Non verbal communication word

Non-verbal communication is the sending or receiving of wordless messages. We can say that communication other than oral and written, as gesture, body language, posture, tone of voice or facial expressions, is called non-verbal communication.

Non-verbal communication helps receiver in interpreting the message received. Frequently, non-verbal signals reflect the situation more accurately than verbal messages. Sometimes non-verbal response contradicts verbal communication and thus affects the effectiveness of message.

Meaning of Non-verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is communication without using words or speech. Non-verbal communication is thus the wordless message received through the medium of gestures, signs, body movements, facial expressions, tone of voice, colour, time, space, style of writing, etc. Non-verbal communication is also called silent language or the language of signs and gestures.

We can define non-verbal communication in the following ways:

• Non-verbal communication is communication through any means other than words.
• It is the transmission of message by some medium other than speech or writing.
• It refers to all external stimuli other than the spoken or written words and that includes body motion, characteristics of voice, appearance, and space distancing.
• It is the communication that uses non-linguistic means to convey the message.
• It refers to the transfer of meaning by body-language, space, time and paralanguage.

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Elements Of Non Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication has the following three elements:

1. Appearance: Speaker: clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics.
2. Surrounding: room size, lighting, decorations, furnishings.
3. Body Language: Facial expressions, gestures, postures.
4. Sounds: Voice tone, Volume, Speech rate.

Non-verbal communication, or body language, is a critical form of communication – a natural, unconscious language that broadcasts our true feelings and purposes in any given moment, and clues us in to the feelings and intentions of those around us.

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Types of Non verbal Communication

There are many different types of non-verbal communication. Unitedly, the following non-verbal signals and cues convey your interest and investment in others.

7 Types of Non verbal communication are briefly explained below:

• Facial expressions
• Body movements and posture
• Gestures
• Eye contact
• Touch
• Space
• Voice

Facial expressions

The human face is extremely expressive, able to express countless emotions without saying a word. And unlike some forms of non-verbal communication, facial expressions are universal. The facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust are the same across cultures.

Body movements and posture

Believe how your perceptions of people are affected by the way they sit, walk, stand up, or hold their head. The way you move and carry yourself communicates a wealth of information to the world. This type of non-verbal communication includes your posture, bearing, stance, and elusive movements.

Gestures

Gestures are woven into the fabric of our daily lives. We wave, point, beckon, and use our hands when we’re arguing or speaking animatedly – expressing ourselves with gestures often without thinking. Nevertheless, the meaning of gestures can be very different across cultures and regions, so it’s important to be careful to avoid misinterpretation.

Eye contact

Because the visual sense is dominant for most people, eye contact is a particularly important type of non-verbal communication. The way you look at someone can communicate many things, including interest, affection, hostility, or attraction. Eye contact is also crucial in maintaining the flow of conversation and for gauging the other person’s response.

Touch

We communicate a great deal through touch. Think about the messages given by the following: a firm handshake, a timid tap on the shoulder, a warm bear hug, an assuring pat on the back, a patronizing pat on the head, or a controlling grip on your arm.

Space

Have you ever felt uneasy during a conversation because the other person was standing too close and invading your space? We all have a need for physical space, although that need differs depending upon the culture, the situation, and the closeness of the relationship. You can use physical space to communicate many different non-verbal messages, including signals of intimacy, aggression, dominance, or affection.

Voice

It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. When we speak, other people “read” our voices in addition to heeding to our words. Things they pay attention to include your timing and pace, how loud you speak, your tone and inflection, and sounds that convey understanding, such as “ahh” and “uh-huh.”

Example: Think about how tone of voice, can show sarcasm, anger, affection, or confidence.

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Tips for Reading Body Language and Non-verbal Communication

Once you’ve developed your powers to manage stress and recognize emotions, you’ll naturally become better at reading the non-verbal signals sent by others.

1. Pay attention to inconsistencies: Non-verbal communication should reinforce what is being said. Is the person is saying one thing, and their body language something else? Example: Are they telling you “yes” while shaking their head no?
2. Look at non-verbal communication signals as a group: Don’t read too much into a single motion or non-verbal cue. Believe all of the non-verbal signals you are receiving, from eye contact to tone of voice and body language. Taken together, are their nonverbal cues consistent – or inconsistent – with what their words are saying?
3. Trust your instincts: Don’t ignore your gut feelings. If you get the sense that someone isn’t being honest or that something isn’t adding up, you may be picking up on a mismatch between verbal and non-verbal cues.

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Relationship between Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

Relationship between verbal and non-verbal communication centers on substitution, complementing, conflict, and accenting which are explained as under:

The substitution relationship

When we nod our head up and down in approval of an action, we mean “yes” without using the word. Here we have substituted nonverbal sign for verbal sign.

The complementing relationship

When we say ‘no’ and at the same time shake our head from side-to-side to reinforce the negative verbalization, we are complementing the verbal message.

The conflict relationship

When action conflicts with verbal message, we tend to rely more on the nonverbal communication. Since much nonverbal communication is below our level of awareness, non-verbal clues are often harder to fade than verbal ones.

The noted psychologist Sigmund Freud once said, “A person who has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chats with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore”.

The accenting relationship

Just as highlighted words emphasize written ideas, non-verbal behaviour may accent parts of a verbal message. “Look at me”, when we say jabbing someone’s shoulder with a pointing finger, we are accenting or modulating our verbal message with a non-verbal sign.

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Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, use of objects and body language. It includes the use of social cues, kinesics, distance (proxemics) and physical environments/appearance, of voice (paralanguage) and of touch (haptics).^[1] A signal has three different parts to it, including the basic signal, what the signal is trying to convey, and how it is interpreted.^[2] These signals that are transmitted to the receiver depend highly on the knowledge and empathy that this individual has.^[3] It can also include the use of time (chronemics) and eye contact and the actions of looking while talking and listening, frequency of glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate (oculesics).

The study of nonverbal communication started in 1872 with the publication of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin. Darwin began to study nonverbal communication as he noticed the interactions between animals such as lions, tigers, dogs etc. and realized they also communicated by gestures and expressions. For the first time, nonverbal communication was studied and its relevance questioned.^[4] Today, scholars argue that nonverbal communication can convey more meaning than verbal communication.^[5] Some scholars state that most people trust forms of nonverbal communication over verbal communication. Ray Birdwhistell^{[note 1]} concludes that nonverbal communication accounts for 60–70 percent of human communication,^[6] although according to other researchers the communication type is not quantifiable^[7] or does not reflect modern human communication, especially when people rely so much on written means.^[8]

Just as speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, loudness, and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation, and stress, so written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the physical layout of a page. However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on interaction between individuals,^[9] where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction.

Nonverbal communication involves the conscious and unconscious processes of encoding and decoding. Encoding is defined as our ability to express emotions in a way that can be accurately interpreted by the receiver(s). Decoding is called «nonverbal sensitivity«, defined as the ability to take this encoded emotion and interpret its meanings accurately to what the sender intended. Encoding is the act of generating information such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures. Encoding information utilizes signals which we may think to be universal. Decoding is the interpretation of information from received sensations given by the encoder. Decoding information utilizes knowledge one may have of certain received sensations. For example, in the picture above, the encoder holds up two fingers, and the decoder may know from previous experience that this means two. There are some «decoding rules«, which state that in some cases a person may be able to properly assess some nonverbal cues and understand their meaning, whereas others might not be able to do so as effectively. Both of these skills can vary from person to person, with some people being better than others at one or both. These individuals would be more socially conscious and have better interpersonal relationships^{[citation needed]}. An example of this would be with gender: women are found^{[citation needed]} to be better decoders than men since they are more observant of nonverbal cues, as well as more likely to use them.

Culture plays an important role in nonverbal communication, and it is one aspect that helps to influence how learning activities are organized. In many Indigenous American communities, for example, there is often an emphasis on nonverbal communication, which acts as a valued means by which children learn. Within cultures around the world there are extreme differences and similarities between a lot of nonverbal gestures or signals.^[10] For example the head gesture for yes and no may have different meanings depending on where you are in the world.^[11] In this sense, learning is not dependent on verbal communication; rather, it is nonverbal communication which serves as a primary means of not only organizing interpersonal interactions, but also conveying cultural values, and children learn how to participate in this system from a young age.^[12]

Importance[edit]

According to some authors, nonverbal communication represents two-thirds of all communications^[clarify].^[13][14] Nonverbal communication can portray a message both vocally and with the correct body signals or gestures. Body signals comprise physical features, conscious and unconscious gestures and signals, and the mediation of personal space.^[13] The wrong message can also be established if the body language conveyed does not match a verbal message. Paying attention to both verbal and nonverbal communication may leave the listener with a feeling of being lost, due to not being able to breakdown both at the same time. However, ignoring nonverbal communication altogether would cause the listener to miss up to 60% of their communication, according to experts.

Nonverbal communication strengthens a first impression in common situations like attracting a partner or in a business interview: impressions are on average formed within the first four seconds of contact.^[13] First encounters or interactions with another person strongly affect a person’s perception.^[15] When the other person or group is absorbing the message, they are focused on the entire environment around them, meaning the other person uses all five senses in the interaction: 83% sight, 11% hearing, 3% smell, 2% touch and 1% taste.^[16]

Many indigenous cultures use nonverbal communication in the integration of children at a young age into their cultural practices. Children in these communities learn through observing and pitching in through which nonverbal communication is a key aspect of observation.

According to Judee K. Burgoon et al., further reasons for the importance of non-verbal communication are:

• «Non-verbal communication is omnipresent.»^[17] They are included in every single communication act. To have total communication, all non-verbal channels such as the body, face, voice, appearance, touch, distance, timing, and other environmental forces must be engaged during face-to-face interaction. Written communication can also have non-verbal attributes. E-mails, web chats, and the social media have options to change text font colours, stationery, add emoticons, capitalization, and pictures in order to capture non-verbal cues into a verbal medium.^[18]
• «Non-verbal behaviours are multifunctional.»^[19] Many different non-verbal channels are engaged at the same time in communication acts and allow the chance for simultaneous messages to be sent and received.
• «Non-verbal behaviours may form a universal language system.»^[19] Smiling, crying, pointing, caressing, and glaring are non-verbal behaviours that are used and understood by people regardless of nationality. Such non-verbal signals allow the most basic form of communication when verbal communication is not effective due to language barriers.

History of research[edit]

Scientific research on nonverbal communication and behavior was started in 1872 with the publication of Charles Darwin’s book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.^[16] In the book, Darwin argued that all mammals, both humans and animals, showed emotion through facial expressions. He posed questions such as: «Why do our facial expressions of emotions take the particular forms they do?» and «Why do we wrinkle our nose when we are disgusted and bare our teeth when we are enraged?»^[20] Darwin attributed these facial expressions to serviceable associated habits, which are behaviors that earlier in our evolutionary history had specific and direct functions.^[20] For example, a species that attacked by biting, baring the teeth was a necessary act before an assault and wrinkling the nose reduced the inhalation of foul odors. In response to the question asking why facial expressions persist even when they no longer serve their original purposes, Darwin’s predecessors have developed a highly valued explanation. According to Darwin, humans continue to make facial expressions because they have acquired communicative value throughout evolutionary history.^[20] In other words, humans utilize facial expressions as external evidence of their internal state. Although The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals was not one of Darwin’s most successful books in terms of its quality and overall impact in the field, his initial ideas started the abundance of research on the types, effects, and expressions of nonverbal communication and behavior.^[21]

Despite the introduction of nonverbal communication in the 1800s, the emergence of behaviorism in the 1920s paused further research on nonverbal communication.^[21] Behaviorism is defined as the theory of learning that describes people’s behavior as acquired through conditioning.^[22] Behaviorists such as B.F. Skinner trained pigeons to engage in various behaviors to demonstrate how animals engage in behaviors with rewards.^[22]

