COMM THEORY - GENDER DIFFERENCES/LISTENING SKILLS

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Week 5: Introduction to Nonverbal Communication

Commentary

The act of speech is not itself communication. Speech is a biological act: the utterances of sounds,

possibly of vocal symbols of language (Berko, Wolvin, Wolvin & Aitken, 2013). A significant component

of both face-to-face and computer- or technology-mediated communication (CMC), such as FaceTime

and video conferencing, is nonverbal, information or behavior that is expressed but does not involve the

content of spoken words. Tone of voice, posture, facial expression, gestures, pauses, and appearance –

these are among non-verbal behaviors that can stand alone as communication, or complement verbal

messages by making them clearer or more effective. Nonverbal communication also can change the

intended meaning of a verbal message, or make it confusing and unclear. Its interpretation depends on

context. Finally, nonverbal communication can be both intentional and unintentional. Consequently, it

impacts all facets of our lives—social interactions, relationships, and careers. Competent communicators

learn to “read the room” for nonverbal cues that can help them gauge receptivity and reactions to the

communication present in the situation.

The importance of nonverbal communication to meaning cannot be underestimated. Research indicates

that in most situations, we spend more of our time communicating nonverbally than verbally, and that

our nonverbal messages carry more meaning than our verbal messages. Foundational research in this

area of communication studies has shown that the average person speaks for only 10-11 minutes per

day and that the average spoken sentence spans about 2.5 seconds. In a typical two-person (dyadic)

conversation, 60-93 percent of communicative meaning is transmitted through nonverbal behaviors

(Hickson & Stacks, 1993; Hickson, Stacks, & Moore, 2004; Mehrabian, 1981; Birdwhistell, 1970). Knapp

and Hall (1997) suggest approximately 38 percent of the meaning of spoken communication is affected

by the way something is said rather than by what is said. Another research study found that nonverbal

behaviors were 12-13 times more powerful in impact compared to the accompanying spoken message

(Argyle, Alkema, & Gilmour, 1971). Although the formal investigation of nonverbal behavior is a

relatively recent addition to the study of communication, findings like these have established the

importance and impact of tone of voice, body language, gestures, physical distance, and even

adjustments in physical appearance, such as clothing and its color and jewelry, and the environment

Ponder Your Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication plays a large role in our communication with others. To gauge your

understanding of your use of nonverbal behaviors, consider these questions:

1. Describe two roles that nonverbal communication has in your everyday communication on the

job or in another organizational setting.

2. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 is low and 10 is high), rate how effective you believe your nonverbal

communication is in that setting. On what criteria did you base your rating?

3. What, if anything, could you do to improve your use of nonverbal communication in that

setting?

Now that you have responded to each question, what did you learn about nonverbal

communication and specifically what did you learn about yourself?

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(furnishings of the room, the door being open or closed, etc.) to the reception of messages. It also

involves how we utter words: inflection, pauses, volume, pace, pitch, even accent. A sophisticated

understanding and use of nonverbal communication can affect our lives, influence progress in our

careers, and have important consequences in our relationships with family members and friends.

Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication is similar to verbal communication in four respects:

Nonverbal communication is symbolic, which means that like verbal communication, nonverbal

behaviors represent other things. For example, we may smile for pleasure, frown to indicate

displeasure, and lower our eyes to be coy about either mood. Because it is symbolic, nonverbal

communication is as arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract as verbal communication. We cannot be

sure what a nonverbal cue means. Depending on the

context and people involved, a wink could express

romantic interest, signal a joke, or just mean the

person has something in his or her eye. We also

cannot guarantee our nonverbal cues will be

understood in the manner we intended. We might

thrust a hand out for a handshake and be confronted

with a fist bump instead.

Nonverbal communication is rule guided: The

members of specific societies will share a general

understanding of appropriate nonverbal behaviors in

specific settings and what those behaviors mean. We

follow social rules (often unconsciously) to create different interaction climates. For instance,

what people wear to a funeral is likely to be very different from what they wear to a baseball

game. What we say to a widow also is likely to be more measured than what we shout out when

a batter is 3 and 2, and swings at a third fastball.

Nonverbal communication may be intentional or unintentional: Both verbal and nonverbal

communication can be deliberately controlled or inadvertent. For example, we may carefully

select clothes to create a professional impression in a job interview. We also may deliberately

control our verbal language in the interview to present ourselves as assertive and articulate.

