal lack of interest through eye avoidance

The other 7 channels of nonverbal communication were discussed in the following lecture class, so we would post that in part 2 of this chapter J