While most psychology researchers were exploring behaviorism, the study of nonverbal communication as recorded on film began in 1955–56 at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences through a project which came to be called the Natural History of an Interview.^[23] The initial participants included two psychiatrists, Frieda Fromm-Reichman and Henry Brosin, two linguists, Norman A. McQuown and Charles Hockett, and also two anthropologists, Clyde Kluckhohn and David M. Schneider, (these last two withdrew by the end of 1955, and did not participate in the major group project). In their place, two other anthropologists, Ray Birdwhistell, already then known as the founder of kinesics, the study of body motion communication,^[24] and Gregory Bateson, known more generally as a human communication theorist, both joined the team in 1956. Albert Scheflen and Adam Kendon were among those who joined one of the small research teams continuing research once the year at CASBS ended.^[23] The project analyzed a film made by Bateson, using an analytic method called at the time natural history, and later, mostly by Scheflen, context analysis. The result remained unpublished, as it was enormous and unwieldy, but it was available on microfilm by 1971.^[25] The method involves transcribing filmed or videotaped behavior in excruciating detail, and was later used in studying the sequence and structure of human greetings, social behaviors at parties, and the function of posture during interpersonal interaction.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Research on nonverbal communication rocketed during the mid-1960s by a number of psychologists and researchers. Michael Argyle and Janet Dean Fodor, for example, studied the relationship between eye contact and conversational distance. Ralph V. Exline examined patterns of looking while speaking and looking while listening.^[21] Eckhard Hess produced several studies pertaining to pupil dilation that were published in Scientific American. Robert Sommer studied the relationship between personal space and the environment.^[21] Robert Rosenthal discovered that expectations made by teachers and researchers can influence their outcomes, and that subtle, nonverbal cues may play an important role in this process.^[21] Albert Mehrabian studied the nonverbal cues of liking and immediacy. By the 1970s, a number of scholarly volumes in psychology summarized the growing body of research, such as Shirley Weitz’s Nonverbal Communication and Marianne LaFrance and Clara Mayo’s Moving Bodies.^[21] Popular books included Body Language (Fast, 1970), which focused on how to use nonverbal communication to attract other people, and How to Read a Person Like a Book (Nierenberg & Calero, 1971) which examined nonverbal behavior in negotiation situations.^[21] The journal Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal Behavior was founded in 1976.^[30]

In 1970, Argyle hypothesized that although spoken language is used for communicating the meaning about events external to the person communicating, the nonverbal codes are used to create and strengthen interpersonal relationships.^[31] When someone wishes to avoid conflicting or embarrassing events during communication, it is considered proper and correct by the hypothesis to communicate attitudes towards others non-verbally instead of verbally.^[32] Along with this philosophy, Michael Argyle also found and concluded in 1988 that there are five main functions of nonverbal body behavior and gestures in human communications: self-presentation of one’s whole personality, rituals and cultural greetings, expressing interpersonal attitudes, expressing emotions, and to accompany speech in managing the cues set in the interactions between the speaker and the listener.^[31]

First impression[edit]

It takes just one-tenth of a second for someone to judge and make their first impression. According to a study from Princeton University, this short amount of time is enough for a person to determine several attributes about an individual. These attributes included «attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, competence, and aggressiveness.»  A first impression is a lasting non-verbal communicator. The way a person portrays themselves on the first encounter is non-verbal statement to the observer. Presentation can include clothing and other visible attributes such as facial expressions or facial traits in general. Negative impressions can also be based on presentation and on personal prejudice. First impressions, although sometimes misleading, can in many situations be an accurate depiction of others.^{[citation needed]}

In terms of culture, collectivists have a harder time changing their first impressions because they emphasize a lot more context and need additional time when faced with new clues as each view may be correct in some contexts.^[33] Moreover, Fang et al., acknowledged that first impression is less likely to change in Asian culture because they value cohesiveness and consensus, thus will not destroy their group cohesiveness at the expense of changing their first impression when they reached a consensus.

Posture[edit]

Posture is a nonverbal cue that is associated with positioning and that these two are used as sources of information about individual’s characteristics, attitudes, and feelings about themselves and other people.^[34] There are many different types of body positioning to portray certain postures, including slouching, towering, legs spread, jaw thrust, shoulders forward, and arm crossing. The posture or bodily stance exhibited by individuals communicates a variety of messages whether good or bad. A study, for instance, identified around 200 postures that are related to maladjustment and withholding of information.^[34]

Posture can be used to determine a participant’s degree of attention or involvement, the difference in status between communicators, and the level of fondness a person has for the other communicator, depending on body «openness».^[35]: 9 It can also be effectively used as a way for an individual to convey a desire to increase, limit, or avoid interaction with another person.^[36] Studies investigating the impact of posture on interpersonal relationships suggest that mirror-image congruent postures, where one person’s left side is parallel to the other person’s right side, leads to favorable perception of communicators and positive speech; a person who displays a forward lean or decreases a backward lean also signifies positive sentiment during communication.^[37]

Posture can be situation-relative, that is, people will change their posture depending on the situation they are in.^[38] This can be demonstrated in the case of relaxed posture when an individual is within a nonthreatening situation and the way one’s body tightens or become rigid when under stress.^[39]

Clothing[edit]

Clothing is one of the most common forms of non-verbal communication. The study of clothing and other objects as a means of non-verbal communication is known as artifactics^[40] or objectics.^[41] The types of clothing that an individual wears convey nonverbal cues about their personality, background and financial status, and how others will respond to them.^[16] An individual’s clothing style can demonstrate their culture, mood, level of confidence, interests, age, authority, and values/beliefs.^[42] For instance, Jewish men may wear a yarmulke to outwardly communicate their religious belief. Similarly, clothing can communicate what nationality a person or group is; for example, in traditional festivities Scottish men often wear kilts to specify their culture.

Aside from communicating a person’s beliefs and nationality, clothing can be used as a nonverbal cue to attract others. Men and women may shower themselves with accessories and high-end fashion to attract partners interested. In this case, clothing is a form of self-expression where people can flaunt their power, wealth, sex appeal, or creativity.^[42] A study of the clothing worn by women attending discothèques, carried out in Vienna, Austria. It showed that in certain groups of women (especially women who were without their partners), motivation for sex and levels of sexual hormones were correlated with aspects of their clothing, especially the amount of skin displayed and the presence of sheer clothing.^[43]

The way one chooses to dress tells a lot about one’s personality. The University of North Carolina studied how undergraduate women chose to dress and their personality types. The study showed that women dressed «primarily for comfort and practicality were more self-controlled, dependable, and socially well adjusted.»^[44] Women who didn’t like to stand out in a crowd typically had more conservative and traditional views and beliefs. Clothing, although non-verbal, tells people what the individual’s personality is. The way a person dresses is typically rooted in deeper internal motivations such as emotions, experiences, and culture.^[45] Clothing expresses who they are or who they want to be that day. It shows other people who they want to be associated with and where they fit in. Clothing can start relationships because they clue other people into the wearer.^[44][45]

When it comes to the clothing that they wear, nonverbal communication with gangs is very common. Gang members typically wear 2-3 colors to signify that they are representing a particular neighborhood. Baseball caps and hats with specific gang names and initials, worn backwards, tilted, in certain colors, etc. bandanas worn around the head, shoulders, arms, or legs. Gang members frequently dress in hip-hop-inspired fashions, such as oversized pants worn below the waist (also known as «sagging»). Colored belts, colored shoes, and colored bandanas are all utilized as identifiers. Group colors and clothing are commonly used to represent affiliation.

Gestures[edit]

Gestures may be made with the hands, arms or body, and also include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling one’s eyes. Although the study of gesture is still in its infancy, some broad categories of gestures have been identified by researchers. The most familiar are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures. These are conventional, culture-specific gestures that can be used as replacement for words, such as the hand wave used in western cultures for «hello» and «goodbye». A single emblematic gesture can have a very different significance in different cultural contexts, ranging from complimentary to highly offensive.^[46] For a list of emblematic gestures, see List of gestures. There are some universal gestures like the shoulder shrug.^[16]

Gestures can also be categorized as either speech independent or speech related. Speech-independent gestures are dependent upon culturally accepted interpretation and have a direct verbal translation.^[35]: 9 A wave or a peace sign are examples of speech-independent gestures. Speech-related gestures are used in parallel with verbal speech; this form of nonverbal communication is used to emphasize the message that is being communicated. Speech-related gestures are intended to provide supplemental information to a verbal message such as pointing to an object of discussion.

Facial expressions, more than anything, serve as a practical means of communication. With all the various muscles that precisely control mouth, lips, eyes, nose, forehead, and jaw, human faces are estimated to be capable of more than ten thousand different expressions. This versatility makes non-verbals of the face extremely efficient and honest, unless deliberately manipulated. In addition, many of these emotions, including happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, shame, anguish and interest are universally recognized.^[47]

Displays of emotions can generally be categorized into two groups: negative and positive. Negative emotions usually manifest as increased tension in various muscle groups: tightening of jaw muscles, furrowing of forehead, squinting eyes, or lip occlusion (when the lips seemingly disappear). In contrast, positive emotions are revealed by the loosening of the furrowed lines on the forehead, relaxation of the muscles around the mouth, and widening of the eye area. When individuals are truly relaxed and at ease, the head will also tilt to the side, exposing our most vulnerable area, the neck. This is a high-comfort display, often seen during courtship, that is nearly impossible to mimic when tense or suspicious.^[48]

Gestures can be subdivided into three groups:

Adapters[edit]

Some hand movements are not considered to be gestures. They consist of manipulations either of the person or some object (e.g. clothing, pencils, eyeglasses)—the kinds of scratching, fidgeting, rubbing, tapping, and touching that people often do with their hands. These behaviors can show that a person is experiencing anxiety or feeling of discomfort, typical when the individual is not the one in control of the conversation or situation and therefore expresses this uneasiness subconsciously. Such behaviors are referred to as adapters. They may not be perceived as meaningfully related to the speech in which they accompany, but may serve as the basis for dispositional inferences of the speaker’s emotion (nervous, uncomfortable, bored.) These types of movements  are believed to express the unconscious thoughts and feelings of a person, or those thoughts an emotions one is trying to consciously hide.

Symbolic[edit]

Other hand movements are gestures. They are movements with specific, conventionalized meanings called symbolic gestures. They are the exact opposite of adaptors, since their meanings are intended to be communicated and they have a specific meaning for the person who gives the gesture and the person to receive it. Familiar symbolic gestures include the «raised fist,» «bye-bye,» and «thumbs up.» In contrast to adapters, symbolic gestures are used intentionally and serve a clear communicative function. Sign languages are highly developed systems of symbolic gesture. Some educators that work with deaf learners use a combination of cued speech and lip speaking and reading that helps deaf and hard hearing individuals (D/HH) to code and decode words based on their phonetics.^[49] In addition to the supplementary aspect of the cues like location and movement, every culture has their own set of gestures, some of which are unique only to a specific culture. For example, the phonological and lexical repository of D/HH individuals is highly dependent on their social background and richness of language.^[49] Very similar gestures can have very different meanings across cultures. Symbolic gestures are usually used in the absence of speech but can also accompany speech.

Conversational[edit]

The middle ground between adapters and symbolic gestures is occupied by conversational gestures. These gestures do not refer to actions or words but do accompany speech. Conversational gestures are hand movements that accompany speech and are related to the speech they accompany. Though they do accompany speech, conversational gestures are not seen in the absence of speech and are only made by the person who is speaking.

There are a few types of conversational gestures, specifically motor and lexical movements.  Motor movements are those which are rhythmical and repetitive, do not have to be accompanied by anything spoken due to their simple meaning, and the speaker’s hand usually sticks to one position. When paired with verbal communication, they can be used to stress certain syllables. An example of this would be pointing someone in the direction of an individual and saying, «That way.» In this case, the «That» in the sentence would be stressed by the movements. Lexical movements are more complex, not rhythmic, or repetitive, but rather lengthy and varied. An example of this would be something like giving elaborate directions to somewhere and pairing that with various hands movements to signal the various turns to take.

Distance[edit]

According to Edward T. Hall, the amount of space we maintain between ourselves and the persons with whom we are communicating shows the importance of the science of proxemics. In this process, it is seen how we feel towards the others at that particular time.^[50] Within American culture Hall defines four primary distance zones: (i) intimate (touching to eighteen inches [0–46 centimetres]) distance, (ii) personal (eighteen inches to four feet, [0.46–1.22 metres]) distance, (iii) social (four to twelve feet [1.22–3.66 metres]) distance, and (iv) public (more than twelve feet [3.66 metres]) distance. Intimate distance is considered appropriate for familiar relationships and indicates closeness and trust. Personal distance is still close but keeps another «at arm’s length» and is considered the most comfortable distance for most of our interpersonal contact, while social distance is used for the kind of communication that occurs in business relationships and, sometimes, in the classroom. Public distance occurs in situations where two-way communication is not desirable or possible.^[50]

Eye contact[edit]

Eye contact is the instance when two people look at each other’s eyes at the same time; it is the primary nonverbal way of indicating engagement, interest, attention and involvement. Nonverbal communication involves the conscious and unconscious processes of encoding and decoding. Encoding is defined as our ability to express emotions in a way that the receiver(s). Decoding is called «nonverbal sensitivity«, defined as the ability to take this encoded emotion and interpret its meanings accurately to what the sender intended. Encoding is the act of generating information such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures. Some studies have demonstrated that people use their eyes to indicate interest. This includes frequently recognized actions of winking and movements of the eyebrows.^[51] Disinterest is highly noticeable when little or no eye contact is made in a social setting. When an individual is interested, however, the pupils will dilate.

