Non-Verbal Communication
KOPPACT K-KINESICS O-OCCULETICS P-PARALANGUAGE P-PROXEMICS A-ARTIACTS C-C!RONEMICS T-T -TACTILICS ACTILICS "!EPTICS#TOUC!$ "!EPTICS# TOUC!$ %&at i' non-(erbal communication)
Definition (CBC): “nonverbal communication involves those nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting that are generated by both the source [speaker] and his or her use of the environment and that have potential message value for the source or receiver [listener] [listener] (amovar et al)! Basically it is sending and receiving messages in a variety of "ays "ithout the use of verbal codes ("ords)! #t is both intentional and unintentional! $ost speakers % listeners listeners are not conscious of this! Non(erbal Communication
&'C can be communicated through gestures and touch (aptic communication) by body language or posture by facial e*pression and eye contact! peech contains nonverbal elements kno"n as paralanguage including +uality emotion emotion and speaking style as "ell as prosodic features such as rhythm intonation and stress &onverbal communication is the process of communication of communication through through sending and receiving "ordless (mostly visual visual)) cues bet"een people! #t is also seen as the nonlinguistic transmission of information through visual auditory tactile and kinesthetic channels![,] $istakenly referred to as body language (kinesthetics) nonverbal communication encompasses much more such as use of voice (paralanguage) ga-e (oculesics) touch (haptics) distance (pro*emics) time (chronemics) and physical environments%appearance
#t includes . but is not limited to: touch o glance o eye contact (ga-e) o volume o
vocal nuance pro*imity gestures facial e*pression / pause (silence) intonation dress posture smell "ord choice and synta* sounds (paralanguage)
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*roa+l, 'ea.in/0 t&ere are t1o ba'ic cate/orie' o2 non-(erbal lan/ua/e3
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&onverbal messages produced by the body0 &onverbal messages produced by the broad setting (time space silence)
%&, i' non-(erbal communication imortant)
Basically it is one of the key aspects of communication (and especially important in a high1conte*t culture)! #t has multiple functions: o o
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2sed to reeat the verbal message (e!g! point in a direction "hile stating directions! 3ften used to accent a verbal message! (e!g! verbal tone indicates the actual meaning of the specific "ords)! 3ften comlement the verbal message but also may contradict! 4!g!: a nod reinforces a positive message (among 5mericans)0 a “"ink6 may contradict a stated positive message! Re/ulate interactions (non1verbal cues covey "hen the other person should speak or not speak)! $ay 'ub'titute for the verbal message (especially if it is blocked by noise interruption etc) . i!e! gestures (finger to lips to indicate need for +uiet) facial e*pressions (i!e! a nod instead of a yes)!
&ote the implications of the proverb: “5ctions speak louder than "ords!6 #n essence this underscores the importance of non1verbal communication! &on1verbal communication is especially significant in intercultural situations! 7robably non1verbal differences account for typical difficulties in communicating! T,e' o2 Non(erbal Communication • • • •
8inesics 1 body position 9 motion aptics 1 touch 7hysical appearance 5rtifacts 1 personal obects
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4nvironmental factors 7ro*emics 1 use of space Chronemics 1 time 7aralanguage 1 ho" "e speak1 ;one 7itch 9 'oice ilence
Kine'ic'
;he term
?) by @ay Bird"histell an anthropologist "ho "ished to study ho" people communicate through posture gesture stance and movement! 7art of Bird"histellAs "ork involved making films of people in social situations and analy-ing them to sho" different levels of communication not clearly seen other"ise! everal other anthropologists including $argaret $ead and regory Bateson also studied kinesics! 8inesic messages are more subtle than gestures![] 8inesic messages comprise the posture ga-e and facial movements![E] 5merican looks are short enough ust to see if there is recognition of the other person 5rabs look at each other in the eye intensely and many 5fricans avert the ga-e as a sign of respect to superiors! [F] ;here are also many postures for people in the Congo0 they stretch their hands and put them together in the direction of the other person![=]
!atic'3 touc&in/ in communication
aptics is the study of touching as nonverbal communication and haptic communication refers to ho" people and other animals communicate via touching! ;ouches among humans that can be defined as communication include handshakes holding hands kissing (cheek lips hand) back slapping high fives a pat on the shoulder and brushing an arm! ;ouching of oneself may include licking picking holding and scratching! ;hese behaviors are referred to as
cloth that provided a level of tactile stimulation and comfort "ere considerably more emotionally stable as adults than those "ith a mere "ire mother!(arlo",=>F) ;ouching is treated differently from one country to another and socially acceptable levels of touching vary from one culture to another (@emland ?GG=)! #n ;hai culture for e*ample touching someoneAs head may be thought rude! @emland and Hones (,==>) studied groups of people communicating and found that touching "as rare among the 4nglish (FI) the Jrench (>I) and the Dutch (I) compared to #talians (,I) and reeks (,?!>I)![>,] triking pushing pulling pinching kicking strangling and hand1to1hand fighting are forms of touch in the conte*t of physical abuse!
