Nonverbal Communication

Introduction The saying goes, “Look into a person’s eyes, and you will see their soul. ” But what is it about the eyes that hold so much? Why do the eyes embrace so much emotion, so many feelings? The eyes, along with other body aspects, are able to communicate to people in ways our words cannot, for “eye contact is an invitation to communicate. If you look directly into a person’s eyes, […] they will respond in some manner” (Andersen, 2004).

Albert Mehrabian (1967) stated that 55% of communication is body language, 38% of communication is tonality, and 7% of communication is the actual words that are spoken (Misunderstanding Section, line 2). Altogether, 93% of communication is unspoken words – what we use to give or withhold meaning from our words. Communication is a complicated, ongoing process of sending and receiving messages. These messages provide both implicit and explicit interpretations depending on the synchrony between the spoken word and the body language associated with it.

Body language is defined as “the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others” (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Knowing 93% of communication lies in unspoken word, teachers must put forth an effort to communicate through their actions and tone of voice, “Teachers should be aware of nonverbal communication in the classroom for two basic reasons: to become better receivers of students’ messages and to gain the ability to send positive signals that reinforce students’ learning while simultaneously becoming more skilled at avoiding negative signals that stifle their learning” (Miller, 2005).

Teachers need to be more concerned about their teaching-learning situations because “the pattern of behavior of the teacher affects the pattern of behavior of the learner” (Clark, 1978). With this, teachers must focus on changing the learner’s behavior by changing their own behavior. By paying attention to nonverbal communication, teachers can better manage their classroom and the learners in that environment. One major aspect of body language is eye contact, “When you fail to make eye contact with someone, you are treating her or him as a nonperson and inviting that person to not communicate” (Andersen, 2004, p. 6). Teachers know that students respond to how they treat them. Therefore, when they choose to interact with them, they can help regulate behaviors by maintaining eye contact. In fact, eye contact from the teacher is the most important nonverbal behavior, for “eye contact shows confidence, controls classroom interaction, and enables teachers to read the body language of their students. […] Increasing […] eye contact dramatically improves motivation in the learning process” (Andersen, 2004, p. 42). Review of Literature In 1507, Leonardo da Vinci revealed his now legendary painting Mona Lisa.

Studied by many and known by all, this painting was the first study to look at body language. It intrigues so many people because the painting is so complex, just like body language. The most interesting aspect of this painting is Mona’s smile. This smile portrays more than just one emotion. In addition, Mona’s gaze follows the viewer no matter the angle she is viewed from. There are many meanings and emotions hidden in this picture and that is why it arguably is the best-known painting in the world (Riding, 2005, lines 4-6).

In his book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin (1872) looked at how our emotions express our feelings and thoughts. Through his many studies, Darwin was able to prove that our expressions of emotions portray more than words. Darwin studied the eyes, nose, arms, voice, and many other body features in order to verify a correlation between body language and others’ perceptions. Often, our facial features correlate with our tone of voice in order to express a certain feeling, “The pitch of the voice bears some relation to certain states of feeling is tolerably clear” (Darwin, 1872, p. 03). This being true, one can easily sense another’s emotion, such as high spirits, by simply focusing on the unspoken word: A [person] in high spirits, though [he/she] may not actually smile, commonly exhibits some tendency to the retraction of the corners of his mouth. From the excitement of pleasure, the circulation becomes more rapid; the eyes are bright, and the colour of the face rises. The brain, being stimulated by the increased flow of blood, reacts on the mental powers; lively ideas pass still more rapidly through the mind, and the affections are warmed (Darwin, 1872, p. 696-697).

Darwin claims that our emotions are intricately intertwined with our whole body. Our emotions, mind, and body work as one to send signals to other people. People use body language to help drive interaction and keep others engaged. But what happens when our body language is not the same “language” as someone from another country? This poses a problem not only in society but in classrooms as well. Teachers are being asked more and more to create an atmosphere of inclusivity in order to accommodate for diverse populations including gender, ethnicity, religion, and ability. Debra Pitton et. al. 1993) stated teachers have a responsibility to provide the best possible educational experience day to day and this experience must include body language for many reasons: By incorporating the study of nonverbal messages into pre-service studies, teachers will more readily be able to help students become cognizant of culture, ethnicity, and gender as important variables in everyday life. This will also help students, as they will benefit from an increased appreciation of diversity when they assume their future roles as parents, teachers, community leaders, co-workers, employers, and citizens.