According to Eckman, «Eye contact (also called mutual gaze) is another major channel of nonverbal communication. The duration of eye contact is its most meaningful aspect.»^[52] Generally speaking, the longer there is established eye contact between two people, the greater the intimacy levels.^[13]
Gaze comprises the actions of looking while talking and listening. The length of a gaze, the frequency of glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate are all important cues in nonverbal communication.^[53] According to Descroix et al., the context of conversations does not produce long blinks between the emitter and the recipient. «Liking generally increases as mutual gazing increases.»^[13]

Along with the detection of disinterest, deceit can also be observed in a person. Hogan states «when someone is being deceptive their eyes tend to blink a lot more. Eyes act as leading indicator of truth or deception,»^[13] Both nonverbal and verbal cues are useful when detecting deception. It is typical for people who are detecting lies to rely consistently on verbal cues but this can hinder how well they detect deception. Those who are lying and those who are telling the truth possess different forms of nonverbal and verbal cues and this is important to keep in mind. In addition, it is important to note that understanding the cultural background of a person will influence how easily deception is detectable because nonverbal cues may differ depending on the culture. In addition to eye contact these nonverbal cues can consist of physiological aspects including pulse rate as well as levels of perspiration.^[22] In addition eye aversion can be predictive of deception. Eye aversion is the avoidance of eye contact. Eye contact and facial expressions provide important social and emotional information. Overall, as Pease states, «Give the amount of eye contact that makes everyone feel comfortable. Unless looking at others is a cultural no-no, lookers gain more credibility than non-lookers»^[16]

In concealing deception, nonverbal communication makes it easier to lie without being revealed. This is the conclusion of a study where people watched made-up interviews of persons accused of having stolen a wallet. The interviewees lied in about 50% of the cases. People had access to either written transcript of the interviews, or audio tape recordings, or video recordings. The more clues that were available to those watching, the larger was the trend that interviewees who actually lied were judged to be truthful. That is, people that are clever at lying can use tone of voice and facial expressions to give the impression that they are truthful.^[54] Contrary to popular belief, a liar does not always avoid eye contact. In an attempt to be more convincing, liars deliberately made more eye contact with interviewers than those that were telling the truth.^[55][56] However, there are many cited examples of cues to deceit, delivered via nonverbal (paraverbal and visual) communication channels, through which deceivers supposedly unwittingly provide clues to their concealed knowledge or actual opinions.^[57] Most studies examining the nonverbal cues to deceit rely upon human coding of video footage (c.f. Vrij, 2008^[58]), although a recent study also demonstrated bodily movement differences between truth-tellers and liars using an automated body motion capture system.^[59]

Across cultures[edit]

Overview[edit]

While not traditionally thought of as «talk,» nonverbal communication has been found to contain highly precise and symbolic meanings, similar to verbal speech. However the meanings in nonverbal communication are conveyed through the use of gesture, posture changes, and timing.^[60] Nuances across different aspects of nonverbal communication can be found in cultures all around the world. These differences can often lead to miscommunication between people of different cultures, who usually do not mean to offend. Differences can be based in preferences for mode of communication, like the Chinese, who prefer silence over verbal communication.^[61]: 69 Differences can even be based on how cultures perceive the passage of time. Chronemics, how people handle time, can be categorized in two ways: polychronic which is when people do many activities at once and is common in Italy and Spain, or monochronic which is when people do one thing at a time which is common in America.^[62]: 422 Because nonverbal communication can vary across many axes—gestures, gaze, clothing, posture, direction, or even environmental cues like lighting—there is a lot of room for cultural differences.^[63]: 8 In Japan, a country which prides itself on the best customer service, workers tend to use wide arm gestures to give clear directions to strangers—accompanied by the ever-present bow to indicate respect. One of the main factors that differentiates nonverbal communication in cultures is high and low-context. context relates to certain events and the meaning that is ultimately derived from it.^[64] «High-context» cultures rely mostly on nonverbal cues and gestures, using elements such as the closeness of the kind of the relationships they have with others, strict social hierarchies and classes and deep cultural tradition and widely known beliefs and rules. In contrast, «low-context» cultures depend largely on words and verbal communication, where communications are direct and social hierarchies are way less tense and more loose.

Gestures[edit]

Gestures vary widely across cultures in how they are used and what they mean. A common example is pointing. In the United States, pointing is the gesture of a finger or hand to indicate or «come here please» when beckoning a dog. But pointing with one finger is also considered to be rude by some cultures. Those from Asian cultures typically use their entire hand to point to something.^[65] Other examples include, sticking your tongue out. In Western countries, it can be seen as mockery, but in Polynesia it serves as a greeting and a sign of reverence.^[62]: 417 Clapping is a North American way of applauding, but in Spain is used to summon a waiter at a restaurant. Differences in nodding and shaking the head to indicate agreement and disagreement also exist. Northern Europeans nodding their heads up and down to say «yes», and shaking their head from side to side to say «no». But the Greeks have for at least three thousand years used the upward nod for disagreement and the downward nod for agreement.»^[62]: 417 There are many ways of waving goodbye: Americans face the palm outward and move the hand side to side, Italians face the palm inward and move the fingers facing the other person, French and Germans face the hand horizontal and move the fingers toward the person leaving.^[62]: 417 Also, it is important to note that gestures are used in more informal settings and more often by children.^[62]: 417 People in the United States commonly use the «OK» hand gesture^[64] to give permission and allow an action. In Japan, however, the same sign means «money». It refers to «zero» or «nothing» in several cultures besides these two (Argentina, Belgium, French and the Portuguese). To Eastern European cultures that same «OK» sign is considered a vulgar swearing gesture.

Speech-independent gestures[edit]

Speech-independent gestures are nonverbal cues that communicate a word or an expression, most commonly a dictionary definition.^[66] Although there is differences in nonverbal gestures across cultures, speech-independent gestures must have an agreeable understanding among people affiliated with that culture or subculture on what that gesture’s interpretation is.^[66] As most humans use gestures to better clarify their speech, speech-independent gestures don’t rely on speech for their meaning. Usually they transpire into a single gesture.^[66]

Many speech-independent gestures are made with the hand, the «ring» gesture usually comes across as asking someone if they are okay.^[66] There are several that could be performed through the face. For example, a nose wrinkle could universally mean disapproval or disgust.^[66] Nodding your head up and down or side to side indicate an understanding or lack of when the speaker is talking. Just because speech-independent speech doesn’t need actual speech for understanding the gesture, it still needs context.^[66] Using your middle finger is a gesture that could be used within different contexts. It could be comical or derogatory. The only way to know is if one analyzes the other behaviors surrounding it and depending on who the speaker is and who the speaker is addressing.^[66]

Displays of emotion[edit]

Emotions are a key factor in nonverbal communication. Just as gestures and other hand movements vary across cultures, so does the way people display their emotions. For example, «In many cultures, such as the Arab and Iranian cultures, people express grief openly. They mourn out loud, while in Asian cultures, the general belief is that it is unacceptable to show emotion openly.»^[67] For people in Westernized countries, laughter is a sign of amusement, but in some parts of Africa it is a sign of wonder or embarrassment.^[62]: 417
Emotional expression varies with culture.^[68] Native Americans tend to be more reserved and less expressive with emotions.^[69]: 44 Frequent touches are common for Chinese people; however, such actions like touching, patting, hugging or kissing in America are less frequent and not often publicly displayed.^[61]: 68According to Rebecca Bernstein (from Point Park University) «Winking is a facial expression particularly varied in meaning.» According to Latin culture, a wink was a display or invitation of romantic pursuit. The Yoruba (Nigeria) have taught their children to follow certain nonverbal commands, such as winking, which tells them it’s time to leave the room. To the Chinese it comes off as an offensive gesture.^[64]

Nonverbal actions[edit]

According to Matsumoto and Juang, the nonverbal motions of different people indicate important channels of communication. Nonverbal actions should match and harmonize with the message being portrayed, otherwise confusion will occur.^[21] For instance, an individual would normally not be seen smiling and gesturing broadly when saying a sad message. The author states that nonverbal communication is very important to be aware of, especially if comparing gestures, gaze, and tone of voice amongst different cultures. As Latin American cultures embrace big speech gestures, Middle Eastern cultures are relatively more modest in public and are not expressive. Within cultures, different rules are made about staring or gazing. Women may especially avoid eye contact with men because it can be taken as a sign of sexual interest.^[65] In some cultures, gaze can be seen as a sign of respect. In Western culture, eye contact is interpreted as attentiveness and honesty. In Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native American cultures, eye contact is thought to be disrespectful or rude, and lack of eye contact does not mean that a person is not paying attention. Voice is a category that changes within cultures. Depending on whether or not the cultures is expressive or non-expressive, many variants of the voice can depict different reactions.^[70]

The acceptable physical distance is another major difference in the nonverbal communication between cultures. In Latin America and the Middle East the acceptable distance is much shorter than what most Europeans and Americans feel comfortable with. This is why an American or a European might wonder why the other person is invading their personal space by standing so close, while the other person might wonder why the American/European is standing so far from them.^[71] In addition, for Latin Americans, the French, Italians, and Arabs the distance between people is much closer than the distance for Americans; in general for these close distance groups, 1 foot of distance is for lovers, 1.5–4 feet of distance is for family and friends, and 4–12 feet is for strangers.^[62]: 421 In the opposite way, most Native Americans value distance to protect themselves.^[69]: 43

Children’s learning in indigenous American communities[edit]

Nonverbal communication is commonly used to facilitate learning in indigenous American communities. Nonverbal communication is pivotal for collaborative participation in shared activities, as children from indigenous American communities will learn how to interact using nonverbal communication by intently observing adults.^[60] Nonverbal communication allows for continuous keen observation and signals to the learner when participation is needed. Culture plays an important role in nonverbal communication, and it is one aspect that helps to influence how learning activities are organized. In many Indigenous American Communities, for example, there is often an emphasis on nonverbal communication, which acts as a valued means by which children learn.^[72] In a study on Children from both US Mexican (with presumed indigenous backgrounds) and European American heritages who watched a video of children working together without speaking found that the Mexican-heritage children were far more likely to describe the children’s actions as collaborative, saying that the children in the video were «talking with their hands and with their eyes.»^[73]

A key characteristic of this type of nonverbal learning is that children have the opportunity to observe and interact with all parts of an activity.^[74] Many Indigenous American children are in close contact with adults and other children who are performing the activities that they will eventually master. Objects and materials become familiar to the child as the activities are a normal part of everyday life. Learning is done in an extremely contextualized environment rather than one specifically tailored to be instructional.^[74] For example, the direct involvement that Mazahua children take in the marketplace is used as a type of interactional organization for learning without explicit verbal instruction. Children learn how to run a market stall, take part in caregiving, and also learn other basic responsibilities through non-structured activities, cooperating voluntarily within a motivational context to participate. Not explicitly instructing or guiding the children teaches them how to integrate into small coordinated groups to solve a problem through consensus and shared space.^[74] These Mazahua separate-but-together practices have shown that participation in everyday interaction and later learning activities establishes enculturation that is rooted in nonverbal social experience.^[74] As the children participate in everyday interactions, they are simultaneously learning the cultural meanings behind these interactions. Children’s experience with nonverbally organized social interaction helps constitute the process of enculturation.^[74]

In some Indigenous communities of the Americas, children reported one of their main reasons for working in their home was to build unity within the family, the same way they desire to build solidarity within their own communities.^[75] Most indigenous children learn the importance of putting in this work in the form of nonverbal communication. Evidence of this can be observed in a case study where children are guided through the task of folding a paper figure by observing the posture and gaze of those who guide them through it.^[76] This is projected onto homes and communities, as children wait for certain cues from others to initiative cooperate and collaborate.

