Deals with physical movement (affective displays)

Applies traditional linguistic principles to the body as a whole or to specific parts, particularly the face, hands and arms.

Deals with posture in standing and
sitting, as well as with eye and facial expressions.
Example: the arching of eyebrows or rolling of eyes

For example, a person of Mediterranean culture may use extensive hand movements and body gestures as an expression of anger, whereas a Japanese person may be apparently less excited, but perhaps no less angry.

Associated with the use of emblems, physical gestures that support or reinforce what is said verbally.
Example : the uplifted shoulders and upturned hands that indicate “I don’t know” virtually everywhere in the world. (universal)
Example: the encircled thumb and forefinger. That
gesture can be interpreted as worthless in France, money in Japan, OK in the United States, a
curse in Arab cultures, and an obscenity in Germany, Brazil and Australia.

Deals with eye behavior as an element of
communication.

Example: In the West, direct eye contact
(looking into the eyes of the other person) is common about 40 percent of the time while talking and 70 percent while listening.

Example: In China and Indonesia, the practice is to lower the eyes because direct eye contact is considered bad manners, and in Hispanic culture direct eye contact is a form of challenge and direspect.

Example: In Arab culture, it is common for both speakers and listeners to look directly into
each others’ eyes for long periods of time, indicating keen interest in the conversation.

In Mediterranean society, men often look at women for long periods of time that may be interpreted as starring by women from other cultures.
Example: the facial gesture of downcast eyes during conversation can suggest social deference, evasion, insincerity or boredom.

Involves the social use of space in a communication situation : the closeness between and among people when they speak, and the significant role that culture plays in this.

Distance:

• from intimate space (0-18 inches) to personal space
• informal distance (18 inches to 4 feet) to social space
• formal distance(4- 12 feet)
• public space or distance (beyond 12 feet).

Deals with the effective
use of space in social settings, such as businesses and homes, ranging and the arrangement of space to encourage or inhibit communication.

Focuses on touching as an element of communication/ frequency and intensity

Example: that Mediterranean,
Middle Eastern and Latin American cultures employ much social touching in conversation including embraces and hand-holding; these are called high-contact (or high-touch) cultures.

Example: North America and Northern Europe, touching is used only occasionally, such as in handshakes and sporadic shoulder touching or back slapping.

People in the Asian nation of the Philippines,
for example, use a large amount of social touching in conversation and personal interaction.

Haptics vary
Example: handshakes vary in length and strength of grip depending on the actual (or hoped for) degree of intimacy between the two people shaking hands.

Deals with vocal cues, more accurately referred to as the nonphonemic qualities of language. Example: accent, loudness, tempo, pitch, cadence, rate of speech, nasality and tone, insofar as these convey meaning.

Vocal characterizers include laughing, crying, yawning, and so on.

Vocal qualifiers such as volume, pitch, rhythm and tempo also are associated with
cultural distinctions.

Vocal segregates (sounds such as mmmm,
uh-huh, oooo) likewise also differ among various cultures.

Vocal rate deals with the speed at
which people talk, another factor that offers various interpretations.

Informal time is measured relative to seasons,
social customs, lunar cycles, etc

Formal time is
measured in minutes, hours, days, and so on

Example: studies show that men are more
likely than women to dominate a conversation and interrupt another speaker.

Example: among Americans
of arriving early for business meetings but being “fashionably late” for social activities, while in Latin American and Arab culture, business people often arrive at a time Westerns would consider “late,” taking business meetings as occasions for hospitality and socializing.

Considers the use of monochronemics (doing one thing at a time, emphasis on schedules and promptness, getting to the point quickly) versus polychronemics (doing several things at a time, emphasis on people and the whole of a relationship).

Deals with the communication role played by a person’s look or physical appearance

Deals with physical aspects of
body shape, hair color and skin tone, as well as grooming, dress (both clothing and jewelry) and use of appearance enhancements such as body piercings, brandings and tattoos.
Example: attire is an essential part of nonvocal communication among areas influenced by
Arab culture.

North and Western Africans, public speakers prefer long robes and big sleeves so that when they raise their hands, extra sleeve cloth slips through the arms and puffs up their shoulder, making them look bigger and more elegant.

The Arab and North African head
covering with different bands of cloth and the color of the robes (white in daytime, dark at night) are more than fashion statements.

Involves the communicative value of the physical space, such as room size, color,
accessibility and location.

Example: Business people assume significant meaning about desk size, offices with (or without) windows, and so on.

Deals with the communicative aspect of apparent objects visible in the room –
art, possessions and so on – in that these may be personal, indicative of status, and/or revealing of lifestyle.

Always have cultural significance.
Example: In many Western countries, pets
have great emotional significance; among many Arabs, rugs are prestigious.

An aspect of nonverbal communication dealing with smells.

Associated with proxemics in that, the closer people are in communication, the more
likely that the smell will be relevant.

Example: Arabs and
religious Muslims are known for using perfumes, according to the teaching the Prophet that it is a charity to smell nice for others.

Example: include mirroring, mimicry, or behavioral
meshing.