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Nonverbal communication (Key takeaways (Facial expressions refer to the…

- - - - More meaning is generated from nonverbal communication than from verbal: Up to 65% of our meanings is derived from nonverbal communication
      - We may rely more on nonverbal signals in situations where verbal and nonverbal messages conflict and in situations where emotional or relational communication is taking place
      - Example: The question “What are you doing tonight?” could mean any number of things, but we could rely on posture, tone of voice, and eye contact to see if the person is just curious, suspicious, or hinting that they would like company for the evening
      - Put more weight on nonverbal communication when determining a person’s credibility
      - Example: If a classmate delivers a speech in class and her verbal content seems well-researched and unbiased, but her nonverbal communication is poor (her voice is monotone, she avoids eye contact, she fidgets), she will likely not be viewed as credible
    - - Common
      - Is not completely involuntary, it is more below our consciousness than verbal communication and therefore more difficult to control
      - Makes it difficult to control or fake
      - Example: Although you can consciously smile a little and shake hands with someone when you first see them, it’s difficult to fake that you’re “happy” to meet someone
      - Nonverbal communication leaks out in ways that expose our underlying thoughts or feelings
      - While we can consciously decide to stop sending verbal messages, our nonverbal communication always has the potential of generating meaning for another person
      - Example: The teenager who decides to shut out his dad and not communicate with him still sends a message with his “blank” stare (still a facial expression) and lack of movement (still a gesture)
    - - Many nonverbal signals do not have any one specific meaning
      - Example: Someone winks at you and you ask yourself: Did they wink to express their affection for you, their pleasure with something you just did, or because you share some inside knowledge or joke?
      - Doesn’t have explicit rules of grammar that bring structure, order, and agreed-on patterns of usage. Instead, we implicitly learn norms of nonverbal communication, which leads to greater variance
    - - We often put more trust into what people do over what they say
      - In times of stress or danger when our behaviors become more instinctual and we rely on older systems of thinking and acting that evolved before our ability to speak and write
      - This innateness creates intuitive feelings about the genuineness of nonverbal communication, and this genuineness relates back to our earlier discussion about the sometimes involuntary and often subconscious nature of nonverbal communication
      - Example: children who have been blind since birth but still exhibit the same facial expressions as other children
  - - - Convey meaning by reinforcing, substituting for, or contradicting verbal communication
      - Is also used to influence others and regulate conversational flow
    - - Gestures: Help describe a space or shape that another person is unfamiliar with in ways that words alone cannot, reinforce basic meaning
      - Facial expressions reinforce the emotional states we convey through verbal communication
      - Example: Point to the door to tell someone to go
      - Example: Smiling while telling a funny story better conveys your emotions
      - Vocal variation can help us emphasize a particular part of a message, which helps reinforce a word or sentence’s meaning
    - - Babies who have not yet developed language skills make facial expressions, at a few months old, that are similar to those of adults and therefore can generate meaning
      - Can substitute for when you have not learned local language
    - - Use a gesture to signal to a friend that you’re ready to leave the library
      - Getting a server or bartender’s attention with a hand gesture is definitely more polite than yelling
      - When it is better than saying outloud: Point out a person’s unusual outfit or signal to a friend that you think his or her date is a loser
    - - Receive mixed messages, or messages in which verbal and nonverbal signals contradict each other
      - Example: A person may say, “You can’t do anything right!” in a mean tone but follow that up with a wink, which could indicate the person is teasing or joking
      - Problems: If we are unable to resolve the discrepancy, we are likely to react negatively and potentially withdraw from the interaction
    - - 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
        
        Partners with the language through deceptive acts to be more convincing
        
        Not always bad: People engage in deception for many reasons, including to excuse our own mistakes, to be polite to others, or to influence others’ behaviors or perceptions
        
        The better at deception a creature is, the more likely it is to survive -> Over time, the humans that were better liars were the ones that got their genes passed on. But it does not give us a license to lie
      - Gain advantage
        
        Attempt to influence the reaction of the other person with a critcal or unpleasant message
        
        Example: Hungry diners waiting to snag a first-come-first-serve table in a crowded restaurant send messages to the people who have already eaten and paid that it’s time to go
    - - Goal: We don’t end up constantly interrupting each other or waiting in awkward silences between speaker turns
      - Pitch: helps us cue others into our conversational intentions
      - A rising pitch typically indicates a question and a falling pitch indicates the end of a thought or the end of a conversational turn
      - Example: Signal enclosure with a falling pitch and turn our eyes to the next person in turn to speak
    - - Nonverbal communication in the form of tie signs, immediacy behaviors, and expressions of emotion are just three of many examples that illustrate how nonverbal communication affects our relationships
      - Tie signs
        
        Nonverbal cues that communicate intimacy and signal the connection between two people
        
        Example: Wedding rings, shared glass,...
        