One aspect of nonverbal communication that aids in conveying these precise and symbolic meanings is «context-embeddedness.» The idea that many children in Indigenous American Communities are closely involved in community endeavors, both spatially and relationally, which help to promote nonverbal communication, given that words are not always necessary. When children are closely related to the context of the endeavor as active participants, coordination is based on a shared reference, which helps to allow, maintain, and promote nonverbal communication.^[77] The idea of «context-embeddedness» allows nonverbal communication to be a means of learning within Native American Alaskan Athabaskans and Cherokee communities. By observing various family and community social interactions, social engagement is dominated through nonverbal communication. For example, when children elicit thoughts or words verbally to their elders, they are expected to structure their speech carefully. This demonstrates cultural humility and respect as excessive acts of speech when conversational genre shifts reveal weakness and disrespect. This careful self-censorship exemplifies traditional social interaction of Athapaskin and Cherokee Native Americans who are mostly dependent on nonverbal communication.^[78]

Nonverbal cues are used by most children in the Warm Springs Indian Reservation community within the parameters of their academic learning environments. This includes referencing Native American religion through stylized hand gestures in colloquial communication, verbal and nonverbal emotional self-containment, and less movement of the lower face to structure attention on the eyes during face-to-face engagement. Therefore, children’s approach to social situations within a reservation classroom, for example, may act as a barrier to a predominantly verbal learning environment. Most Warm Springs children benefit from a learning model that suits a nonverbal communicative structure of collaboration, traditional gesture, observational learning and shared references.^[79]

It is important to note that while nonverbal communication is more prevalent in Indigenous American Communities, verbal communication is also used. Preferably, verbal communication does not substitute one’s involvement in an activity, but instead acts as additional guidance or support towards the completion of an activity.^[60]

Disadvantages of purely verbal communication across cultures[edit]

As much of (neurotypical) communication is nonverbal, learning a language without learning its corresponding pragmatics can lead to miscommunication.^[80] «This can lead to intercultural conflict (according to Marianna Pogosyan Ph.D.), misunderstandings and ambiguities in communication, despite language fluency.»^[80] Nonverbal communication makes the difference between bringing cultures together in understanding one another, appearing authentic. Or it can push people farther away due to misunderstandings in how different groups see certain nonverbal cues or gestures. From birth, children in various cultures are taught the gestures and cues their culture defines as universal which is not the case for others, but some movements are universal.^[81] Evidence suggests neurotypical humans all smile when happy about something and frown when something is upsetting or bad.^[81]

Genetics[edit]

«In the study of nonverbal communications, the limbic brain is where the action is…because it is the part of the brain that reacts to the world around us reflexively and instantaneously, in real time, and without thought.»^[48] There is evidence that the nonverbal cues made from person-to-person do not entirely have something to do with environment.^[16]

Along with gestures, phenotypic traits can also convey certain messages in nonverbal communication, for instance, eye color, hair color and height. Research into height has generally found that taller people are perceived as being more impressive. Melamed and Bozionelos (1992) studied a sample of managers in the United Kingdom and found that height was a key factor in who was promoted. Height can have benefits and depressors too. «While tall people often command more respect than short people, height can also be detrimental to some aspects of one-to-one communication, for instance, where you need to ‘talk on the same level’ or have an ‘eye-to-eye’ discussion with another person and do not want to be perceived as too big for your boots.»^[16]

Chronemics[edit]

Chronemics is the way time is used. Our use of time can communicate and send messages, nonverbally. The way we use time and give or don’t give our time to others can communicate different messages. Chronemics can send messages to others about what we value and also send messages about power. «When you go to see someone who is in a position of power over you, such as your supervisor, it is not uncommon to be kept waiting. However, you would probably consider it bad form to make a more powerful person wait for you. Indeed, the rule seems to be that the time of powerful people is more valuable than the time of less powerful people.»^[82]

Movement and body position[edit]

Kinesics[edit]

Kinesics is defined as movements, more specifically the study of our movements involving our hands, body, and face. This form of nonverbal communication is powerful in the messages it sends to those witnessing them.^{[citation needed]} The term was first coined by Ray Birdwhistell, who considered the term body language inaccurate and instead opted to explain it as nonverbal behaviors stemming from body movement. Research around this behavior provides some examples, such as someone casually smiling and leaning forward, as well as maintaining eye contact to radiate a non-dominating and intimate demeanor. In contrast, someone leaning back, a stoic facial expression, and no to little eye contact could emit an unfriendly and dominating demeanor.^[83]

Additional research expresses that eye contact is an important part of nonverbal communication involved in kinesics, as longer and appropriate levels of eye contact give an individual credibility. The opposite is said for those who do not maintain eye contact, as they are likely to be deemed distrustful. More eye contact was also found to be related to higher levels of likability and believability from those people interacted with. A real-life example of this is through service workers, in a study it was found that those workers who welcomed customers with smiles seemed like warmer individuals than those who did not smile. Customers reported that those without smiles and open body movements, such as waving or handshaking, were lacking warmth and deemed less friendly.^[83]

Haptics: touching in communication[edit]

Haptics is the study of touching as nonverbal communication, and haptic communication refers to how people and other animals communicate via touching.

Touches among humans that can be defined as communication include handshakes, holding hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), back slapping, high fives, a pat on the shoulder, and brushing an arm. Touching of oneself may include licking, picking, holding, and scratching.^[35]: 9 These behaviors are referred to as «adapters» or «tells» and may send messages that reveal the intentions or feelings of a communicator and a listener. The meaning conveyed from touch is highly dependent upon the culture, the context of the situation, the relationship between communicators, and the manner of touch.^[35]: 10

Touch is an extremely important sense for humans; as well as providing information about surfaces and textures it is a component of nonverbal communication in interpersonal relationships, and vital in conveying physical intimacy. It can be both sexual (such as kissing) and platonic (such as hugging or tickling).

Touch is the earliest sense to develop in the fetus. Human babies have been observed to have enormous difficulty surviving if they do not possess a sense of touch, even if they retain sight and hearing.^[84] Babies who can perceive through touch, even without sight and hearing, tend to fare much better.

In chimpanzees, the sense of touch is highly developed. As newborns, they see and hear poorly but cling strongly to their mothers. Harry Harlow conducted a controversial study involving rhesus monkeys and observed that monkeys reared with a «terry cloth mother,» a wire feeding apparatus wrapped in soft terry cloth that provided a level of tactile stimulation and comfort, the monkey who had the real parent were considerably more emotionally stable as adults than those with a mere wire mother (Harlow, 1958).

Touching is treated differently from one country to another and socially acceptable levels of touching vary from one culture to another (Remland, 2009). In Thai culture, for example, touching someone’s head may be thought rude. Remland and Jones (1995) studied groups of people communicating and found that touching was rare among the English (8%), the French (5%) and the Dutch (4%) compared to Italians (14%) and Greeks (12.5%).^[85] Striking, pushing, pulling, pinching, kicking, strangling and hand-to-hand fighting are forms of touch in the context of physical abuse. In the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, McDaniel et al. assessed touch as a form of communication among people from different nations under the lens of culture, relationships, and a number of body areas touched. Latin Americans are known to have a high degree of tactile activity in contrast to Asians who are considered a no-contact culture as they often steer away from public display of affection (PDA).

Proxemics[edit]

Proxemics is defined as the use of space as a form of communication, and includes how far or near you position yourself from others; it can be influenced by culture, race/ethnicity, gender, and age. Edward T. Hall invented the term when he realized that culture influences how people use space in communication while working with diplomats,^[86] and published his findings on proxemics in 1959 as The Silent Language.^[50] Proxemics also play a big role in business as research shows that gender and invasion of customers’ privacy without previous ties negatively affect the outcome of deals.^[87] Besides, in high contact cultures, people are generally more comfortable in closer proximity, whereas individuals in low contact cultures feel more comfortable with a greater amount of personal space. Hall concluded that proxemics could cause misunderstandings between cultures as cultures use of proxemics varies and what is customary in one culture may range from being confusing to being offensive to members of a different culture.^[88]

According to Edward T. Hall, the amount of space we maintain between ourselves and the persons we communicate with shows the importance of the science of proxemics. In this process, it is seen how we feel towards others at that particular time. This resonates with proxemics and viewing it through the cultural lens, people use their space differently because of the meaning behind it as in a spectrum of cultures, ideologies differ.^[89] Within American culture, Hall defines four primary distance zones: (i) intimate (touching to eighteen inches) distance, (ii) personal (eighteen inches to four feet) distance, (iii) social (four to twelve feet) distance, and (iv) public (more than twelve feet) distance.

Intimate space is any distance less than 18 inches, and is most commonly used by individuals when they are engaging with someone with whom they feel very comfortable, such as a spouse, partner, friend, child, or parent. Personal space is a distance of 18 inches to 4 feet and is usually used when individuals are interacting with friends. Social distance is the most common type of proximity as it is used when communicating with colleagues, classmates, acquaintances, or strangers. Public distance creates the greatest gap between the individual and the audience and is categorized as distances greater than 12 feet in distance and is often used for speeches, lectures, or formal occasions.^[90] It occurs in situations where two-way communication is not desirable or possible. When that space we maintain is invaded, Hasler et al. state that we unconsciously turn on defense mechanisms that include changes in eye gaze or orientation as well as moving away to convey your discomfort to the other person especially when no primary interpersonal relationship exists.

In relation to verbal communication[edit]

When communicating face-to-face with someone, it’s sometimes hard to differentiate which parts of conversing are communicated via verbally or non-verbally.^[91] Other studies done on the same subject have concluded that in more relaxed and natural settings of communication, verbal and non-verbal signals and cues can contribute in surprisingly similar ways.^[92] Argyle,^[31] using video tapes shown to the subjects, analysed the communication of submissive/dominant attitude, (high and low context, high context resorting to more strict social classes and take a more short and quick response route to portray dominance, low context being the opposite by taking time to explain everything and putting a lot of importance on communication and building trust and respect with others in a submissive and relaxed manner),^[93] and found that non-verbal cues had 4.3 times the effect of verbal cues. The most important effect was that body posture communicated superior status (specific to culture and context said person grew up in) in a very efficient way. On the other hand, a study by Hsee et al.^[94] had subjects judge a person on the dimension happy/sad and found that words spoken with minimal variation in intonation had an impact about 4 times larger than face expressions seen in a film without sound. Therefore, when considering certain non-verbal mannerisms such as facial expressions and physical cues, they can conflict in meaning when compared to spoken language and emotions. Different set ups and scenarios would yield different responses and meanings when using both types of communication. In other ways they can complement each other, provided they’re used together wisely during a conversation.^[31]

When seeking to communicate effectively, it’s important that the nonverbal conversation supports the verbal conversation, and vice versa. If the nonverbal cues converge with what we are saying verbally, then our message is further reinforced.^[95] Mindfulness is one technique that can help improve our awareness of NVC. If we become more mindful and present to how our body is moving, then we can better control our external nonverbal communication, which results in more effective communication.^[96]

Interaction[edit]

When communicating, nonverbal messages can interact with verbal messages in six ways: repeating, conflicting, complementing, substituting, regulating and accenting/moderating.

Conflicting[edit]

Conflicting verbal and nonverbal messages within the same interaction can sometimes send opposing or conflicting messages. A person verbally expressing a statement of truth while simultaneously fidgeting or avoiding eye contact may convey a mixed message to the receiver in the interaction. Conflicting messages may occur for a variety of reasons often stemming from feelings of uncertainty, ambivalence, or frustration. When mixed messages occur, nonverbal communication becomes the primary tool people use to attain additional information to clarify the situation; great attention is placed on bodily movements and positioning when people perceive mixed messages during interactions. Definitions of nonverbal communication creates a limited picture in our minds but there are ways to create a clearer one. There are different dimensions of verbal and nonverbal communication that have been discovered. They are (1) structure versus non-structure, (2) linguistic versus non-linguistic, (3) continuous versus discontinuous, (4) learned versus innate, and (5) left versus right hemispheric processing.^[97]: 7

Complementing[edit]

Accurate interpretation of messages is made easier when nonverbal and verbal communication complement each other. Nonverbal cues can be used to elaborate on verbal messages to reinforce the information sent when trying to achieve communicative goals; messages have been shown to be remembered better when nonverbal signals affirm the verbal exchange.^[35]: 14

Substituting[edit]

Nonverbal behavior is sometimes used as the sole channel for communication of a message. People learn to identify facial expressions, body movements, and body positioning as corresponding with specific feelings and intentions. Nonverbal signals can be used without verbal communication to convey messages; when nonverbal behavior does not effectively communicate a message, verbal methods are used to enhance understanding.^[35]: 16

Structure versus non-structure[edit]

Verbal communication is a highly structured form of communication with set rules of grammar. The rules of verbal communication help to understand and make sense of what other people are saying. For example, foreigners learning a new language can have a hard time making themselves understood. On the other hand, nonverbal communication has no formal structure when it comes to communicating. Nonverbal communication occurs without even thinking about it. The same behavior can mean different things, such as crying of sadness or of joy. Therefore, these cues need to be interpreted carefully to get their correct meaning.^{[97]: 7–8}

Linguistic versus non-linguistic[edit]

There are only a few assigned symbols in the system of nonverbal communication. Nodding the head is one symbol that indicates agreement in some cultures, but in others, it means disagreement. On the other hand, verbal communication has a system of symbols that have specific meanings to them.^[97]: 8

Continuous and discontinuous[edit]

Verbal communication is based on discontinuous units whereas nonverbal communication is continuous. Communicating nonverbally cannot be stopped unless one would leave the room, but even then, the intrapersonal processes still take place (individuals communicating with themselves). Without the presence of someone else, the body still manages to undergo nonverbal communication. For example, there are no other words being spoken after a heated debate, but there are still angry faces and cold stares being distributed. This is an example of how nonverbal communication is continuous.^[97]: 8

Learned versus innate[edit]

Learned non-verbal cues require a community or culture for their reinforcement. For example, table manners are not innate capabilities upon birth. Dress code is a non-verbal cue that must be established by society. Hand symbols, whose interpretation can vary from culture to culture, are not innate nonverbal cues. Learned cues must be gradually reinforced by admonition or positive feedback.