An inclusive education should facilitate the changes in climate necessary to ensure ongoing change, and knowledge of culturally specific nonverbal communication patterns can enhance this process (p. 2). Teachers’ goals are to help their students be active participants in their community and in society. In order to do so, students must be able to understand verbal and nonverbal communication signals as they relate from one person and one context to the next. Nonverbal relates to the unspoken word and a means to send messages that are “not sanctioned for verbal delivery by our culture” (Wiemann, 1975).

As humans, we have a particular strength to respond quickly and unconsciously pick up clues to other’s nonverbal behavior so that we can respond and react; however, we are culture-bound in what we see and can interpret those behaviors incorrectly depending on our background and experiences (Cohen, 1971). Nonverbal behavior is difficult to control or to censor. Nonverbal behavior comes naturally to an individual based on true emotions, feelings, and culture – it is less likely to be deceptive as verbal communication can be (Galloway, 1993).

With this, there seems to be a necessity for teachers to have complete control over their nonverbal behaviors in order to communicate to their students effectively. Students read more from their teacher’s body language than they do their actual words. In fact, most teachers “are not aware of the ways in which they transmit nonverbal messages to pupils. Classroom culture has its own nonverbal language and pupils absorb its nuances along with the spoken language” (Spanjer, 1972). Peter Andersen (2004) claims immediacy behaviors, hich “signal approach and availability, and send warm, stimulating messages to other people,” help teachers develop a positive relationship with their students. Some immediacy behaviors include touching, smiling, nodding, facing others, showing relaxation, leaning toward others, and synchronizing our conversations; however, in the classroom, the most important immediacy behavior is eye contact, “Teacher eye contact shows confidence, controls classroom interaction, and enables teachers to read the body language of their students” (Andersen, 2004).

Being able to read body language gives teachers an advantage at recognizing their students’ true emotions, enabling the teacher to be more effective on a minute-to-minute basis. By increasing immediacy behaviors, students’ motivation in the learning process dramatically improves (Andersen, 2004). Teachers need to be aware of immediacy behaviors, such as eye contact, in order to help their students’ succeed in the classroom and, ultimately, outside of the classroom. When it comes to motivating students to complete their work, nonverbal behavior is a prime factor in teacher effectiveness. Research studies [across K-college] found that learners at all levels reacted more favorably to teachers who used nonverbal immediacy cues. […] Increasing immediacy behaviors dramatically improves students’ motivation” (Goman, 2008). Andersen (2004) concluded people trust body language over the spoken word (p. 14).

People trust body language because it is spontaneous, multi-channeled, and possesses redundant qualities that make it very hard to completely fake (Andersen, 2004). This is applied in classrooms as well. Students rely on the teacher’s body language in order to interpret the meaning of their words; however, teachers are not well educated in the area of body language. No prerequisite courses are offered to teachers during their undergraduate/graduate years that help prepare them in nonverbal communication because it is still a largely unexplored area (Ligons, 1973).

Teachers must be aware of nonverbal communication in their classrooms because “nonverbal communication is the medium through which relationships are maintained, regulated, and guided within culturally-prescribed patterns” (Grove, 1976). Focusing on professional success in the classroom is crucial, especially at a changing time in education’s history with the passing of the Budget Bill by Governor Walker, “At a time when it is widely recognized that professional success is achieved with or through other people, the power of, nd the need for, good interpersonal skills couldn’t be greater” (Goman, 2008). Method The examination underlying this paper is a better understanding of how adverse nonverbal behavior (in relation to the spoken word) will, ultimately, negatively impact students emotionally, behaviorally, and academically that teachers find as “problem students,” “different,” and/or “difficult. This investigation began with the articleThe Nonverbal Advantage (Goman, 2008) and the evidence of increasing student motivation and success in the classroom by changing behavior. Understanding the importance of body language in the classroom setting provided a pathway of inquiry related to immediacy behaviors, student motivation/success, and the classroom teacher of the 21st century. This included reviewing research and articles from different time periods, even dating back to the late 19th century.

The information gathered proved the lack of current research existing in relation to nonverbal communication in a classroom setting; however, after reading multiple examples that verify the significance body language has in relation to student achievement, information regarding nonverbal behavior and its correlation to student motivation and achievement is imperative to know in order to progress not only certain classrooms but also schools as a whole.

A short survey of nine multiple choice questions and one open-ended question (optional to answer) focused on teachers’ views of nonverbal behavior in the profession of teaching and working with children. The survey also provided information regarding their awareness of their own nonverbal behavior along with their thoughts on the ability to change their nonverbal behavior.

