Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Nonverbal Communication (Functions of Nonverbal Communication…
Nonverbal Communication
Building Competence in Nonverbal Communication
Tune Out Words
develop skill in recongnizing nonverbal cues by tuning out the content of a speaker's language.
Use Perception Checking
Because nonverbal behaviors are ambiguous, it's important to consider your interpretations as educated guesses, not absolute translations.
Not every situation is important enough to call for a perception check, but there will certainly be times when exploring alternate interpretations is better than jumping into conclusion.
Pay Attention to Your Own Nonverbal Behavior
You can appreciation for this by asking someone to record a video of you when you aren't aware and self-conscious about them doing it.
Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal Behavior Has Communicative Value
You have a constant source of information available about yourself and others.
Nonverbal Communication is Primarily Relational
Nonverbal cues help define our relationship.
3.Nonverbal cues convey emotion.
Nonverbal cues help us manage our identities.
Affect displays
---Facial expressions, body movements, and vocal traits that reveal emotional states.
Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous
When you try to make sense out of ambiguous nonverbal behavior, you should consider several factors.
The context in which the behaviors occur.
The others' mood at the time.
Your feelings.
The history of your relationship with the sender.
Nonverbal Communication Differs from Verbal Communication
Nonverbal communication V.S. Verbal communication
Verbal Communication:
-One dimension
-Intermittent
-Less subject to misinterpretation
-Has less impact when verbal and nonverbal cues are contradictory
-Usually deliberate
Nonverbal Communication:
-Multiple dimensions
-Continuous
-More ambiguous
-Has stronger impact when verbal and nonverbal cues are contradictory
-Often unintentional
Nonverbal Skills Are Important
Nonverbal encoding and decoding skills are strong predictors of popularity, attractiveness, and socioemotional well-being.
Influences on Nonverbal Communication
Culture
The meaning of some gestures varies from one culture to another.
EX:
The
okay
gesture made by joining thumb and forefinger to form a circle is a cheery affirmation to most Americans, but it has less positive meanings in other parts of the world.
Less obvious cross-culture differences can damage relationships without the parties ever recognizing exactly what has gone wrong.
Even within a culture, various groups can have different nonverbal rules.
EX:
Many white teachers in the U.S. use quasi-questions that hint at the information they are seeking.
Vocal patterns are another nonverbal way to build and demonstrate cocultural solidarity.
EX:
Younger Americans often use "uptalk" and "vocal fry"
Gender
Men's and women's nonverbal communication patterns have a good deal in common.
EX:
Differences such as the ones noted above are noticeable, but they are outweighted by the similar rules we follow in most dimensions of nonverbal behavior.
Functions of Nonverbal Communication
Substituting
Emblems
---Deliberate nonverbal behaviors with precise meanings, known to virtually all members of a cultural group.
The same gestures mean different things in other cultures, which can cause a great deal of intercultural confusions, as you might imagine.
Complementing
Illustrators
---Nonverbal behaviors that accompany and support verbal messages.
EX:
Scratching the head when searching for an idea and snapping your fingers when it occurs.
Repeating
People remember comments accompanied by gestures more than those made with words alone.
Contradicting
Studies suggest that when a receiver perceives an inconsistency between verbal and nonverbal messages, the nonverbal one carries more weight---more than 12.5% more, according to some research.
Regulating
Nonverbal behaviors can control the flow of verbal communication.
EX:
parties in a conversation often unconsciously send and receive turn-taking cues.
Deceiving
Some people are better at hiding deceit than others.
EX:
most people become more successful liars as they grow older.
Deception clues are most likely when the deceiver:
-Wants to hide emotions being experienced at the moment.
-Feels strongly about the information being hidden.
-Feels apprehensive about the deceptive.
-Gets little enjoyment from being deceptive.
-Needs to construct the message carefully while delivering it.
Deception clues are least likely when the deceiver
-Wants to hide information unrelated to his or her emotions.
-Has no strong feelings about the information being hidden.
-Experiences little guilt about deception.
-Enjoys the deception.
-Knows the deceptive message well and has rehearsed it.
Accenting
We use nonverbal devices to emphasize oral message.
Types of Nonverbal Communication
Touch
Haptics
---the study of touch.
Many infants suffer from lack of physical contact with parents or nurses rather than poor nutrition, medical care, or other factors.
Space
Territoriality
Territory
---Fixed space that an individual assumes some right to occupy.
Distance
Social distance
---One of Hall's four distance zones, ranging from 4 to 12 feet.
Personal distance
---One of Hall's four distance zones, ranging from 18 inches to 4 feet.
Intimate distance
---One of Hall's four distance zones, ranging from skin contact to 18 inches.
Proxemics
---The study of how people and animals use space.
Public distance
---One of Hall's distance zones, extending outward from 12 feet.
Appearance
Physical Attractiveness
People typically prefer others whom they find attractive.
Attractiveness is something we can control without having to call a plastic surgeon.
Clothing
Clothing providing a relatively straightforward method of impression management.
Research shows that we make assumptions about people based on their clothing.
Environment
The physical environment people create can both reflect and shape interaction.
An environment can shape the kind of interaction that takes place in it.
Watching how people use an already existing environment can be a way of telling what kind of relationships they want.
Voice
Paralanguage
---Nonlinguistic means of vocal expression: rate, pitch, tone, and so on.
Disfluencies
---Vocal interruptions such as stammering and use of "uh", "um" and "er."
Time
Monochronic
---The use of time that emphasize punctuality, schedules, and completing one task a time.
Polychronic
---The use of time that emphasizes flexible schedules in which multiple tasks are pursued at the same time.
Chronemics
---The study of how humans use and structure time.
Personal time refers to the ways in which individuals experience time. The way we experience time varies based on our mood, our interest level, and other factors.
Body Movements
Posture and Gesture
Kinesics
---The study of body movement, gesture, and posture.
Posture
is a rich channel for conveying nonverbal information.
Posture
can communicate vulnerability in situations far more serious than mere social or business settings.
Gestures
are a fundamental element of communication that people who have been blind from birth use them.
Face and Eyes
Affect blend
---The combination of two or more expressions, each showing a different emotion.