However, a tough question might make us wince unconsciously.

Nonverbal communication reflects culture: Like verbal communication, nonverbal behavior is

shaped by cultural ideas, values, customs, and history (Andersen, Hecht, Hoobler, & Smallwood,

2002). For example, friends and romantic partners may sample food from each other’s plates in

the United States whereas many Germans would consider this rude. Although most nonverbal

behavior is innate (such as smiling), we are not born knowing what meanings those behaviors

express. Cultures formulate display rules that dictate when, how, and the consequences for the

use of specific nonverbal behaviors. For example, all of us are born with the capacity to cry but

cultural norms may dictate when we cry and in front of whom.

Three important distinctions between verbal and nonverbal communication are:

Functions of Nonverbal Communication

Six common functions that nonverbal

communication serve in personal

relationships:

 Managing conversations

 Expressing emotions

 Maintaining relationships

 Forming impressions

 Influencing others

 Concealing information

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Nonverbal communication is perceived as more believable. Most people see nonverbal cues as a more reliable indicator of a person’s feelings than verbal communication, especially if the two messages are inconsistent. Anderson (1999) found when the verbal and nonverbal components of a communication appear to be transmitting conflicting messages, receivers tend to believe in and respond to the nonverbal message rather than the conflicting verbal message, regardless of the intent of the sender. However, this does not mean the nonverbal cues actually are honest or that we can interpret them reliably. It is possible for people to manipulate nonverbal behaviors, just as they can learn to manipulate their verbal communication.

Nonverbal communication is multichanneled. Nonverbal communications occurs in multiple

channels simultaneously, whereas verbal communication tends to take place in one channel.

Nonverbal communication may be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted, sometimes in several

of these ways at once. If you touch a person while smiling and whispering an endearment, for

example, you are using three nonverbal channels of communication simultaneously.

Nonverbal communication is constant. Nonverbal communication is more continuous than

written or spoken language. We say something or write something, and then we stop talking or

writing. Nonverbal communication does not stop. We fidget; we gesture; we make noises; our

eyes focus and unfocus; we smile or wince; we sit up or cross our arms or legs—some part of

our nonverbal arsenal continues to communicate.

Body Language

The four major areas of nonverbal communication study relate to spatial, temporal, visual, and vocal cues. Body language in face-to-face human interaction presents an ongoing stream of information and clues. From early childhood, we begin developing skills for expressing and interpreting nonverbal messages from others through body language. By the time most people reach adolescence, their skills in the use and reading of body language are so well developed that much of this level of communication becomes unconscious. As we evolve into adulthood, our skills with body language become more and more fine-tuned and refined. The basic components of body language can be outlined as follows:

Artifactual: We communicate meaning to others by how we look—such things as how tall or short we are; how fat or thin; the color of our skin; our gender; the color, kind (formal vs. informal), and how much or how few clothes we are wearing; whether we wear glasses and, if so, what kind, shape, size, and lens tint; even our jewelry. We also consider the length and style of our hair, how clean our body and our clothes appear to be, and whether we look "natural" or "made up" in the context of a specific environment or social situation. All of these elements form a tapestry of our appearance that communicates expectations nonverbally.

Posture: Through our posture in face-to-face communication, we communicate much about our emotional status and our reaction to a given situation. We might appear relaxed from a loose, informal posture, which if taken further might communicate inattention and disinterest. A tight, erect posture can communicate formality and full attention, but it might also communicate fear or defensiveness—as in appearing to be "uptight." Gait also is a nonverbal communication.

Gestures: For many people, gesturing with the hands is an important part of communication. Gestures put emotional power and emphasis on language. In fact, gestures can be a language

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itself, such as American Sign Language used by many hearing-impaired individuals. Gesturing combines hand movements with changing facial expression and head movement to form an enhanced component of nonverbal communication, often in combination with verbal communication. In some cultures, such as in the Middle East, frequent and expressive gesturing is a culturally mandated component to proper interpersonal communication; in some Asian cultures such as Chinese and Japanese, on the other hand, gesturing is a more limited and formal component of social interaction.

Facial Expression: Closely aligned with gestures is facial expression, which some theorists believe is the most important of all the nonverbal communication components. It has been postulated that the eyes are "the gateway to man's soul." Interactions between individuals in face-to-face communication includes the component of eye contact, the level and dynamic of which is an important vehicle of communication.

