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Chapter 6: Nonverbal Communication (Functions of nonverbal communication…
Chapter 6: Nonverbal Communication
Characteristic of nonverbal communication
Nonverbal Behavior Has Communicative Value
It is virtually impossible not to communicate nonverbally
even we intended to communicate nonverbally, we aren't always aware of the cues we are sending
Nonverbal Communication Is Primarily Relational
nonverbal cues help us manage our identities
nonverbal cues help define our relationship
Nonverbal cues convey emotion
affect displays
: Facial expressions, body movements, and vocal traits that reveal emotional states
Nonverbal Communication Differs from Verbal Communication
nonverbal communications differs in several important ways from spoken and written meessages
Nonverbal Communication Is Ambiguous
nonverbal communications are often difficult to interpret
Ex: to guess one's interests in a sexual relationship
My own example: to guess how others feel when you ask them to give something they owe you back, you are usually not sure if he is willing to or reluctant to do so.
positive emotions are easier to understand than negative emotions
those who are better senders of nonverbal messages also do better on perceiving it
When you become aware of nonverbal messages, you should think of them not a facts but rather cues that need to be checked out
Nonverbal Skills Are Important
In general, good verbal communications are more persuasive that people who are less skilled, and they have a greater chance of success
Ex: those with nonverbal learning disorder have trouble making sense of nonverbal message
nonverbal communication
: messages expressed by other than linguistic means
Influences on nonverbal communication
Culture
the "okay" gesture is a affirmation in America, but means "you worth zero" in France and Belgium
American are comfortable conducting business at a distance of roughly 4 feet, people from the Middle East stand much closer
Japanese look into the eyes for nonverbal sue, but Americans and Europeans focus on the mouth
Still many nonverbal behaviors have the same meaning around the world, for instance: smile ad laughter are universal sign of positive emotion
Gender
media depictions often exaggerate stereotypical difference in masculines and feminine styles of nonverbal communication
researches showed that compared with men, women smile more, use more facial expressions, head, arm, hand gestures, touch others more, stand closer to others, are more vocally expressive, and make more eye contacts
Still some nonverbal behaviors are bizarre despite the gender differences, such as tapping forehead for attention, sniffing strangers
There are at least six facial expression that human used everywhere and is a human instinct, including happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust , and surprise
Functions of nonverbal communication
Repeating
saying "North of here about two blocks" while pointing north
Substituting
when a friend ask you whats new, you shrug your shoulder instead of answering with words
emblems
: Deliberate nonverbal behaviors with precise meanings, known to virtually all members of a cultural groups
most American know that a head nod means "yes"
Still sometimes substituting responses are more ambiguous and less intentional
Complementing
sometimes nonverbal behaviors match the content of a verbal message.
apologizing sincerely and apologizing with the attitude as if he doesn't really care makes a difference
much complementing behavior consist of illustrators-- nonverbal
Scratching the head when searching for an idea and snapping your fingers when it occurs are examples of illustrators that complement verbal messages
Accenting
pointing an accusing finger adds emphasis to criticism
Regulating
parties in a conversation often unconsciously send and receive turn-taking cues.
Contradicting
People often simultaneously express different and even contradictory messages in their verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
ex: yelling with a red face "Angry? No I'm not angry."
research showed that when a receiver perceives an inconsistency between verbal and nonverbal messages, the nonverbal one carries more weight-- more than 12.5% more
sometimes we use it to save face
Deceiving
high self-monitors are usually better at hiding their deception than other communicators who are less self-aware
researches showed that there are no certain cues that indicates deception, thus there only 50% of accuracy identifying a liar
as people became more intimate, their accuracy in detecting lies actually declines
Three findings about deception are supported time and again in studies
We are accurate in detecting deception only slightly more than half the time
we overestimate our abilities to detect others' lies
we have a strong tendency to judge others' messages as truthful--in other words, we want to believe people wouldn't lie to us
Two forms of communications operates together
Types of Nonverbal Communication
body movements
posture and gestures
this is about the study of
kinesics
-- the study of body movement, gesture, and postures
An experiment shows a career counselor who used "posture echo" to copy the postures of the clients are rated to be more empathic than those who did not do so.
Research found that partners in romantic relationship mirror each others behavior
By adopting confident body language in public and private, people tend to be more confident in general
manipulators
: movement in which one part of the body grooms, massages, rubs, holds, pinches, picks, or otherwise manipulate another part
Face and Eyes
Looking at a conversational partner enhances evaluation of intellengence
expression reflecting many emotions seem to be recognizable in an between members of all culture.
effect blend
: the combination of two or more expressions, each showing a different emotion
Voice
Paralanguage
: nonlinguistic means of vocal expression: rate, pitch, tone, and so on
researcher showed that listeners pay more attention to the vocal messages than to the words that are spoken when asked to determine a speakers' attitudes
Ex: tone, speed, pitch, volume, number, and length of pauses
Disfluencies
: vocal interruption such as stammering and use of "uh," "uh," and "er."
Appearance
Physical Attractiveness
most people claimed that looks aren't the best measure of desirability or character, but they typical prefer others whom they find attractive.
Research shows that one's appearance is highly associated with their salary.
Clothing
clothing is a means of nonverbal communication, providing a relatively straightforward method of impression management
we make assumption about people based on their clothing
As we get to know others better, the importance of clothing shrinks
Touch
haptics
: the study of touch
Touching is essential to a baby, not having enough touching might lead death to a baby
Space
Distance
proxemics
: the study of how people and animal use space
Intimate distance
: one of Hall's four distance zones, ranging from skin contact to 18 inches
the interaction to whom we are emotionally close
Personal distance
: one of Hall's four distance zones, ranging from 18 inches to 4 feet
the range in which most relational partners stand in public
Social distance
: one of Hall's four distance zones, ranging from 4 feet to 12 feet
usually occurs between salespeople and customer and between people who work together
Public distance
: one of Hall's four distance zones, ranging outward from 12 feet
ex: the distance between teachers and students in the classroom
this is when two way communication became difficult
Territoriality
: fixed space that an individual assumes some right to occupy
personal space is like a bubble we carry around
not permanent, and might change accordingly to the circumstances
Environment
The physical environment people people create can both reflect and shape interaction
a research showed that the attractiveness of a room influenced the happiness and energy if the people working in it
Time
chronemics
: the study of how human use and structure time
for example, in a culture that values time highly, likes US, waiting can be an indicator of status
monochronic
: The use of time that emphasizes punctuality, schedules, and completing one task at a time.
For example: at the airport, people who are more exalted often are whisked to the head of the line
My own example: the parade of the president don't have to stop for the traffic light because he got the traffic controlled to save his/her time
polychronic
: the use of time that emphasizes flexible schedules in which multiple tasks are pursued at the same time.
The concept might also vary from different regions
I was so surprised by this part because I have never thought of that communications is a combination of all of these. And even though there are so much to take into account, people can still tell the first impression in a matter of second
Building Competence in Nonverbal Communication
Tune out words
Keep in mind that nonverbal clue can reveal important informations about feelings and attitudes
Use perception checking
not necessary but helpful when you can't identify other's nonverbal cue
Pay attention to your own nonverbal behavior
ask someone to record a video of you when you are not aware
to be honest, in this chapter, there isn't a part that is significantly more confusing to me. Most of all is pretty straightforward and it happens in our daily life, we simply have to be aware of it.