Innate non-verbal cues are «built-in» features of human behavior. Generally, these innate cues are universally prevalent and regardless of culture. For example, smiling, crying, and laughing do not require teaching. Similarly, some body positions, such as the fetal position, are universally associated with weakness. Due to their universality, the ability to comprehend these cues is not limited to individual cultures.^[97]: 9

Left versus right-hemispheric processing[edit]

This type of processing involves the neurophysiological approach to nonverbal communication. It explains that the right hemisphere processes nonverbal stimuli such as those involving spatial, pictorial, and gestalt tasks while the left hemisphere involves the verbal stimuli involving analytical and reasoning tasks. It is important to know the implications in processing the differences between verbal and nonverbal communication messages. It is possible that individuals may not use the correct hemisphere at appropriate times when it comes to interpreting a message or meaning.^[97]: 9

Clinical studies[edit]

Principles[edit]

From 1977 to 2004, the influence of disease and drugs on receptivity of nonverbal communication was studied by teams at three separate medical schools using a similar paradigm.^[98] Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Yale University and Ohio State University had subjects observe gamblers at a slot machine awaiting payoffs. The amount of this payoff was read by nonverbal transmission prior to reinforcement. This technique was developed by and the studies directed by psychologist Robert E. Miller and psychiatrist A. James Giannini. These groups reported diminished receptive ability in heroin addicts^[99] and phencyclidine abusers,^[100] contrasted with increased receptivity in cocaine addicts. Men with major depression^[101] manifested significantly decreased ability to read nonverbal cues when compared with euthymic men.

In some subjects tested for ability to read nonverbal cues, intuitive paradigms were apparently employed while in others a cause and effect approach was used.^[102] Subjects in the former group answered quickly and before reinforcement occurred. They could not give a rationale for their particular responses. Subjects in the latter category delayed their response and could offer reasons for their choice. The level of accuracy between the two groups did not vary nor did handedness.^[103]

Obese women^[104] and women with premenstrual syndrome^[105] were found to also possess diminished abilities to read these cues. In contradistinction, men with bipolar disorder possessed increased abilities.^[106] A woman with total paralysis of the nerves of facial expression was found unable to transmit or receive any nonverbal facial cues whatsoever.^[107] Because of the changes in levels of accuracy on the levels of nonverbal receptivity, the members of the research team hypothesized a biochemical site in the brain which was operative for reception of nonverbal cues. Because certain drugs enhanced ability while others diminished it, the neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphin were considered to be likely etiological candidate. Based on the available data, however, the primary cause and primary effect could not be sorted out on the basis of the paradigm employed.^[108]

Child comprehension[edit]

An increased emphasis on gestures exists when intonations or facial expression are used. «Speakers often anticipate how recipients will interpret their utterances. If they wish some other, less obvious interpretation, they may «mark» their utterance (e.g. with special intonations or facial expressions).»^[109] This specific emphasis known as ‘marking’ can be spotted as a learned form of non-verbal communication in toddlers. A groundbreaking study from Carpenter et al. in the Journal of Child Language has concluded that the act of marking a gesture is recognized by three-year-olds but not by two-year-olds.

In the study, two and three-year-old toddlers were tested on their recognition of markedness within gestures. The experiment was conducted in a room with an examiner and the test subjects, which for the first study were three-year-olds. The examiner sat across from each child individually, and allowed them to play with various objects including a purse with a sponge in it and a box with a sponge in it. After allowing the child to play with the objects for three minutes, the examiner told the child it was time to clean up and motioned by pointing to the objects. They measured the responses of the children by first pointing and not marking the gesture, to see the child’s reaction to the request and if they reached for the objects to clean them up. After observing the child’s response, the examiner then asked and pointed again, marking the gesture with facial expression, as to lead the child to believe the objects were supposed to be cleaned up. The results showed that three-year-old children were able to recognize the markedness, by responding to the gesture and cleaning the objects up as opposed to when the gesture was presented without being marked.

In the second study in which the same experiment was performed on two-year-olds, the results were different. For the most part, the children did not recognize the difference between the marked and unmarked gesture by not responding more prevalently to the marked gesture, unlike the results of the three-year-olds. This shows that this sort of nonverbal communication is learned at a young age, and is better recognized in three-year-old children than two-year-old children, making it easier for us to interpret that the ability to recognize markedness is learned in the early stages of development, somewhere between three and four years of age.

Boone and Cunningham conducted a study^[110] to determine at which age children begin to recognize emotional meaning (happiness, sadness, anger and fear) in expressive body movements. The study included 29 adults and 79 children divided into age groups of four-, five- and eight-year-olds. The children were shown two clips simultaneously and were asked to point to the one that was expressing the target emotion. The results of the study revealed that of the four emotions being tested the 4-year-olds were only able to correctly identify sadness at a rate that was better than chance. The 5-year-olds performed better and were able to identify happiness, sadness and fear at better than chance levels. The 8-year-olds and adults could correctly identify all four emotions and there was very little difference between the scores of the two groups. Between the ages of 4 and 8, nonverbal communication and decoding skills improve dramatically.

Comprehension of nonverbal facial cues[edit]

A byproduct of the work of the Pittsburgh/Yale/Ohio State team was an investigation of the role of nonverbal facial cues in heterosexual nondate rape. Males who were serial rapists of adult women were studied for nonverbal receptive abilities. Their scores were the highest of any subgroup.^[111] Rape victims were next tested. It was reported that women who had been raped on at least two occasions by different perpetrators had a highly significant impairment in their abilities to read these cues in either male or female senders.^[112] These results were troubling, indicating a predator-prey model. The authors did note that whatever the nature of these preliminary findings the responsibility of the rapist was in no manner or level diminished.

The final target of study for this group was the medical students they taught. Medical students at Ohio State University, Ohio University and Northeast Ohio Medical College were invited to serve as subjects. Students indicating a preference for the specialties of family practice, psychiatry, pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology achieved significantly higher levels of accuracy than those students who planned to train as surgeons, radiologists, or pathologists. Internal medicine and plastic surgery candidates scored at levels near the mean.^[113]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• «Credibility, Respect, and Power: Sending the Right Nonverbal Signals» by Debra Stein
• Online Nonverbal Library with more than 500 free available articles on this topic.
• Center for Nonverbal Studies by David B. Givens
• «Psychology Today Nonverbal Communication Blog posts» by Joe Navarro
• «NVC Portal — A useful portal providing information on Nonverbal Communication»
• «Breaking Trail Online: Using Body Language When Traveling» by Hank Martin
• “Significance of posture and position in the communication of attitude and status relationships” by Mehrabian Albert

The nonverbal way is the most commonly used communication medium in the world in culture.

Sometimes we may not know the exact name of those but we use them almost every time.

Nonverbal behaviors enjoy close to zero formality, however depending on the situation.

What is Nonverbal Communication

Non-verbal communication occurs without using any oral or written word.

Instead of written or oral words, it relies on various non-verbal cues like physical movements, tasks, colors, signs, symbols, signals charts, etc. to express feelings, attitudes or information.

Although no word is used in non-verbal communication, it can effectively communicate many human feelings more accurately than verbal methods of communication.

Common types of nonverbal communication are;  eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture and body orientation, body language, touch, para-linguistic, silence.

Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Eye contact,
• Facial expressions,
• Gestures,
• Posture and body orientation,
• Body Language,
• Space and Distance,
• Proximity,
• Para-linguistic,
• Humor,
• Touch,
• Silence,
• Personal Appearance,
• Symbol,
• Visual Communication.

Eye contact

Eye contact, an important channel of interpersonal communication, helps regulate the flow of communication. And it signals interest in others.

Furthermore,

Eye contact with audiences increases the speaker’s credibility. Teachers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.

Facial expressions

The face is an important communicator. It is commonly said that the face is the index of the mind.

It expresses the type of emotions or feelings such as joy, love, interest, sorrow, anger, annoyance, confusion, enthusiasm, fear, hatred surprise, and uncertainty.

Facial expressions are indicated through the mouth (open, wide or closed), eyelids (raised or lowered), nose (wrinkled or relaxed), cheeks (drawn up or back) and the forehead (lowered or raised).

Within the facial area, eyes are especially effective for indicating attention and interest. However, interpretations of facial expressions differ from culture to culture.

Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits:

• Happiness.
• Friendliness.
• Warmth.
• Liking.
• Affiliation.

Thus, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and approachable.

Smiling is often contagious and students will react favorably and learn more.

Gestures

If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring, stiff and un-animated.

A lively and animated teaching style captures students’ attention, makes the material more interesting, facilitates learning and provides a bit of entertainment.

Head nods, a form of gestures, communicate positive reinforcement to students and indicate that you are listening.

Gestures are movements of the arms, legs, hands, and head.7 Some authors opine that gesture is the deliberate body movement because they express specific and intentional meaning.

For example;

a wave of the hand has a specific meaning-“hello” or “good-bye”; a forefinger and a thumb touching to form a circle have the meaning -“ok”.

Alike facial expressions, interpretations of some gestures also differ across cultures.

For example, in Europe, raising thumb is used to convey that someone has done something excellent while in Bangladesh the same gesture means something idiotic.

Posture and body orientation

You communicate numerous messages by the way you walk, talk, stand and sit.

Standing erect, but not rigid, and leaning slightly forward communicates to students that you are approachable, receptive and friendly.

Furthermore,

Interpersonal closeness results when you and your students face each other.

Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided; it communicates disinterest to your class.

Body Language

Body language is another widely recognized form of non-verbal communication. Body movements can convey meanings and messages. Body language may take two forms of unconscious movements and consciously controlled movements.

For example;

When a person is bored, he may gaze around the room rather than look at the speaker or he may shift positions frequently.

When a person is nervous, he may bite his nails or mash hair. These are usually made unconsciously. On the other hand, leaning forward toward the speaker to express interest is the case of conscious body movements.

Space and Distance

Space and distance are significant non-verbal tools in the case of organizational communication.

A spacious and well-decorated room indicates a person’s position in the organization hierarchy and external people get a message about his importance and authority only by visiting his room.

Distance is another communication tool, which expresses the degree of intimacy and individual acceptance.

Proximity

Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with students.

You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading students’ space. Some of these are:

• Rocking
• Leg swinging
• Tapping
• Gaze aversion

Typically, in large college classes space invasion is not a problem. There is usually too much distance.

To counteract this, move around the classroom to increase interaction with your students.

Increasing proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the opportunities for students to speak.

Para-linguistic

This facet of nonverbal communication includes such vocal elements as:

• Tone
• Pitch
• Rhythm
• Timbre
• Loudness
• Inflection

For maximum teaching effectiveness, learn to vary these six elements of your voice.

One of the major criticisms is of instructors who speak in a monotone. Listeners perceive these instructors as boring and dull.

Students report that they learn less and lose interest more quickly when listening to teachers who have not learned to modulate their voices.

Humor

Humor is often overlooked as a teaching tool, and it is too often not encouraged in college classrooms. Laughter releases stress and tension for both instructor and student.

You should develop the ability to laugh at yourself and encourage students to do the same. It fosters a friendly environment that facilitates learning.

Adequate knowledge of the subject matter is crucial to your success; however, it’s not the only crucial element.

Creating a climate that facilitates learning and retention demands good nonverbal and verbal skills.

Touch

Touch is a widely used form of non-verbal communication tool.

By touching, one can express a wide range of emotions. However, the accepted modes of touch vary depending on the gender, age, relative status, intimacy and cultural background of the persons.

For example, in the context of our culture, when one touches you from the back of the examination hall, your understanding is that he wants to know something.

Silence

Silence is a powerful tool for communication. It may have a positive or negative meaning.

In a classroom, silence indicates that students are listening carefully and attentively. In the same way, through silence one can communicate his lack of interest or a failure to understand.

For example, silence often indicates that a person receiving instruction does not understand the action required or sometimes silence indicates consent.

Personal Appearance

Appearance is also an important non-verbal communication tool. Appearance includes dress, hair, jewelry, makeup, belt buckles and so on.

