1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Characteristics  Messages expressed by nonlinguistic terms  This rules out the written word and sign language  Includes all vocal means that do not involve language  Sighs, laughs, etc.  Nonlinguistic dimensions  Volume, rate, pitch

2 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Skills are Vital  Nonverbal encoding and decoding skills are strong predictor of  Popularity  Attractiveness  Socioeconomic status  Nonverbal skills are vital to emotional intelligence  All behavior has communicative value

3 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communication is Relational  Identity Management  Defines the kinds of relationships we want to have with others  When you’re at a party how do you act?  Which emotions are you displaying?  Friendly, attractive, easygoing

4 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communication is Relational  Nonverbal communication is better suited towards conveying emotion  How do you express the following nonverbally  You’re tired  You’re in favor of capital punishment  You’re attracted to another person in the group  You think prayer in schools should be allowed  You’re angry at someone in the room

5 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communication Serves Many Functions  Repeating  When someone asks for directions, you often repeat your answer with a gesture  Complementing  Expressions that match thoughts and emotions  Substituting  When someone asks, “What’s up?” You may just shrug your shoulders

6 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communication Serves Many Functions  Accenting  Nonverbal devices in oral messages  “It was your idea!”  Regulating  Influencing the flow of verbal communication  Contradicting  Sending mixed messages  “Angry? I’m not angry!”

7 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communicators Offer Deception Clues  Leakage  Nonverbal cues that send signals a person is deceiving you  When someone is bluffing a hand of poker, a player may nervously tap their finger or fidget in their chair  The voice also offers leakage clues

8 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communicators Offer Deceptions Clues  Three findings:  We are accurate in detecting deception only slightly more than half the time  We overestimate our ability to detect others’ lies  We have a strong tendency to judge others’ messages as truthful

9 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous  What does a kiss mean?  In some situations it can be a way of saying hello  In another situation is could be the first step to a more romantic relationship  When your significant other pulls away  Is this a sign of trouble  Or a suggestion to pursue

10 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous  Service with a Smile  Twelve Safeway Employees filed grievances over the smile-and-make-eye-contact policy  The clerks claimed shoppers thought their smiles and eye-contact was flirting  Nonverbal Leaning Disorder (NVLD)  Reading facial expressions, tone of voice and other cues is dramatically more difficult

11 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Gender  Research shows that, compared to men, women:  Smile more  Use more facial expression  Use more head, hand and arm gestures  Touch others more  Stand closer to others  Make more eye contact

12 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Culture  Nonverbal behaviors can have different meanings depending on the culture  The “OK” gesture:  A cheery affirmation in American culture  Means you’re worth zero in France and Belgium  Is a vulgar sexual invitation in Greece and Turkey  Americans are comfortable conducting business at a distance of four feet  Middle Easterner’s stand much closer

13 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Culture  The use of time depends greatly on culture  Monochronic  Emphasizing punctuality, schedules and completing one task at a time  Polychronic  Flexible schedule in which multiple tasks are pursued at the same time

14 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Body Movement  Body Orientation  The degree to which we face toward or away from someone with our body, feet and head  Posture  By paying attention to the postures around your own, you’ll find another channel of communication  Gestures  Movements of the hands and arms

15 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Body Movement  Gestures  Illustrators  Movements that accompany speech but do not stand on their own  Emblems  Deliberate nonverbal communication that has precise meaning  Adaptors  Unconscious body movements in response to the environment

16 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Body Movement  Face and Eyes  At least eight distinguishable positions of the eyebrows and forehead  Eight of the eyes and lids  Ten for the lower face  Multiplied together you can understand why it is nearly impossible to compile a dictionary of facial expressions

17 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Body Movement  Face and Eyes  Microexpressions  Expressions that happen quickly and are difficult to detect  Can be very effective in identifying emotion  Eyes  Communicate positive or negative attitude  Pupils grow larger based on the interest in the object

18 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Voice  Paralanguage  Describes nonverbal, vocal messages  Note how many meanings come from a single sentence, just by shifting the emphasis  “This is a fantastic communication book.”  Unintentional Pause  Vocalized Pause

19 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Touch  Haptics  Touch can communicate many messages  What makes a given touch more or less intense?  Several Factors:  Which part of the body does the touching  Which part of the body is touched  How long does the touch last  How much pressure is used  The situation in which the touch occurred

20 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Appearance  Physical Attractiveness  Men and women whom others perceive as attractive are rated as:  Being more sensitive  Kind  Strong  Sociable  Interesting  Physically attractive professors receive higher evaluations from their students

21 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Appearance  Clothing  One writer suggests that clothing can covey at least ten types of messages to others: Economic backgroundLevel of success Economic levelMoral character Educational levelSocial background Educational backgroundSocial position Level of sophisticationTrustworthiness

22 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Physical Space  Proxemics  The study of the way people and animals use space.  We each carry an invisible bubble of personal space wherever we go  We feel uncomfortable with this bubble is violated  Different cultures develop different bubbles  It is important to choose distances based on the receiver of your message

23 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Proxemics  Hall’s Four Spatial Zones  Intimate distance  Ranges out about eighteen inches  Personal distance  Ranges from eighteen inches to four feet  Social distance  Four feet to twelve feet  Public distance  Distances beyond twelve feet

24 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES BEYOND WORDS  Time  Chronemics  The study of how humans structure time  In a culture that values time highly, waiting can be an indicator of status  Time can be a marker of relationships  The amount of time spent with a relational partner sends important messages about value  Time is also valued in mediated communication 