Voice: The tone and temper of the human voice convey vast amounts of information and meaning and are inexorably coupled with language. Characteristics of voice that add to the meaning of language include such things as laughing, crying, whining, throat clearing, and whispering; all add to the texture and meaning of human verbal expression.

Environment and Space

Nonverbal communication includes not only components that are being expressed and interpreted by individuals during face-to-face communication, but also the nature of the physical environment in which the communication takes place. How individuals are placed, or how they place themselves, in a specific setting can have a profound influence on the transmission of information and the extraction of meaning from messages.

Territory and space: It is easy to recognize the important role played by the structure and organization of the setting within which face-to-face communication may occur. All we have to do is think of the relative size and location of one's office, or the relative height and position of an instructor or politician speaking before a large group, or even the seating arrangement at a formal dinner or political fund raising event. In direct communication within a specific setting, issues of territory and space can be as important a component of communication as any other active component. Even such things as the furnishings and artifacts within an environment can have an impact on how meaning is extracted in communication and therefore are considered a part of nonverbal communication. For example, very different implications can be drawn when an interviewer sits behind a desk and the job applicant sits in a chair on the opposite side, and when the interviewer and applicant sit side-by-side in front of the desk.

Proximity: Our use of the personal space around us is an important component of nonverbal communication that can have significant ramifications on the extraction and interpretation of meaning. This topic has been deemed important enough in communication theory to result in the creation of an entire subset of theories about the dynamics of proxemics and its effect on communication and meaning.

The proxemics field of study, especially the work of anthropologist Edward Hall (1959), deals with the implications of personal space in communication, and how spatial interpretation can

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influence the meanings of verbal messages. Much of the actions and interpretations of spatial issues in communication are subconscious. Proximity issues in communication also vary greatly among cultures. Proximity expresses the degree of intimacy between sender and receiver, and the level of communication viewed as appropriate within the situational and cultural context of the communication event. Violating accepted norms for spatial proximity can have a powerful effect upon the expectations of all participants, and the quality of the outcome of the message transmission and meaning extraction.

For example, personal distance refers to the 18 inches to 4 feet of space around us. This is an imaginary social bubble, but one in which people from many cultures feel protected. We reach out to others only by extending our arms to the outer reaches of our personal space. This is the distance at which we conduct most of our interpersonal interactions. However, when we are in intimate relationships, we will let our romantic partners inside those 18 inches. We keep people with whom we are in social relationships, such as those in the workplace, about 4-12 feet away as we communicate. Public speaking is conducted at distances from 12-25 feet. Status, culture, subject matter, gender, and age also will affect how we use space in communicating (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). For example, people who perceive themselves of equal status will maintain shorter distances between themselves as they communicate face-to-face than two people of unequal status. People from northern European cultures stand farther apart as they are conversing than people of Middle Eastern cultures. Expectancy Violations Theory explains what we are communicating when we breach these distances (Burgoon, 1978).

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication includes all spoken messages, regardless of the channels or mediums by which they are conveyed. Although most writers on communication theory tend to lump together oral and written communication under the term “verbal communication,” verbal language can be rendered in oral and/or written form. For clarity, this course will attempt wherever possible to separate these two broadly defined aspects of communication and use the term “verbal” to mean “oral communication,” and “written” to refer to communication using some form symbolic of language. Do not let this make you lose sight of the fact that human language began as oral communication; written symbols evolved from spoken language. Humans still learn to communicate through spoken language before they learn to communicate via symbolic written language. The process of becoming a skilled communicator after childhood progresses to where our abilities in verbal and written communication become closely linked.

Summary

Nonverbal communication consists of message expressed by nonlinguistic means; that is, outside the realm of oral or written language. It is pervasive; in fact, nonverbal messages always are available as a source of information about others. Most nonverbal behavior conveys messages about relationships— attitudes and feelings—in contrast to verbal communication, which typically expresses ideas. However, nonverbal messages also metacommmunicate (essentially comment on other messages). As nonverbal messages are communicated through the face and eyes, body movement, touch, voice, physical space, time, physical appearance, clothing, and environment, they usually are more ambiguous than verbal communication. Culture plays a significant role in determining how we use nonverbal communication and what it means, making intercultural communication competence an especially attractive skill to employers.

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Some of the Communication Theories You Should Investigate This Week, Classified by Context

Context Theory Explanation Author Tradition Approach to Knowing

Nonverbal Communicatio n

Chronemics The study of our notions of time, how we use it, the timing of events, our emotional responses to time, and even the length of our pauses, all of which contribute to the communicative effect of time.