        Kisses and hugs are also tie signs but still different in meanings among specific types
      - Immediacy behaviors
        
        Identified by some scholars as the most important function of nonverbal communication
        
        Are verbal and nonverbal behaviors that lessen real or perceived physical and psychological distance between communicators and include things like smiling, nodding, making eye contact, and occasionally engaging in social, polite, or professional touch
        
        Create rapport, have a friendly connection
      - Expressions of emotions
        
        Emerged before verbal communication and was the channel through which we expressed anger, fear, and love for thousands of years of human history
        
        Primaries: Touch and facial expressions
    - - 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
      - We have more control over our self-presentation
      - Artifacts: Clothes, Jewelries,...
- - - - Adaptors
        
        Touching behaviors and movements that indicate internal states typically related to arousal or anxiety
        
        Adaptors result from uneasiness, anxiety, or a general sense that we are not in control of our surroundings
        
        Example: Click pens, shake our legs, or engage in other adaptors during classes, meetings, or while waiting as a way to do something with our excess energy
      - Emblems
        
        Gestures that have a specific agreed-on meaning
        
        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
        
        Can be still or in motion
        
        Example: Circling the index finger around at the side of your head says “He or she is crazy,” or rolling your hands over and over in front of you says “Move on.”
      - Illustrators
        
        Are the most common type of gesture and are used to illustrate the verbal message they accompany
        
        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
        
        We do it automatically
    - - Used to acknowledge others and communicate interest or attentiveness
      - A head nod is a universal sign of acknowledgement in cultures where the formal bow is no longer used as a greeting and sometimes head to indicate interest
      - Example: A head up typically indicates an engaged or neutral attitude, a head tilt indicates interest and is an innate submission gesture that exposes the neck and subconsciously makes people feel more trusting of us, and a head down signals a negative or aggressive attitude
      - Postures: Standing, sitting, squatting, and lying down
      - Most of our communication occurs while we are standing or sitting
      - Example: 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
      - Sitting: Leaning back shows informality and indifference, straddling a chair is a sign of dominance (but also some insecurity because the person is protecting the vulnerable front part of his or her body), and leaning forward shows interest and attentiveness
    - - The face and eyes are the main point of focus during communication, and along with our ears our eyes take in most of the communicative information around us
      - Certain eye behaviors have become tied to personality traits or emotional states, as illustrated in phrases like “hungry eyes,” “evil eyes,” and “bedroom eyes.”
      - Regulating interactions
        
        We use eye contact to signal to others that we are ready to speak or we use it to cue others to speak
        
        We send cues when we are almost finished speaking
      - Monitoring interaction
        
        Taking in feedback and other nonverbal cues and to send information
        
        We take in information to determine if the audience is engaged
      - Intimidation
        
        Norms depend on the setting and a person
        
        Example: Staring can be either scary or showing affection
        
        We look away to avoid small talks
      - Pupil dilation
        
        Refers to the expansion and contraction of the black part of the center of our eyes and is considered a biometric form of measurement; it is involuntary and therefore seen as a valid and reliable form of data collection as opposed to self-reports on surveys or interviews that can be biased or misleadings
        
        Use: Advertisers use pupil dilation as an indicator of consumer preferences, assuming that more dilation indicates arousal and attraction to a product
    - - Core group of facial expressions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust
      - The first four are especially identifiable across cultures
      - Smiles are powerful communicative signals and, as you’ll recall, are a key immediacy behavior
      - Most of the smiles we produce are primarily made for others and are not just an involuntary reflection of an internal emotional state
      - Facial expressions help set the emotional tone for a speech
      - Connect expressions with the speech
  - - - Helps convey meaning, regulate conversational flow, and communicate the intensity of a message
      - Example: Greetings have a rising emphasis and farewells have falling emphasis
    - - Provides important context for the verbal content of speech
      - Example: Volume helps communicate intensity
      - In our age of computer-mediated communication, TYPING IN ALL CAPS is usually seen as offensive, as it is equated with yelling
    - - Refers to how fast or slow a person speaks and can lead others to form impressions about our emotional state, credibility, and intelligence
      - Speaking a little faster than the normal 120–150 words a minute, however, can be beneficial, as people tend to find speakers whose rate is above average more credible and intelligent
    - - Each voice has a distinct quality known as a vocal signature
      - People typically find pleasing voices that employ vocal variety and are not monotone, are lower pitched (particularly for males), and do not exhibit particular regional accents
    - - Sounds that fill gaps in our speech as we think about what to say next
      - Verbal fillers such as “um,” “uh,” “like,” and “ah” are common in regular conversation and are not typically disruptive
    - - Accenting. Vocalic cues allow us to emphasize particular parts of a message, which helps determine meaning
      - 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”)
      - 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).
      - 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).
      - Repetition. Vocalic cues reinforce other verbal and nonverbal cues (e.g., saying “I’m not sure” with an uncertain tone)
      - 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)
  - - - Public space (>=12ft)
        