Paralan/ua/e3 non(erbal cue' o2 t&e (oice
'arious acoustic properties of speech such as tone pitch and accent collectively kno"n as prosody can all give off nonverbal cues! 7aralanguage may change the meaning of "ords! 7rosody may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: 1 the emotional state of a speaker0 1 "hether an utterance is a statement a +uestion or a command0 1 "hether the speaker is being ironic or sarcastic0 emphasis contrast and focus0 other elements of language that may not be encoded by grammar or choice of vocabulary! 7aralanguage
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vocal characteri-ers (laugh cry yell moan "hine belch ya"n)! ;hese send different messages in different cultures (Hapan . giggling indicates embarrassment0 #ndia K belch indicates satisfaction) vocal +ualifiers (volume pitch rhythm tempo and tone)! Loudness indicates strength in 5rabic cultures and softness indicates "eakness0 indicates confidence and authority to the ermans0 indicates impoliteness to the ;hais0 indicates loss of control to the Hapanese! (enerally one learns not to “shout6 in 5sia for nearly any reasonM)! ender based as "ell: "omen tend to speak higher and more softly than men! vocal segregates (un1huh shh uh ooh mmmh humm eh mah lah)! egregates indicate formality acceptance assent uncertainty!
U'e o2 Sace
patial $essages •
7ersonal pace
pace that surrounds a person in "hich they are made comfortable or uncomfortable! #t is a personal bubble of space that moves "ith you! o
alls Distances #ntimate distance: G1,F inches 7ersonal Distance: ,F1F inches ocial Distance: 1,? feet 7ublic Distance: beyond ,? feet
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;erritoriality our need to establish and maintain certain spaces as our o"n! (non1verbal indicators that o signal o"nership) #n a dorm room1 items on the common desk mark territory! o
Per'onal Sace T&eorie' •
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7rotection ;heory you establish a protective body buffer -one o 4+uilibrium ;heory intimacy and distance vary together o 4*pectancy 'iolations ;heory e*plains "hat happens "hen you N or O distance! o
Time444 •
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Displaced time vie"s time e*actly! o Diffused time orientation appro*imate rather than e*act! o ;ime is Cultural for e*ample: Hapan 11 clocks "ere e*act and fastest "alkers o 4ngland #taly ;ai"an and 2 in bet"een o #ndonesian 11 slo"est "alkers and least e*act! o
Monoc&ronic an+ Pol,c&ronic •
$onochronic Does one thing at a time! o ;ime is very seriousM o Hob tends to be more important than family even! o
7rivacy is e*tremely important! eldom borro"s or lends Porks independent 7olychronic Does several things at a time! o ;ime is important but not sacred! o Jamily and interpersonal relationships are more important than "ork! o 5ctively involved "ith others! o o
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Cultural 5i22erence' in Non-(erbal Communication
eneral 5ppearance and Dress 5ll cultures are concerned for ho" they look and make udgements based on looks and dress! 5mericans for instance appear almost obsessed "ith dress and personal attractiveness! Consider differing cultural standards on "hat is attractive in dress and on "hat constitutes modesty! &ote "ays dress is used as a sign of status/ *o+, Mo(ement
Pe send information on attitude to"ard person (facing or leaning to"ards another) emotional statue (tapping fingers iggling coins) and desire to control the en vironment (moving to"ards or a"ay from a person)! $ore than EGGGGG possible motions "e can make . so impossible to categori-e them allM But ust need to be a"are the body movement and position is a key ingredient in sending messages!
