Understanding non verbal communication in a public setting By: Byron Arnold

Introduction  In order to communicate effectively with the opposite sex, in a public environment. One must not only understand the verbal but the non verbal communication, before approaching in a bar/ club setting which is very loud and crowded. Sometimes it hard to figure out if that person is really in to you or the person behind you.

Forms of non verbal communication. (1 ) (Wood, 2013)  Responsiveness  Liking  Power or control  Haptics  Territoriality  Kinesics  Artifacts  Proximity and Personal Space  Territoriality  Paralanguage  Physical Appearance

Women non verbal behaviors to show interest in opposite sex (2) (Berman, 2012) (Fisher, 2010)  Eyebrow flash  Fixate glance  Hair flip  Head raise  Head nod  Laugh  Lip lick  Neck presentation  Smile  Become more open with the conversation.  A slight touch

Men's non verbal behaviors to show interest in the opposite sex (2) (Berman, 2012)  He looks you up and down slowly.  Leans his upper body towards you.  Erect stance, chest out, shoulders back, stomach in.  His pupils dilate  Smiles at you.  You are his sole focus of attention of the room  He touches himself anywhere, while looking at the opposite sex (brushes his jacket, fixes his hair etc.)  He looks at the woman and his eyebrows go up (indicates interest)

Getting ready for a out for a night on the town one might wear to gain the attention of the gender their seeking. Men :  A clean shave  Nice pair of jeans  A button up shirt  Blazer  Shoes Women:  A new hair do  Nails done  Form fitting dress  Matching color heels

Using non verbal communication to show the opposite sex your interested.  Your with your group of friends having a good time. You glance over and the individual you been kind of looking at, you both look at each other at the same time they may give you a smile maybe a wink.  With this little non verbal information you decide to approach them and get to know them, you talk for a while and you hit it off with them.

Using non verbal communication to show the opposite sex your uninterested. (Fisher, 2010)  Looking away, maybe at somebody they find more interesting  Yawning while the person is talking  Arms crossed  Texting on telephone

Lack of non verbal information can lead to.  Misunderstandings  Lack of interest  Painful rejection  Time wasted  Altercation (if your approaching another person’s love interest)  Confusion

Conclusion  Learning how to read peoples non verbal language is the key when interacting with people in a public or bar setting. Both genders need to be aware of these cues being it’s only a small window of time to actually get to know about somebody in this environment.

Sources:  (1)Wood, J. (2013). Gendered lives. (10 ed., p. 140). Wadsworth.  (2) Berman, J. (2012). Retrieved from donts-how-to-tell-if-hes-interested/  Fisher, M. (2010). Men's persepective on women's non verbal cues of sexual interest. Undergraduate Publication  All pictures were provided by Google images