Nonverbal Communication: a process of generating meaning using behavior other than words.
A vocal element of nonverbal communication is paralanguage, which is the vocalized but not verbal part of a spoken message, such as speaking rate, volume, and pitch.
Vocal: Spoken words Paralanguage (pitch, volume, speaking rate, etc.)
Nonvocal Writing: sign language. Body language (gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, etc.)
Principles of Nonverbal Communication: nonverbal communication is primarily biologically based while verbal communication is primarily culturally based.
Vocab: Immediacy behaviors: verbal & nonverbal behaviors that lessen real or perceived physical & psychological distance between communicators & include things like smiling, nodding, making eye contact, & occasionally engaging in social, polite, or professional touch.
artifacts: the objects and possessions that surround us
Kinesics:study of hand, arm, body, and face movements.
Adaptors: touching behaviors and movements that indicate internal states typically related to arousal or anxiety.
Emblems: gestures that have a specific agreed-on meaning
Illustrators: the most common type of gesture and are used to illustrate the verbal message they accompany.
Oculesics: The study of eye behaviors as nonverbal communication.
Haptics: The study of communication by touch.
Proxemics: The study of how space and distance influence communication.
Territoriality: An innate drive to take up and defend spaces
Chronemics: The study of how time affects communication.
Nonverbal Congruence: consistency among different nonverbal expressions within a cluster.
Mirroring: The often subconscious practice of using nonverbal cues that match those of others around us.
Civil Inattention: A social norm that leads us to avoid making eye contact with people in situations that deviate from expected social norms.
Formal time: Applies to professional situations in which we are expected to be on time or even a few minutes early.
Informal time: Applies to casual and interpersonal situations in which there is much more variation in terms of expectations for promptness.
Truth Bias: Our tendency to believe that people are telling the truth, especially if we know and like them.
Nonverbal leakage: Nonverbal behaviors that occur as we try to control the cognitive and physical changes that happen during states of cognitive and physical arousal.
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Nonverbal communication includes vocal elements, referred to as paralanguage and includes pitch, volume, and rate, and nonvocal elements, which are usually referred to as body language and includes gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact, among other things.
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Although verbal communication and nonverbal communication work side by side as part of a larger language system,
Nonverbal communication affects relationships, as it is a primary means through which we communicate emotions, establish social bonds, and engage in relational maintenance.
Nonverbal communication expresses our identities, as who we are is conveyed through the way we set up our living and working spaces, the clothes we wear, our personal presentation, and the tones in our voices
Nonverbal communication regulates conversational flow, as it provides important cues that signal the beginning and end of conversational turns and facilitates the beginning and end of an interaction
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Nonverbal communication influences others, as it is a key component of deception and can be used to assert dominance or to engage in compliance gaining.
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Nonverbal communication affects verbal communication in that it can complement, reinforce, substitute, or contradict verbal messages.
Nonverbal communication serves several functions.
Nonverbal communication typically conveys more meaning than verbal communication, nonverbal communication is more involuntary than verbal communication, nonverbal communication is often more ambiguous than verbal communication, and nonverbal communication is often more credible than verbal communication.
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functions of eye contact:
Regulate interaction and provide turn-taking signals
Monitor communication by receiving nonverbal communication from others
Signal cognitive activity (we look away when processing information)
Express engagement (we show people we are listening with our eyes)
Convey intimidation
Express flirtation
Establish rapport or connection
Various Communicative Functions of Vocalics:
Repetition. Vocalic cues reinforce other verbal and nonverbal cues (e.g., saying “I’m not sure” with an uncertain tone).
Complementing. Vocalic cues elaborate on or modify verbal and nonverbal meaning (e.g., the pitch and volume used to say “I love sweet potatoes” would add context to the meaning of the sentence, such as the degree to which the person loves sweet potatoes or the use of sarcasm).
Accenting. Vocalic cues allow us to emphasize particular parts of a message, which helps determine meaning (e.g., “She is my friend,” or “She is my friend,” or “She is my friend”).
Substituting. Vocalic cues can take the place of other verbal or nonverbal cues (e.g., saying “uh huh” instead of “I am listening and understand what you’re saying”).
Regulating. Vocalic cues help regulate the flow of conversations (e.g., falling pitch and slowing rate of speaking usually indicate the end of a speaking turn).
Contradicting. Vocalic cues may contradict other verbal or nonverbal signals (e.g., a person could say “I’m fine” in a quick, short tone that indicates otherwise).
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