        The communication that typically occurs in these zones is formal and not intimate
      - Social space (4-12ft)
        
        Communication is typically in the context of a professional or casual interaction, but not intimate or public
        
        Preferred in many professional settings because it reduces the suspicion of any impropriety
        
        In many typically sized classrooms, much of your audience for a speech will actually be in your social zone rather than your public zone, which is actually beneficial because it helps you establish a better connection with them
      - Personal space (1.5-4ft)
        
        Reserved for friends, close acquaintances, and significant others
        
        Much of our communication occurs in the personal zone, which is what we typically think of as our “personal space bubble”
        
        Sub-zones
        
        Outer-personal
        
        Extends from 2.5 feet to 4 feet and is useful for conversations that need to be private but that occur between people who are not interpersonally close
        
        Allows for relatively intimate communication but doesn’t convey the intimacy that a closer distance would, which can be beneficial in professional settings
        
        Inner-personal
        
        Extends from 1.5 feet to 2.5 feet and is a space reserved for communication with people we are interpersonally close to or trying to get to know
        
        We can easily touch the other person as we talk to them, briefly placing a hand on his or her arm or engaging in other light social touching that facilitates conversation, self-disclosure, and feelings of closeness
      - Intimate space (=<1.5ft)
        
        Reserved for only the closest friends, family, and romantic/intimate partners
        
        It is impossible to completely ignore people when they are in this space, even if we are trying to pretend that we’re ignoring them
        
        Being close to someone and feeling their physical presence can be very comforting when words fail
    - - Another person’s presence in our social or public zones doesn’t typically arouse suspicion or negative physical or communicative reactions, but it could in some situations or with certain people
      - We may rely on some verbal communication to reduce immediacy and indicate that we are not interested in closeness and are aware that a breach has occurred
    - - An innate drive to take up and defend spaces shared by many creatures and entities, ranging from packs of animals to individual humans to nations
      - Divisions
        
        Primary
        
        When we officially claim a territory, it is under our control
        
        Secondary
        
        Don’t belong to us and aren’t exclusively under our control, but they are associated with us, which may lead us to assume that the space will be open and available to us when we need it without us taking any further steps to reserve it
        
        Example: Classrooms and desks
        
        Public
        
        Open to all people
        
        People are allowed to mark public territory and use it for a limited period of time, but space is often up for grabs, which makes public space difficult to manage for some people and can lead to conflict
        
        To avoid conflicts: People use a variety of objects that are typically recognized by others as nonverbal cues that mark a place as temporarily reserved—for example, jackets, bags, papers, or a drink
  - - - Biological
        
        Rhythms of living things
        
        We are on a daily cycle that influences when we eat, sleep, and wake
        
        When disturbed, our physical and mental health and our communication competence and personal relationships can suffer
      - Personal
        
        The ways in which individuals experience time
        
        Varies based on our mood, our interest level, and other factors
      - Physical
        
        The fixed cycles of days, years, and seasons
        
        Can affect our mood and psychological states
      - Cultural
        
        How a large group of people view time
        
        Monochronic people tend to schedule their time more rigidly and do one thing at a time
        
        Polychronic people keep more flexible schedules and may engage in several activities at once
      - Status
        
        Example: Doctors can make their patients wait for extended periods of time, and executives and celebrities may run consistently behind schedule, making others wait for them
  - - - Body shape, height, weight, attractiveness, and other physical features of our bodies
      - We don't have much control
      - We can present ourselves through our outfits to suit the trend
      - Other political, social, and cultural symbols send messages to others about who we are
      - The physical location, size, and number of tattoos and piercings play a large role in whether or not they are deemed appropriate for professional contexts
    - - We can often manipulate the nonverbal environment similar to how we would manipulate our gestures or tone of voice to suit our communicative needs
      - Example: The books that we display on our coffee table, the magazines a doctor keeps in his or her waiting room, the placement of fresh flowers in a foyer,...
      - In terms of formality, we can use nonverbal communication to convey dominance and status, which helps define and negotiate power and roles within relationships