COM 112: CH 6

Nonverbal Communication

behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning without the use of words; ex: facial expressions, tone of voice

Nonverbal Communication is Present in Most Interpersonal Conversations

facial expressions, tone of voice, dress and smell, accent, how loud they talk, how fast they talk

Emoticons

textual representations of facial expressions

Important Nonverbal Cues

Pitch and Tone

Nonverbal Communication often Conveys more Information Than Verbal Communication

65-70% of meaning comes from nonverbal clues

Nonverbal Channels

the various behavioral forms that nonverbal communication takes: sense of vision, vocal characteristics, touch and smell

Nonverbal Communication is Usually believed Over Verbal Communication

it's not uncommon to get conflicting messages between what a person says and does-most of the time, we believe the nonverbal cues

More trust in Nonverbal Communication

because most of us believe that people have a harder time controlling nonverbal signals than verbal ones

Nonverbal Communication is the Primary Means of Communicating Emotion

emotion is a powerful influence on our behavior, and our primary way of communicating how we feel is through our nonverbal behaviors

Two Channels of Nonverbal Behavior in Communicating Emotion

Facial expression and vocal behaviors

Nonverbal Communication Metacommunicates

when a friend or relative whispers or covers her mouth with her hand, those behaviors convey that what she's telling you is meant to be a secret

Functions of Nonverbal Communications

Managing Conversations, Expressing Emotions, Maintaining Relationships, Forming Impressions, Influencing Others, Concealing Information

Managing Conversations

inviting conversations: personal space, physical appearance, eye contact
maintaining conversations: turk taking signals (nonverbal behavior that indicates when a person's speaking turn begins and ends
ending conversation: changes in eye behavior and postu

Expressing Emotions

facial expression of emotions, vocal expression of emotions

Maintaining Relationships

attraction and affiliation; power and dominance; arousal and relaxation

Attraction and Affiliation

nonverbal behavior that conveys attraction and affiliation

Power and Dominance

power-potention to affect another person's behavior
dominance-actual exercise of that potential
ex: powerful people are more likely to keep less powerful person waiting

Artifacts

objects of an environment to be examined further-status symbols
ex: college diploma in office

Arousal and Relaxation

arousal-increase in energy; excitement-opposite
arousal as-excitement or anxiety

Forming Impressions

impressions related to a person's demographic characteristics; and those related to a person's sociocultural characteristics
demographic: age, ethnicity, sex
sociocultural: socio-economic status, money, education

Influencing Others

creating credibility: adopting appearance that conveys expertise
promoting affiliation: touch
interactional synchrony: convergence of two people's behaviors

Concealing Information

lying or hiding to conceal one's self

10 Channels of Nonverbal Communication

facial displays, eye behaviors, movement and gestures, touch behaviors, vocal behaviors, the use of smell, the use of space, physical appearance, the use of time, use of artifacts

Oculesics

the study of eye behavior

Kinetics

study of movement

Gesticulation

the use of arm and hand movements to communicate

Emblem

a gesture with a direct verbal translation
ex: wave of hand: hello

Illustrator

a gesture that enhances or clarifies a verbal message
ex: hands show how big a fish was

Affect Display

a gesture that communicates emotion

Regulator

a gesture that controls the flow of conversation
ex: raising your hand to speak

Adaptor

a gesture used to satisfy a personal need
ex: scratching

Haptics

study of how people use touch to communicate
ex: affectionate, caregiving, power and control, aggressive, ritualistic

Vocalics

characteristics of the voice
ex: pitch, inflection, volume, rate, filler words, pronunciation, articulation, accent, silence

Paralanguage

vocalic behaviors that go along with verbal behavior to convey meaning

Olfactics

the study of the sense of smell
ex: memories, sexual attraction

Proxemics

study of spacial use

Intimate Distance

the distance most people in Western cultures maintain with intimate partners; ranges from 0 to 1.5 feet

Personal Distance

the distance most people in Western cultures maintain with friends and relatives; ranges from 1.5 to 4 feet

Social Distance

the distance most people in Western culture maintain with casual acquaintances; ranges from 4 to 12 feet

Public Distance

the distance most people in Western cultures maintain with public figures during a performance; ranges from 12 to 25 feet

Physical Appearance

halo effect: the tendency to attribute positive qualities to physically attractive people

Chronemics

the use of time

Use of Artifacts

includes selection and placement of objects; use of light, and use of color

Culture Influences Nonverbal Communication

emblems, affect displays, personal distance, eye contact, facial displays of emotion, greeting behavior, time orientation, touch

High-Contact Culture

a culture in which people touch frequently and maintain little personal distance with one another

Low-Contact Culture

a culture in which people touch infrequently and maintain relatively high levels of personal distance with one another

Sex Influences Nonverbal Communication

emotional expressiveness, eye contact, personal space, vocalics, touch, appearance

Interpreting Nonverbal Communication

be sensitive to nonverbal messages, decipher the meaning of nonverbal messages,

Expressing Nonverbal Messages

learn from others, practice being expressive