The purpose of this research was to aid in providing valuable information to serve as a guide for teachers and administrators on how to change their behavior in order to change their students’ behavior and, ultimately, improve student achievement and motivation as well as schools’ success.

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Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Verbal and Nonverbal communication When we are communicating with verbal communication this involves a lot of the spoken word. Some principals of verbal communication are how you deliver your message, the tone you use, and the pitch of your voice. These principals are important in so many ways. When you are speaking with verbal communication it is important that you are confident in your message and be sure you know what you are talking about. Getting feedback in your communication is key to having a good conversation with others.

https://phdessay.com/sentence-and-verbal-communication/

If you are trying to communicate with someone that is hard of hearing it is important to speak clearly and slowly. Depending on the person that is receiving the message you want to speak in a tone that they understand and the communication that they would understand as well. If you are continuously having to yell at someone this message may not get across how you want it to. A message can be misunderstood because they are focused on the pitch and tone of your voice and they may think your upset about the topic you are trying to discuss.

Empathy is a good way to communicate with others. Understanding where they are coming from in the conversation will help with the delivery of your message. If you are on the receiving end of the communication be sure to ask questions just to make sure that you understand the message that the sender is sending. Nonverbal communication has a few principals and these are that when communicating with someone the key is the facial expressions, body language, eye contact, and open posture. These principals are a good way to communicate with someone nonverbally.

When communicating without the spoken word the next best thing is the facial expressions that we use. These facial expression are what the receiver see’s when a sender is trying to communicate without words. Your body language is another part of communication that people use often when they are trying to get a point across to another. Many people use their hands when they talk and this is considered visual communication. Eye contact can be used but we need to be careful how when we use the eye contact because other cultures may view this as disrespectful and they may feel that we are invading their space.

Your personal appearance is another good principal to understand when using nonverbal communication, people judge things by their covers and not what they know about them personally. Three good principals that are important for an effective communication are that you should make your message clear, confident, and delivered properly. These principals are key to having a good message getting across to the receiver of the message. Having clear communication is the key to having someone understand your message and the clearer the message the better the communication will go.

These three important principals work for verbal and nonverbal communication. I have had numerous communication mishaps in my life. One that really sticks out to me was this one time I was at work and a patient had asked me to do something for them, and I replied ok no problem. Now I usually just say that all the time because I am completely deaf in my right ear. So when I think I hear something a certain way really I am hearing the wrong thing. Anyways, this patient asked if I was going to give her a shower and I thought she wanted me to blow dry her hair.

This misunderstanding really upset her because she thought that I just wasn’t paying any attention to what she had said. Miscommunications happen often in the care homes because every patient is different and each one communicates differently. To promote good communication principals to the workplace it is always good to set an example for others to communicate better with others. Be sure to inform the employees that getting your message across to others is important, but it just as important on how you deliver the message to others. Having good eye contact with others is a good way to start a communication process.

Tell the employees to ask questions if they do not understand something and let them know it is ok to ask question. Your personal appearance is good to have when you are using nonverbal communication in the work place. Technology has come a long way from 30 years ago. Most of the times people in today’s world use email, facebook, or text message as a communication tool. You see less and less people communicating verbally. You do not get to use any of these principals in the new technology of communication, there is less eye contact, you really can’t see someone posture or facial expression, and body language is not clear.

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Observing Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is the process of communicating that is characterized by the absence of words but rather communicating, sending and receiving messages via bodily language, styles, and symbols.

I tried to observe this type of communication in the park with a particular male and female as a target subjects. A young man, possibly 20 yrs of age and a woman, more or less of the same age group, were ‘conversing’ in the park at 5 PM in the afternoon. I use the term ‘conversation’ loosely here. Using the concept of proxemics, parks would be classified under the group, public territory, but I note that, generally speaking, such places would have no control on the behavior of the people; people there would exceed territorial rights with regards to their behavior.

Without thoughtful analysis, the first idea that had entered my head was that the man and the woman were in a relation but apparently I cannot make a concluding statement about this. Physical appearances suggest informal relations as suggested by their casual appearances. Both were wearing pants with the female wearing a pink tank top and the male wearing a faded statement shirt. There is a high possibility that their meeting was not business or work associated. I disregarded Monochromatic time schedule in favor of Poly-chronic time schedule since the subjects conversation and appearances were evidently personal.