Po'ture
Consider the follo"ing actions and note cultural differences: o o o o o o
Bo"ing (not done critici-ed or affected in 20 sho"s rank in Hapan) louching (rude in most &orthern 4uropean areas) ands in pocket (disrespectful in ;urkey) itting "ith legs crossed (offensive in hana ;urkey) ho"ing soles of feet! (3ffensive in ;hailand audi 5rabia) 4ven in 2 there is a gender difference on acceptable posture/
Ge'ture'
#mpossible to catalog them all! But need to recogni-e: ,) incredible possibility and variety and ?) that an acceptable in oneQs o"n culture may be offensive in another! #n addition amount of gesturing varies from culture to culture! ome cultures are animated0 other restrained! @estrained cultures often feel animated cultures lack manners and overall restraint! 5nimated cultures often feel restrained cultures lack emotion or interest! 4ven simple things like using hands to point and count differ! 7ointing : 2 "ith inde* finger0 ermany "ith little finger0 Hapanese "ith entire h and (in fact most 5sians consider pointing "ith inde* finger to be rude) Counting: ;humb R , in ermany > in Hapan middle finger for , in #ndonesia!
acial E6re''ion'
Phile some say that facial e*pressions are identical meaning attached to them differs! $aority opinion is that these do have similar meanings "orld1"ide "ith respect to smiling crying or sho"ing anger sorro" or disgust! o"ever the intensity varies from culture to culture! &ote the follo"ing: o o
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$any 5sian cultures suppress facial e*pression as much as possible! $any $editerranean (Latino % 5rabic) cultures e*aggerate grief or sadness "hile most 5merican men hide grief or sorro"! ome see “animated6 e*pressions as a sign of a lack of control! ;oo much smiling is vie"ed in as a sign of shallo"ness! Pomen smile more than men!
E,e Contact an+ Ga7e
#n 25 eye contact indicates: degree of attention or interest influences attitude change or persuasion regulates interaction communicates emotion defines po"er and status and has a central role in managing impressions of others! o
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Pestern cultures . see direct eye to eye contact as positive (advise children to look a person in the eyes)! But "ithin 25 5frican15mericans use more eye contact "hen talking and less "hen listening "ith reverse true for 5nglo 5mericans! ;his is a possible cause for some sense of unease bet"een races in 2! 5 prolonged ga-e is often seen as a sign of se*ual interest! 5rabic cultures make prolonged eye1contact! . believe it sho"s interest and helps them understand truthfulness of the other person! (5 person "ho doesnQt reciprocate is seen as untrust"orthy) Hapan 5frica Latin 5merican Caribbean . avoid eye contact to sho" respect!
Touc&
Suestion: Phy do "e touch "here do "e touch and "hat meanings do "e assign "hen someone else touches us/
#llustration: 5n 5frican15merican male goes into a convenience store recently taken over by ne" 8orean immigrants! e gives a T?G bill for his purchase to $rs Cho "ho is cashier and "aits for his change! e is upset "hen his change is put do"n on the counter in front of him! Phat is the problem/ ;raditional 8orean (and many other 5sian countries) donQt touch strangers! especially bet"een members of the opposite se*! But the 5frican15merican sees this as another e*ample of discrimination (not touching him because he is black)! Basic ans"er: ;ouch is culturally determinedM But each culture has a clear concept of "hat parts of the body one may not touch! Basic message of touch is to affect or control . protect support disapprove (i!e! hug kiss hit kick)! o
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25 . handshake is common (even for strangers) hugs kisses for those of opposite gender or of family (usually) on an increasingly more intimate basis! &ote differences bet"een 5frican15mericans and 5nglos in 25! $ost 5frican 5mericans touch on greeting but are annoyed if touched on the head (good boy good girl overtones)! #slamic and indu: typically donQt touch "ith the left hand! ;o do so is a social insult! Left hand is for toilet functions! $annerly in #ndia to break your bread only "ith your right hand (sometimes difficult for non1#ndians) #slamic cultures generally donQt approve of any touching bet"een genders (even hand shakes)! But consider such touching (including hand holding hugs) bet"een same1se* to be appropriate! $any 5sians donQt touch the head (ead houses the soul and a touch puts it in eopardy)!
Basic patterns: Cultures (4nglish erman candinavian Chinese Hapanese) "ith h igh emotional restraint concepts have little public touch0 those "hich en courage emotion (Latino $iddle14ast He"ish) accept fre+uent touches!
Smell
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25 . fear of offensive natural smells (billion dollar industry to mask obectionable odors "ith "hat is perceived to be pleasant ) . again connected "ith “attractiveness6 concept! $any other cultures consider natural body odors as normal (5rabic)! 5sian cultures (Jilipino $alay #ndonesian ;hai #ndian) stress fre+uent bathing . and often critici-e 25 of not bathing often enoughM