Appearance indicates the degree of importance or interest a person conveys to an occasion. Through uniform, we can identify a student, a doctor, a lawyer, a police officer, etc.

In an organization, one’s dress is keenly observed to see whether it conforms to accepted standards of appearance. As an example, workers may wear different clothes when they are on strike than they do when they are working.

Symbol

A symbol is something that represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning.

For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for “stop”.

On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for numbers. Personal names are symbols representing individuals. A red rose symbolizes love and compassion.

Visual Communication

When communication occurs using any visual aids, it is known as visual communication.

Thus, communication that occurs through facial expression, personal appearance, gesture, posture, printed picture, sign, signal, symbol, map, poster, slide, chart, diagram, graph, etc. is called visual communication.

For example, to indicate ‘danger’, we use red sign; to mean ‘dangerous’, we use a skull placed between two pieces of bone put in crosswise fashion; to indicate ‘no smoking’, we use an image showing a lighted cigarette with a cross mark on it.

Importance of Nonverbal Communication

Some important points expressing the importance, necessity, advantages or functions of non-verbal communication are discussed below:

Well Expression of the Speaker’s Attitude

Various non-verbal cues of the speaker like physical movements, facial expression, a way of expression, etc. play an important role in expressing the inner meaning of the messages in face-to-face conversation and interview.

For example, the facial expression of the speaker indicates his attitude, determination depth of knowledge, etc.

Providing Information Regarding the Sender of The Written Message

The format, neatness, language and the appearance of the envelope used in a written message send a non-verbal message regarding the writer’s tests, choice, level of education, etc.

Expressing the Attitude of the Listener and Receiver

Sometimes the appearance of the listeners and receivers conveys their attitudes, feelings, and thoughts regarding the messages they have read or heard.

Gaining Knowledge about a Class of People

Clothing, hairstyle, neatness, jewelry, cosmetics, and stature of people convey impressions regarding their occupation, age, nationality, social or economic level, job status, etc.

For example; students, policemen, nurses, etc. can easily be identified through their dresses.

Gaining Knowledge about the Status of a Person

Non-verbal cues also help to determine the relative status of persons working in an organization. For example, room size, location, furnishings, decorations, lightings, etc. indicate the position of a person in the organization.

Communicating Common Message to All People

In some cases, non-verbal cues can effectively express many true messages more accurately than those of any other method of communication.

For example; the use of red, yellow and green lights and the use of various signs in controlling vehicles on the roads.

Communicating with the Handicapped People

Non- verbal cues of communication greatly help in communicating with the handicapped people.

For example; the language of communication with the deaf depends on the movements of the hands, fingers, and eyeballs.

Conveying Message to the Illiterate People

Communication with illiterate people through written media is impossible. There may also be some situations that do not allow the use of oral media to communicate with them.

In such situations, non-verbal methods like pictures, colors, graphs, signs, and symbols are used as the media of communication.

For example; to indicate danger we use red sign and to mean dangerous we use a skull placed between two pieces of bone put in a crosswise fashion.

Quick Expression of Message

Non-verbal cues like sign and symbol can also communicate some messages very quickly than written or oral media.

For example; when drivers of a running vehicle are to be communicated that the road ahead is narrow or there is a turn in the road ahead, we generally use signs or symbols rather than using any written or oral message.

Presenting Information Precisely

Sometimes quantitative information on any issue may require a lengthy written message. But this quantitative information can be presented easily and precisely through tables, graphs, charts, etc.

Conclusion

To improve your nonverbal skills, record your speaking on videotape. Then ask a colleague in communications to suggest refinements.

Non-verbal communication can take many forms depending on the situation, the ability of communicators, etc.

According to one estimate, there are more than 0.70 million forms of non-verbal communication. The most common forms of non-verbal communication are as follows.

Nonverbal Communication refers to communication that is produced by some means other than words (eye contact, body language, or vocal cues. In other words, communication without using words, such as gestures, body language, the facial expressions is called non-verbal communication.

For example:

1. Expression of Emotion: Emotions are expressed mainly through the face, body, and voice.
2. Communication of Interpersonal Attitudes: The establishment and maintenance of relationships if often done through nonverbal signals (tone of voice, gaze, touch, etc.).
3. Accompany and Support Speech: Vocalization and nonverbal behaviors are synchronized with a speech in conversation (nodding one’s head or using phrases like “uh-huh” when another is talking).
4. Self-Presentation: Presenting oneself to another through nonverbal attributes like appearance.
5. Rituals: The use of greetings, handshakes, or other rituals.

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Definition of Nonverbal Communication

These are the definitions of nonverbal communication given below:

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Advantages of Non Verbal Communication

These are the advantages of non verbal communication:

1. Easy Presentation
2. Substituting
3. Help to Illiterate People
4. Help to Handicapped People
5. Attractive Presentation
6. Quick Expression of Message
7. Reducing Wastage of Time

Easy Presentation

Easy presentation: Information can be easily presented in non-verbal communication by using visual, audio-visual, and silent means of non-verbal communication.

Substituting

Substituting: Non-verbal message may substitute for the verbal message especially if it is blocked by noise, interruption, long distance, etc. for example; gestures-finger to lips to indicate the need for quiet, facial expressions- a nod instead of a yes.

Help to Illiterate People

Help illiterate people: This type of communication uses gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, proximity, touching, etc., and without using any spoken or written word. So, it is very much helpful for illiterate people.

Help to Handicapped People

Help to handicapped people: Non-verbal cues of communication greatly help handicapped people, especially deaf people. Deaf people exchange messages through the movements of hands, fingers, eyeballs, etc.

Attractive Presentation

Attractive presentation: Non-verbal communication is based on visuals, pictures, graphs, signs etc. that can be seen as very much attractive.

Quick Expression of Message

Quick expression of the message: Non-verbal cues of communication like signs and symbols can also communicate some messages very quickly than written or oral messages.

Reducing Wastage of Time

Reducing wastage of time: The message of non-verbal communication reached the receiver very fast. For this reason, it reduces the wastage of valuable time of the communicator.

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Disadvantages of Non Verbal Communication

These are the disadvantages of non verbal communication:

1. Vague and Imprecise
2. Long Conversations Are Not Possible
3. Difficult to Understand
4. Costly
5. Distortion of Information

Vague and Imprecise

Vague and imprecise: Non-verbal communication is quite vague and imprecise. In this communication, there is no use of words or language which expresses clear meaning to the receiver.

Long Conversations Are Not Possible

Long conversations are not possible: In non-verbal communication, long conversation and necessary explanations are not possible. No party can discuss the particular issues of the messages.

Difficult to Understand

Difficult to understand and requires a lot of repetitions in non-verbal communication. Since it uses gestures, facial expressions eye contact, touch, etc. for communicating with others it may not be understandable for simple and foolish people.

Costly

Costly: In some cases, non-verbal communication involves huge costs. For example, neon signs, PowerPoint presentations, cinemas,s, etc are very much costly compared to other forms of communication.

Distortion of Information

Distortion of information: Since it uses gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, touch, sign, sound, paralanguage, etc. for communicating with others, there is a great possibility of distortion of information in non-verbal communication.

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Functions of Nonverbal Communication

These are the following functions of nonverbal communication which are given below:

1. Nonverbal Communication Conveys Meaning
2. Nonverbal Communication Influences Others
3. Nonverbal Communication Regulates Conversational Flow
4. Nonverbal Communication Affects Relationships
5. Nonverbal Communication Expresses Our Identities

Nonverbal Communication Conveys Meaning

Nonverbal communication conveys meaning by reinforcing, substituting for, or contradicting verbal communication. As we’ve already learned, verbal and nonverbal communication are two parts of the same system that often work side by side, helping us generate meaning. In terms of reinforcing verbal communication, gestures can help describe a space or shape that another person is unfamiliar with in ways that words alone cannot.

Nonverbal Communication Influences Others

Nonverbal communication can be used to influence people in a variety of ways, but the most common way is through deception. Deception is typically thought of as the intentional act of altering information to influence another person, which means that it extends beyond lying to include concealing, omitting or exaggerating information.

Nonverbal Communication Regulates Conversational Flow

Nonverbal communication helps us regulate our conversations so we don’t end up constantly interrupting each other or waiting in awkward silences between speaker turns. Pitch, which is a part of vocalists, helps us cue others into our conversational intentions.

Nonverbal Communication Affects Relationships

To successfully relate to other people, we must possess some skill at encoding and decoding nonverbal communication. The nonverbal messages we send and receive influence our relationships in positive and negative ways and can work to bring people together or push them apart.

Nonverbal cues communicate intimacy and signal the connection between two people. These relational indicators can be objects such as wedding rings or tattoos that are symbolic of another person or the relationship, actions such as sharing the same drinking glass, or touch behaviors such as hand-holding.

Nonverbal Communication Expresses Our Identities

Nonverbal communication expresses who we are. Our identities (the groups to which we belong, our cultures, our hobbies, and interests, etc.) are conveyed nonverbally through the way we set up our living and working spaces, the clothes we wear, the way we carry ourselves, and the accents and tones of our voices.

Our physical bodies give others impressions about who we are, and some of these features are more under our control than others.

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Types of Nonverbal Communication

These are the different types of nonverbal communication:

1. Kinesics
2. Facial Expressions
3. Head Movements and Posture
4. Gestures
5. Eye Gaze
6. Proxemics
7. Appearance and Artifacts
8. Paralinguistics

Kinesics

The word kinesics comes from the root word kinesis, which means “movement,” and refers to the study of hand, arm, body, and face movements. Specifically, this section will outline the use of gestures, head movements and posture, eye contact, and facial expressions as nonverbal communication.

Facial Expressions

Our faces are the most expressive part of our bodies. Think of how photos are often intended to capture a particular expression “in a flash” to preserve for later viewing. Even though a photo is a snapshot in time, we can still interpret much meaning from a human face caught in a moment of expression, and basic facial expressions are recognizable by humans all over the world. Like

For example happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust.

Head Movements and Posture

Head movements and posture are often both used to acknowledge others and communicate interest or attentiveness. In terms of head movements, a head nod is a universal sign of acknowledgment in cultures where the formal bow is no longer used as a greeting.

In these cases, the head nod essentially serves as an abbreviated bow. An innate and universal head movement is the head shake back and forth to signal “no.” This nonverbal signal begins at birth, even before a baby has the ability to know that it has a corresponding meaning,

For example:

1. A head-up typically indicates an engaged or neutral attitude
2. A head tilt indicates interest and is an innate submission gesture that exposes the neck and subconsciously makes people feel more trusting of us.
3. A head down signals a negative or aggressive attitude.

In posture there are four general human postures: standing, sitting, squatting, and lying down. Within each of these postures, there are many variations, and when combined with particular gestures or other nonverbal cues they can express many different meanings.

Most of our communication occurs while we are standing or sitting. One interesting standing posture involves putting our hands on our hips and is a nonverbal cue that we use subconsciously to make us look bigger and show assertiveness.

Gestures

There are three main types of gestures: adaptors, emblems, and illustrators.

Adaptors are touching behaviors and movements that indicate internal states typically related to arousal or anxiety. Adaptors can be targeted toward the self, objects, or others. In regular social situations, adaptors result from uneasiness, anxiety, or a general sense that we are not in control of our surroundings.

Emblems are gestures that have a specific agreed-on meaning. These are still different from the signs used by hearing-impaired people or others who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). Even though they have a generally agreed-on meaning, they are not part of a formal sign system like ASL that is explicitly taught to a group of people.

A hitchhiker’s raised thumb, the “OK” sign with the thumb and index finger connected in a circle with the other three fingers sticking up, and the raised middle finger are all examples of emblems that have an agreed-on meaning or meanings with a culture.

Illustrators are the most common type of gesture and are used to illustrate the verbal message they accompany. For example, you might use hand gestures to indicate the size or shape of an object. Unlike emblems, illustrators do not typically have meaning on their own and are used more subconsciously than emblems.

Eye Gaze

Looking, staring, and blinking can also be important nonverbal behaviors. When people encounter people or things that they like, the rate of blinking increases, and pupils dilate. Looking at another person can indicate a range of emotions, including hostility, interest, and attraction.

Proxemics

Proxemics refers to the study of how space and distance influence communication. We only need to look at the ways in which space shows up in common metaphors to see that space, communication, and relationships are closely related. For example.

1. When we are content with and attracted to someone, we say we are “close” to him or her.
2. When we lose connection with someone, we may say he or she is “distant.”

In general, space influences how people communicate and behave. Smaller spaces with a higher density of people often lead to breaches of our personal space bubbles. If this is a setting in which this type of density is expected beforehand, like at a crowded concert or on a train during rush hour, then we make various communicative adjustments to manage the space issue.