Kinesic communication of the subjects— facial expressions, body movements, gestures, and posture­—reveal one important thing; the subject’s conversation was neither intimate but rather harried, constrained and angry. There was an obvious lack of touch between the two which would denote ‘friendship’ or ‘love’. The woman was gesticulating her hands wildly, and at some point in time, she was waving her right hand at the right empty space indicating that she was ‘emphasizing’ something to the man. Her shoulders were not slumped but rather posed upwards indicating a highly constrained emotion.

Her feet was braced apart and she walking around wildly. Her face was clearly angry; her brows were drawn together in a frown and most probably her nostrils were growing bigger or flaring up, with her irises dilating indicating, a high emotional state. The sides of her mouth were slanted downwards as she was talking clearly indicating a negative emotion. Her curly hair was moving with the movement of her mouth. Blood was rushing to her face which makes her face really look red indeed. When the male was talking, she was ‘rolling her eyes’, indicating mockery and disbelief to what the person was saying. She was intentionally trying or trying to appear like she was not listening to the other person was saying when she was looking away at the other direction.

The male subject was equally angry. His stance, shoulders upwards were poised for a fight but he was defensive as indicated by the arms that were crossed high on his chest. When he was not talking, his lips were drawn in tight line and he was highly attentive what the female was saying because ‘he did not remove his eyes from her’. His eyes were in slits, indicating anger and at some point, he was also gesticulating his hands indicating that he was forcefully explaining something to the female.

I observed that proxemics for the park as a space was clearly loosely defined as to the public territorial usage; the subjects were clearly using the space for ‘personal’ purposes. Movement and body position of my subjects hinges towards negative emotional responses, ost specially that of charged anger. The subjects exhibited negative attitudes, and mostly involuntary non-verbal communication. All messages transmitted between the two were conscous and deliberate and not subliminal; their conversation was intended to say something and both were equally aware of it.

Bibliography

  1. Argyle, M. (1988). Bodily Communication. Madison: International UP.

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Nonverbal Communication: Emotions

Nonverbal communication is playing nowadays one of the most important roles in organizations and companies, because it is the only source of mutual understanding among employees and customers, directors and suppliers, etc. Apparently, one of the wide-spread barriers to communicate emotions is hierarchy or status. Hierarchy affects communication of emotions, because the fact that a person is a boss certainly creates barrier to open and sincere communication.

Boss is responsible for determining rewards and penalties and thus he is often treated negatively. Therefore, the only way to improve the situation is collaboration approach meaning that boss has to motivate employees to share information and, furthermore, he has to introduce rewarding systems for skillful employees to show that he really respects their work. Other obstacles involve cultural differences, dreaming, flittering, judging, analyzing and many others.

Understanding how to communicate emotions effectively will help to promote creating smoothly working project teams; responding to customers, clients, and markets; living and working in a culturally diverse world. Effective nonverbal communication skills are really important, because they will assist in better company’s performance either in domestic or international market. In a modern swiftly changing world people and cultures are circulating and interacting as at a really dizzying speed.

Those people who know how to use emotions and how to communicate them effectively have a crucial advantage over others. Emotions are very important in group communications. The main benefits of communication emotions are that they replace verbal communications, complement verbal communication enhancing the message sent and express interpersonal attitudes, thoughts and feelings.

The possible ways to improve communication of emotions are smile making the communication more pleasant, friendly and warm; trust and honesty in business relations; ability to help and assist others in resolving internal conflicts.

References

  1. Collins, Susie. (2005). How To Dramatically Improve Communication in Your Relationship and Start Getting More of The Love You Really Want In Just One Evening. Retrieved January 8, 2007, from http://www.communication-magic.com/

 

 

 

 

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Nonverbal Communication Narrative Essay

Table of contents

Pertains to the course of communication that involves the transfer and receipt of messages that are not related to the use of words (Knapp and Hall, 2007).  The messages transferred to the listener are generally associated with body language, as well as gestures, posture, external appearance or clothing, facial manifestations and even hairstyles.  Nonverbal communication is thus strongly influenced by visual messages which symbolize particular meanings to the listener.  Other paralanguage forms of nonverbal communication include the quality of the speaker’s voice and his style of speaking.  It should be noted that any features related to stress and rhythm of the speaker’s voice may also influence how a listener receives a speaker’s message.