E. Hall, Gudykunst, Ting- Toomey

Socio- Cultural

Positivistic/Empiric al

Expectancy Violations Theory

Theory examines how nonverbal messages are structured. The theory advances that when communicative norms are violated, the violation may be perceived either favorably or unfavorably, depending on the perception that the receiver has of the violator. Violating another’s expectations may be a strategy used over that of conforming to

Burgoon Socio- Psychologica l

Positivistic/Empiric al

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another’s expectations.

Haptics The study of touch, a form of primitive communicatio n used to generate positive feelings, stimulate self- disclosure, communicate intentions, control the behaviors, attitudes, or feelings of other, engage in rituals such as greetings, and perform tasks.

Montagu, Jone, Yarbrough

Socio- Cultural

Positivistic/Empiric al

Kinesics The study of the way in which certain body movements and gestures serve as a form of nonverbal communicatio n.

Birdwhistell , Ekman, Friesen, Burgoon

Socio- Cultural

Positivistic/Empiric al

Oculesics The study of the role that eyes play in nonverbal communicatio n.

Ekman, Plutchik

Socio- Cultural

Positivistic/Empiric al

Proxemics This theory explains how different cultures develop and define space. On an unconscious level, people

E. Hall, Hargie, Dickson

Socio- Cultural

Positivistic/Empiric al

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internalize three types of space: 1) intimate space: our personal “bubble” for friends and intimate relationships; 2) social and consultative spaces: the space for routine social interactions with acquaintances and strangers; 3) public space: the space where impersonal and anonymous interactions occur.

Vocalics (Paralanguage )

These theories describe the vocal but nonverbal dimensions of communicatio n that characterize the utterance of verbal sequences— stress, pitch, rate, rhythm, volume, and pauses—and vocalizations— modulations such as vocal characterizers (i.e., laughing, crying, and yawning), vocal qualifiers (i.e.,

Trager, Argyle, Patterson

Socio- Cultural

Positivistic/Empiric al

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yelling or whispering), and vocal segregates (nonlexical utterances).

Fig. 1

Keywords

Nonverbal communication theories, proxemics, haptics, oculesics, chronemics, kinesics, paralanguage,

vocalics, body language, territoriality, symbolic interaction theory, communicator style, communication

competence

References

Andersen, P. (1997). Nonverbal communication: Forms and functions. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. Andersen, P., Hecht, M., Hoobler, G., & Smallwood, M. (2002). Nonverbal communication across

cultures. In W. Gudykunst & B. Mody (Eds.), The handbook of international and intercultural communication (2nd ed., pp. 89-106). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Argyle, M., Alkema, F., & Gilmour, R. (1971). The communication of friendly and hostile attitudes by

verbal and nonverbal signals. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 385-402. Berko, R. M., Wolvin, A. D., Wolvin, D. R., & Aitken, J. E. (2013). Communicating: A social, career and

cultural focus (12th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. Birdwhistell, R. L. (1970). Kinesics and context: Essays on body motion. Philadelphia, PA: University of

Pennsylvania Press. Burgoon, J. K. (1978). A communication model of personal space violations: Explication and an initial

test. Human Communication Research, 4, 129-142. Burgoon, J. K., Buller, D., & Woodall, W. (1996). Nonverbal communication: The unspoken dialog (2nd

ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Giri, V. N. (2009). Nonverbal communication theories. In S. W. Littlejohn and K. A. Foss (Eds.),

Encyclopedia of communication theory (Vol. 1, pp. 691-694). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Gudykunst, W. B. (1993). Toward a theory of effective interpersonal and intergroup communication: An

anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) perspective. In R. L. Wiseman & J. Koester (Eds.), Intercultural Communication Competence (pp. 33-71). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

Hall, E. (1959). The silent language. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

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Hickson, M. L., & Stacks, D. W. (1993). Nonverbal communication: Studies and applications (3rd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Brown & Benchmark.

Hickson, M. L., Stacks, D. W., & Moore, N. (2004). Nonverbal communication: Studies and applications.

Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury. Knapp, M. L., & Hall, J. (1997). Nonverbal communication in human interaction (4th ed.). New York, NY:

Harcourt Brace. Mehrabian, A. (1981). Silent messages: Implicit communication of emotions and attitudes (2nd ed.).

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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