Thus, there are different spaces depending on the relationship between the persons communicating. In general, there are four types of space people use while communicating.

• Public Space
• Social Space
• Personal Space
• Intimate Space

Appearance and Artifacts

Believing that others “do not judge a book by its cover” is a naive frame of thought. How one dresses and presents themselves proclaims a persona and creates a first impression.

For example, If a person is sloppily dressed some may assume their work is also sloppy. If one’s appearance is well kept and professional others might assume their work follows suit.

To be successful, one needs to look at the part and “appear corporate”; doing this will lead to a better first impression.

Paralinguistics

Paralinguistics refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language. This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch. Consider the powerful effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of a sentence. When said in a strong tone of voice, listeners might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone of voice might convey disapproval and a lack of interest.

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How to Improve Non Verbal Communication Skills

The following tips can help you learn to read the nonverbal signals of other people and enhance your own ability to communicate effectively. These are the steps to improve non verbal communication skills.

Pay Close Attention to Non Verbal Signals

1. Avoid giving conflicting signals.
2. Try to be as honest as possible in communicating your emotions.
3. Smile genuinely. Faking a smile is obvious to the observer.
4. Maintain the eye contact your audience expects.
5. Be aware of your posture and of the gesture you use.
6. Try to use appropriate vocal signals while minimizing unintentional messages.
7. Imitate the appearance of the people you want to impress.
8. Respect your audience’s comfort zone.
9. Adopt a handshake that matches your personality and intention.
10. Be aware of varying attitudes towards time.
11. Use touch only when appropriate.

Interpret Nonverbal Signals Carefully

1. Be aware that people may give false nonverbal cues.
2. Remember, few gestures convey meaning in and of themselves.
   Consider nonverbal signals in the context of situation and culture.

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Principles of Nonverbal Communication

These are the principles of nonverbal communication:

Nonverbal Communication Conveys Important Interpersonal and Emotional Messages.

Nonverbal Communication Is More Involuntary than Verbal.

Nonverbal Communication Is More Ambiguous.

Nonverbal Communication Is More Credible.

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Read More Related Articles

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The quality of your communication depends on the words you speak and your nonverbal aspect of communication.

We send and receive nonverbal cues and common gestures daily to present and express ourselves.

Nonverbal expression influences how we react, listen, move and look when interacting with others.

Individuals with greater awareness of nonverbal aspects of communication can form deeper connections with others.

In this article, you will learn what nonverbal communication is and how important it is in our everyday lives.

You will also learn how to read body language and improve your nonverbal communication skills.

What is Nonverbal Communication?

Nonverbal communication is about your ability to observe and interpret others’ physical gestures. It is the flow of information from one person to another using nonverbal cues.

For example, stuttering, lack of eye contact, and fidgeting may show that this person could be lying. Whether we realize it or not, we all use nonverbal communication constantly.

Your behavior and gesture, such as tone of voice, amount of eye contact, and facial expressions, send information to others. These cues can be subtle or evident and, at times, conflicting.

An individual may say one thing, but their nonverbal cues may imply a different meaning. Such contradictory signals may give you a sign that this person is not speaking the truth.

As nonverbal behaviors are spontaneous and difficult to fake, you can see a person’s genuine feelings from their nonverbal behaviors.

Why is Nonverbal Communication Important?

Nonverbal communication is essential as it provides us with meaningful and sometimes unobvious insight into a social situation.

This information includes how a person feels, how to engage others and how to convey information.

Nonverbal communication common skills allow you to engage and have a basic understanding of people around you. It helps you express your verbal message clearly to avoid any possible misunderstandings.

Nonverbal interpersonal communication is vital in developing meaningful relationships with others. You can show your support and attention to what others are saying.

It also means you are expressing your empathy while others are speaking.

Improving your ability to convey and read nonverbal cues is a vital skill that you take advantage of in any situation. It is an essential skill to help you get what you want and succeed in your career.

Benefits of Effective Nonverbal Communication

List of 8 Benefits

1. It reinforces the message you want to convey to others – Nonverbal cues can highlight the critical content of your basic message to others. Using hand gestures to emphasize the significance of your main points may direct others to focus and remember the information.
2. It conveys your message effectively to others – You may interact with others by using your nonverbal gestures or behaviors. For example, you may play with your hair with your palm out to show your confidence and comfort to your dating partner.
3. It demonstrates your intention – Your nonverbal cues may communicate your present state to others. For example, people may sense that you are nervous through your nonverbal signals. You may have sweaty palms, your voice is trembling, or your leg is shaking while standing up.
4. It expresses your emotions – You can use your nonverbal gestures as emotional expressions of frustration, happiness, and more to others.
5. It is an excellent way to show your support to others – Small gestures like smiling or leaning forward when someone is talking go a long way in showing that you are interested in them.
6. It reflects your personality – Nonverbal communication is an excellent method to express yourself. A friendly and easygoing person, for example, may show an open posture and make steady eye contact with others while smiling.
7. It decreases the likelihood of conflicts or misunderstandings occurring – A calm voice, an uncrossed arm, and an open hand gesture might help you diffuse a difficult situation.
8. It shows your confidence, enthusiasm, and professionalism – For example, dressing appropriately, standing tall with your shoulders back, and giving a firm handshake can help you appear more confident.

9 Types of Nonverbal Communication

1. Body language

2. Movement

Consider how you see others based on how they sit, move or stand. The way you walk and conduct yourself conveys a great deal of information to others.

Body movements, such as the speed of you walking, standing, or sitting, may send different meanings to others.

3. Posture

4. Gestures

Gestures are intertwined with our daily lives. Waving or pointing with our hands are gestures we commonly use.

However, the meaning of some gestures is subjective and can vary between cultures.

For example, the “thumb up” sign may mean good or okay in most countries, but it’s regarded as insulting in France.

Hence, it’s critical to be mindful of your gestures in different cultures to prevent misunderstandings.

5. Space

The demand for “personal space” is also a type of nonverbal communication behavior. It is used to convey a range of nonverbal messages.

How close you stand or sit with someone can represent signs of intimacy and love, hostility, or authority.

When having a casual chat with another individual, the personal space distance typically ranges from 18 inches to four feet.

When speaking to a group of individuals, the personal distance tends to be around 10 to 12 feet.

6. Paralanguage

Paralinguistic communication is the science of vocal communication distinct from actual language.

It includes non-language aspects such as pitch, talking speed, intonation, loudness, and inflection. When you talk, people “read” your voice and listen to your words.

Think about the impact that person’s tone of voice might have on the interpretation of a statement. A strong tone of voice may tell the listeners that you have a firm conviction in what you’re saying.

But when you use a hesitant tone of voice, it may imply that you lack confidence and conviction in your message.

7. Facial expressions

Facial expression account for a large amount of our daily nonverbal communication. The expression on someone’s face is usually the first thing we notice before hearing what they say.

You can transmit your feelings to others by using your eyebrows, lips, nose, eyes, and facial muscles.

While some nonverbal communication like gestures may vary across countries, the facial expression of joy, sorrow, anger, and fear are universal.

8. Eye contact

Most of us have a greater inclination to vision; eye contact plays an essential role in communication in humans.

Eye contact may involve eye movements such as gazing, staring, and blinking.

When people meet someone, they are interested in, their blinking rate increases, and their pupils dilate.

People also use eye gaze to judge whether someone is telling the truth. Eye contact is also vital for keeping the discussion flowing and assessing the other person’s attention and reaction.

9. Touch

A lot of our nonverbal communication is also conducted through touch. Touching is sometimes used as a method to express support or comfort.

If you use friendly touches as a form of communication, you should use them selectively and only when the receiver is comfortable. Do not use anger, irritation, or other negative feelings.

How To Read Body Language

Reading body language is not easy to master. It requires great dedication and practice to develop.

While everyone has their personal preferences in utilizing nonverbal communication, a few common signs will tell you about someone’s emotions and intentions.

You can start learning to read someone’s body language using the techniques below.

1. Posture

When a person’s shoulders are back and sitting upright, that means they are focused and paying attention to you.

You can observe if someone is uncomfortable, restless, or agitated by looking at their body posture. These individuals will usually have their shoulders hunched, and spines bent.

2. Use of arms

Crossing one’s arms when communicating with you can be interpreted as a defensive, protecting posture. It can also mean that the person is nervous or narrow-minded.

However, it may imply the person is confident and comfortable if their arms are crossed but has a relaxed posture.

If a person’s arms are down by their side or showing an open posture, it may indicate that they are optimistic and open to what you are saying.

3. Use of legs

If a person puts both feet firmly on the floor, it indicates that they are prepared and willing to hear you out.

On the contrary, they may feel uncomfortable or disturbed if their legs are crossed or positioned in a closed manner.

Additionally, a person will often point their feet in the direction they desire to go.

4. Use of hands

If you notice someone puts their hands in their pockets or on their head while speaking, it might suggest that they are nervous or deceitful.

Supporting the head with one hand while resting one elbow on the table might imply that they are listening intently to you.

It might indicate that the person is bored if they support their head with both elbows on the table.

5. Pay attention to proximity

Observing how near someone stands or sits to you can ascertain whether they like or dislike you.

Being close to someone can show that you have an intimate relationship with the person.

But if someone moves away as you approach them, it could be a sign that they want to keep a distance from you.

6. Use of facial expressions

If you notice someone with furrowed brows or tight lips, it means that the person might be confused, upset, or experiencing other negative emotions.

You should consider pausing your presentation and checking in with them.

If the person is smiling and has slightly raised eyebrows or relaxed facial muscles, it indicates that they are pleased with what you are sharing.

How To Respond To Body Language

Seek clarification

When appropriate, find out the reason behind the nonverbal cues you are observing.

If you see someone with a furrowed brow and are unsure what to make of it, ask the person directly to have a deeper understanding of the comprehension of situations.

If the situation doesn’t allow for that, then you may discuss the meaning of the nonverbal cues.

In short, if you see nonverbal cues that you are not sure of, you can consider modifying your approach and observe if it results in a shift in the person’s behavior.

Communicate clearly and straightforwardly

Make sure the verbal message you communicate is consistent with your nonverbal cues.

Most of the time, when your verbal and nonverbal communication is inconsistent, others will interpret it negatively 90% of the time.

Keep an eye out for misleading nonverbal communications

Unnecessary gestures, phrases, and sounds may divert attention away from you and reduce your communication effectiveness.

You can think about your presentation style. Identify your bad habits and try to eliminate them to improve your communication process.

You can use a video camera to record yourself presenting and identify where you can improve. Or you can get your friend or colleague to observe and provide feedback.

How to Improve Nonverbal Communication

There are a few methods you could follow to improve your nonverbal communication:

1. Do a body language evaluation

Over the course of time, pay attention to how you use body language while interacting with others. Observe your nonverbal cues during meetings, informal conversations, and presentations.

Take note of how others react to your spontaneous nonverbal behaviors.

2. Be intentional about your nonverbal communication

When you are alert and feel confident in your environment, you can try to show positive and open body language.

If you are surprised or concerned, you can use your nonverbal cues to complement your words to deliver your message.

3. Practice makes perfect

Practicing nonverbal communication skills lets you get more acquainted with how you portray yourself. Practice communicating with friends and family.

Then get feedback from them on your body language.

You can also rehearse delivering a presentation to observe how you use body language and other nonverbal cues to complement your message.

This method also allows you to notice any areas that require improvement.

4. Observe others

Observing how others use nonverbal cues can help you figure out what is effective and what to avoid. You can start by observing someone you admire or believe is a great communicator.

Watch how they use their body, emotional tone, and facial expressions when talking. Then, consider adding these nonverbal cues into your communication style.

5. When in doubt, mirror the other person

If in doubt, mirror the other person. Mirroring the person’s body language you are speaking to is a simple technique for practicing appropriate communication skills.

If you notice the other person sitting with a crossed leg, you should try to copy and do the same. Mirroring someone’s nonverbal cues can help to build mutual trust and confidence.

Verbal Vs. Nonverbal Communication Skills

Verbal Communication

• Verbal communication uses language, words, statements, and voice
• Verbal communication is a sequential and intentional kind of communication. First, you decide what you want to say. Then you organize your thoughts, construct them into sentences and then convey your message. It is a carefully structured process where the speaker delivers their information clearly
• Verbal communication is a conscious procedure. It requires you to think, digest, and put your thinking into words
• Verbal communication is simple and easy to understand if you know the language and the speaker’s message. You can grasp what the speaker is saying if you listen attentively

Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal communication uses nonverbal cues such as gestures, body language, facial expressions, postures, etc
• Nonverbal communication is usually spontaneous and not pre-planned. It relies more on how you use your nonverbal behaviors to respond to external events. However, you can improve your nonverbal communication to use it more intentionally
• Nonverbal communication is an unconscious process. You don’t need to think deliberately to show verbal cues. It’s spontaneous and dependent on the emotion you are feeling at the moment
• Nonverbal communication is more difficult to decipher than verbal communication. To understand what the other person is attempting to explain or communicate, you need to observe their nonverbal cues. This includes their tone, body language, facial expressions, and posture

Bonus: Nonverbal Communication Skills and Examples

Perhaps the most crucial life skill you need to master is communication skills. It is a skill that allows us to communicate with others and understand what is spoken to us.

Communication skills also allow us to develop meaningful and strong relationships with others.

Communication is the process of conveying information from one point to another. It can be delivered verbally, nonverbally, visually, or written.

However, we generally use verbal and nonverbal cues (body language, facial expressions, gestures, etc.) for most of our day-to-day communication.

How can I figure out if I possess communication strengths?

Various exams or language comprehension tasks might help you determine your communication abilities.

The free HIGH5 strengths test is one of the tests you consider taking. The HIGH5 strengths report will help you identify your top five strengths and how to leverage them to reach your full potential.

You will also acquire practical insights to help you further grow yourself.

Not only that, but by identifying your strengths, you can learn how to enhance your communication skills, build relationships, and advance your career.

Frequently Asked Questions About Nonverbal Communication

What are five positive nonverbal characteristics?

Five positive nonverbal features are:

1. Smiling
2. Paying attention to body language
3. The upbeat tone of voice
4. Open body posture
5. Maintaining proper eye contact

Which is the best example of nonverbal communication?

Some examples of good nonverbal communication are:

• Dressing appropriately for the situation
• Standing or sitting with good posture
• Using touch properly to display kindness or professionalism
• Respecting other people’s personal space

What are the four main types of non-verbal communication?

The four main types of nonverbal communication are:

• Body language
• Facial expression
• Paralanguage
• Eye contact

What is body language?

While the key to success in both personal and professional relationships lies in your ability to communicate well, it’s not the words that you use but your nonverbal cues or “body language” that speak the loudest. Body language is the use of physical behavior, expressions, and mannerisms to communicate nonverbally, often done instinctively rather than consciously.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, when you interact with others, you’re continuously giving and receiving wordless signals. All of your nonverbal behaviors—the gestures you make, your posture, your tone of voice, how much eye contact you make—send strong messages. They can put people at ease, build trust, and draw others towards you, or they can offend, confuse, and undermine what you’re trying to convey. These messages don’t stop when you stop speaking either. Even when you’re silent, you’re still communicating nonverbally.

In some instances, what comes out of your mouth and what you communicate through your body language may be two totally different things. If you say one thing, but your body language says something else, your listener will likely feel that you’re being dishonest. If you say “yes” while shaking your head no, for example. When faced with such mixed signals, the listener has to choose whether to believe your verbal or nonverbal message. Since body language is a natural, unconscious language that broadcasts your true feelings and intentions, they’ll likely choose the nonverbal message.

[Read: Effective Communication]

However, by improving how you understand and use nonverbal communication, you can express what you really mean, connect better with others, and build stronger, more rewarding relationships.

The importance of nonverbal communication

Your nonverbal communication cues—the way you listen, look, move, and react—tell the person you’re communicating with whether or not you care, if you’re being truthful, and how well you’re listening. When your nonverbal signals match up with the words you’re saying, they increase trust, clarity, and rapport. When they don’t, they can generate tension, mistrust, and confusion.

If you want to become a better communicator, it’s important to become more sensitive not only to the body language and nonverbal cues of others, but also to your own.

Nonverbal communication can play five roles:

• Repetition: It repeats and often strengthens the message you’re making verbally.
• Contradiction: It can contradict the message you’re trying to convey, thus indicating to your listener that you may not be telling the truth.
• Substitution: It can substitute for a verbal message. For example, your facial expression often conveys a far more vivid message than words ever can.
• Complementing: It may add to or complement your verbal message. As a boss, if you pat an employee on the back in addition to giving praise, it can increase the impact of your message.
• Accenting: It may accent or underline a verbal message. Pounding the table, for example, can underline the importance of your message.

Source: The Importance of Effective Communication, Edward G. Wertheim, Ph.D.

Types of nonverbal communication

The many different types of nonverbal communication or body language include:

Facial expressions. The human face is extremely expressive, able to convey countless emotions without saying a word. And unlike some forms of nonverbal communication, facial expressions are universal. The facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust are the same across cultures.

Body movement and posture. Consider how your perceptions of people are affected by the way they sit, walk, stand, or hold their head. The way you move and carry yourself communicates a wealth of information to the world. This type of nonverbal communication includes your posture, bearing, stance, and the subtle movements you make.

Gestures. Gestures are woven into the fabric of our daily lives. You may wave, point, beckon, or use your hands when arguing or speaking animatedly, often expressing yourself with gestures without thinking. However, the meaning of some gestures can be very different across cultures. While the “OK” sign made with the hand, for example, usually conveys a positive message in English-speaking countries, it’s considered offensive in countries such as Germany, Russia, and Brazil. So, it’s important to be careful of how you use gestures to avoid misinterpretation.

Eye contact. Since the visual sense is dominant for most people, eye contact is an especially important type of nonverbal communication. The way you look at someone can communicate many things, including interest, affection, hostility, or attraction. Eye contact is also important in maintaining the flow of conversation and for gauging the other person’s interest and response.

Touch. We communicate a great deal through touch. Think about the very different messages given by a weak handshake, a warm bear hug, a patronizing pat on the head, or a controlling grip on the arm, for example.

Space. Have you ever felt uncomfortable during a conversation because the other person was standing too close and invading your space? We all have a need for physical space, although that need differs depending on the culture, the situation, and the closeness of the relationship. You can use physical space to communicate many different nonverbal messages, including signals of intimacy and affection, aggression or dominance.

Voice. It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. When you speak, other people “read” your voice in addition to listening to your words. Things they pay attention to include your timing and pace, how loud you speak, your tone and inflection, and sounds that convey understanding, such as “ahh” and “uh-huh.” Think about how your tone of voice can indicate sarcasm, anger, affection, or confidence.

Can nonverbal communication be faked?

There are many books and websites that offer advice on how to use body language to your advantage. For example, they may instruct you on how to sit a certain way, steeple your fingers, or shake hands in order to appear confident or assert dominance. But the truth is that such tricks aren’t likely to work (unless you truly feel confident and in charge). That’s because you can’t control all of the signals you’re constantly sending about what you’re really thinking and feeling. And the harder you try, the more unnatural your signals are likely to come across.

However, that doesn’t mean that you have no control over your nonverbal cues. For example, if you disagree with or dislike what someone’s saying, you may use negative body language to rebuff the person’s message, such as crossing your arms, avoiding eye contact, or tapping your feet. You don’t have to agree, or even like what’s being said, but to communicate effectively and not put the other person on the defensive, you can make a conscious effort to avoid sending negative signals—by maintaining an open stance and truly attempting to understand what they’re saying, and why.

How nonverbal communication can go wrong

What you communicate through your body language and nonverbal signals affects how others see you, how well they like and respect you, and whether or not they trust you. Unfortunately, many people send confusing or negative nonverbal signals without even knowing it. When this happens, both connection and trust in relationships are damaged, as the following examples highlight:

• Jack believes he gets along great with his colleagues at work, but if you were to ask any of them, they would say that Jack is “intimidating” and “very intense.” Rather than just look at you, he seems to devour you with his eyes. And if he takes your hand, he lunges to get it and then squeezes so hard it hurts. Jack is a caring guy who secretly wishes he had more friends, but his nonverbal awkwardness keeps people at a distance and limits his ability to advance at work.

• Arlene is attractive and has no problem meeting eligible men, but she has a difficult time maintaining a relationship for longer than a few months. Arlene is funny and interesting, but even though she constantly laughs and smiles, she radiates tension. Her shoulders and eyebrows are noticeably raised, her voice is shrill, and her body is stiff. Being around Arlene makes many people feel anxious and uncomfortable. Arlene has a lot going for her that is undercut by the discomfort she evokes in others.

• Ted thought he had found the perfect match when he met Sharon, but Sharon wasn’t so sure. Ted is good looking, hardworking, and a smooth talker, but seemed to care more about his thoughts than Sharon’s. When Sharon had something to say, Ted was always ready with wild eyes and a rebuttal before she could finish her thought. This made Sharon feel ignored, and soon she started dating other men. Ted loses out at work for the same reason. His inability to listen to others makes him unpopular with many of the people he most admires.

These smart, well-intentioned people struggle in their attempt to connect with others. The sad thing is that they are unaware of the nonverbal messages they communicate.

[Read: Tips for Building a Healthy Relationship]

If you want to communicate effectively, avoid misunderstandings, and enjoy solid, trusting relationships both socially and professionally, it’s important to understand how to use and interpret body language and improve your nonverbal communication skills.

How to improve nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication is a rapidly flowing back-and-forth process that requires your full focus on the moment-to-moment experience. If you’re planning what you’re going to say next, checking your phone, or thinking about something else, you’re almost certain to miss nonverbal cues and not fully understand the subtleties of what’s being communicated. As well as being fully present, you can improve how you communicate nonverbally by learning to manage stress and developing your emotional awareness.

Learn to manage stress in the moment

Stress compromises your ability to communicate. When you’re stressed out, you’re more likely to misread other people, send confusing or off-putting nonverbal signals, and lapse into unhealthy knee-jerk patterns of behavior. And remember: emotions are contagious. If you are upset, it is very likely to make others upset, thus making a bad situation worse.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress, take a time out. Take a moment to calm down before you jump back into the conversation. Once you’ve regained your emotional equilibrium, you’ll feel better equipped to deal with the situation in a positive way.

The fastest and surest way to calm yourself and manage stress in the moment is to employ your senses—what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch—or through a soothing movement. By viewing a photo of your child or pet, smelling a favorite scent, listening to a certain piece of music, or squeezing a stress ball, for example, you can quickly relax and refocus. Since everyone responds differently, you may need to experiment to find the sensory experience that works best for you.

Develop your emotional awareness

In order to send accurate nonverbal cues, you need to be aware of your emotions and how they influence you. You also need to be able to recognize the emotions of others and the true feelings behind the cues they are sending. This is where emotional awareness comes in.

[Read: Improving Emotional Intelligence (EQ)]

Being emotionally aware enables you to:

• Accurately read other people, including the emotions they’re feeling and the unspoken messages they’re sending.
• Create trust in relationships by sending nonverbal signals that match up with your words.
• Respond in ways that show others that you understand and care.

Many of us are disconnected from our emotions—especially strong emotions such as anger, sadness, fear—because we’ve been taught to try to shut off our feelings. But while you can deny or numb your feelings, you can’t eliminate them. They’re still there and they’re still affecting your behavior. By developing your emotional awareness and connecting with even the unpleasant emotions, though, you’ll gain greater control over how you think and act. To start developing your emotional awareness, practice the mindfulness meditation in HelpGuide’s free Emotional Intelligence Toolkit.

How to read body language

Once you’ve developed your abilities to manage stress and recognize emotions, you’ll start to become better at reading the nonverbal signals sent by others. It’s also important to:

Pay attention to inconsistencies. Nonverbal communication should reinforce what is being said. Is the person saying one thing, but their body language conveying something else? For example, are they telling you “yes” while shaking their head no?

Look at nonverbal communication signals as a group. Don’t read too much into a single gesture or nonverbal cue. Consider all of the nonverbal signals you are receiving, from eye contact to tone of voice and body language. Taken together, are their nonverbal cues consistent—or inconsistent—with what their words are saying?

Trust your instincts. Don’t dismiss your gut feelings. If you get the sense that someone isn’t being honest or that something isn’t adding up, you may be picking up on a mismatch between verbal and nonverbal cues.

Evaluating nonverbal signals

Eye contact – Is the person making eye contact? If so, is it overly intense or just right?

Facial expression – What is their face showing? Is it masklike and unexpressive, or emotionally present and filled with interest?

Tone of voice – Does the person’s voice project warmth, confidence, and interest, or is it strained and blocked?

Posture and gesture – Is their body relaxed or stiff and immobile? Are their shoulders tense and raised, or relaxed?

Touch – Is there any physical contact? Is it appropriate to the situation? Does it make you feel uncomfortable?

Intensity – Does the person seem flat, cool, and disinterested, or over-the-top and melodramatic?

Timing and place – Is there an easy flow of information back and forth? Do nonverbal responses come too quickly or too slowly?

Sounds – Do you hear sounds that indicate interest, caring or concern from the person?

Last updated or reviewed on March 1, 2023