In the workplace, nonverbal communications play an important role in the interactions among co-workers, as well as the interrelationship between supervisor and his subordinate.  It is well known that the employees at a workplace need to work together and cooperate in order to achieve the status of a productive company.  Cooperation and harmony are thus closely related to the trust and confidence of each employee to himself and to his co-workers and these factors are often influenced by both verbal and nonverbal communications among individuals in the workplace (Ottenheimer, 2007).

It should be understood that even if the right phrases and words were expressed by an individual, the actual message of the spoken words and sentences are often changed by the accompanying nonverbal signals that the speaker is showing to the listener.  These nonverbal signs may or may not be consciously being shown yet it is a fact that these nonverbal signs often modify the message that is sent out to the listener.

  • In a meeting at my workplace, our supervisor was suggesting some changes to the organization and functioning of our small company.  Changes in our company are not a common occurrence, hence there was some shock among the members of the workplace as soon as the supervisor mentioned about the plan of modifying particular functions of specific members of the office.  I noticed that our supervisor was a bit uptight while he was proceeding to describe the changes that he would implement at the workplace.

His voice was a bit hard and had a lower tone, which I usually do not hear during regular peaceful workdays.  In addition, the supervisor was sweating in his forehead hence this gave me two impressions.  Firstly, he was nervous, possibly because he knew that the topic he was discussing with the members of the workforce was not the best topic to talk about.  Secondly, I felt that our supervisor was not sure about his plan and he just wants to try out this new plan in order to determine whether this plan is indeed the right action to perform in order to solve the problem.  On the other hand, my co-workers were quiet while listening to our supervisor and there was not a single smile or voice from my co-workers.

  • When our supervisor finished explaining his plan of changing specific functions of particular individuals in our workplace, there were contradictions that came from some members of the office.  One co-worker asked why our supervisor came up with this plan.

However, I also noticed that this particular co-worker gave out his question with a low voice, too, just the same as our supervisor and this low voice made me feel that our co-worker was not pleased and was actually upset over the changes that the supervisor was planning to implement.  At this point, the supervisor tried to explain his side of the plan with a normal pitched voice and this made our co-worker listen and understand why such changes would be implemented in our workplace, and that is to increase the sales of the company.

  •  Nonverbal communications strongly influence the success or failure of communications because it provides additional senses and emotions to the messages that are being exchanged between individuals, including the sense of sight and even sound (Hargie and Dickson, 2004).  For example, it is easier to talk to a person who speaks in a soft voice than deal with a person who speaks with a very loud voice.
  • The use words in communication often involves meanings hence individuals should be careful with their choice of words because there a certain words that are linked to denotations or connotations.  For example, if a co-worker calls a female co-worker a queen, this may either mean that she is very productive and knowledgeable at work, or this may mean that she is only good for bossing people around.  Hence the use of words may be tricky and an individual should be cautious when describing specific individuals and issues at the workplace.
  • An effective listening technique that may be employed by a manager is to carry an attentive facial expression while hearing out a subordinate’s message.  In addition, a manager may also try to nod to the employee every now and then, in order to let the employee feel that he is welcome to express his ideas and concerns to his supervisor.  The nodding of the manager does not mean that he agrees to everything that the subordinate says, but it means that he is listening to what the subordinate is saying.

Conclusion:

Nonverbal communication is generally associated with body language, gestures and posture as well as paralanguage forms that influence the success or failure of exchanges between individuals because it provides additional senses and emotions to the messages that are being sent out to other individuals.  Nonverbal communications play an important role in the interactions among co-workers, as well as the interrelationship between supervisor and his subordinate because it positive communications promote cooperation and harmony between individuals.

Reference

  1. Hargie O and Dickson D  (2004): Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and practice. Hove: Routledge Publishers.
  2. Knapp ML and Hall JA (2007): Nonverbal communication in human interaction, 5th ed. Wadsworth: Thomas Learning.
  3. Ottenheimer HJ (2007):  The anthropology of language: An introduction to linguistic anthropology, Kansas State: Thomson Wadsworth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nonverbal Communication Critique Essay

Nonverbal communication is a very large part of human communication behavior. The types of nonverbal communication can range from a simple smile to an obvious avoidance of eye contact, but each behavior carries a direct message that can be understood by all the individuals in a public communication situation. Nonverbal communication, for use in this […]

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Nonverbal Communication: a Serious Business Advantage

Business Advantage 2 Nonverbal Communication: A Serious Business Advantage Whether it is called intuition or just good judgment, the ability to perceive and to use nonverbal cues to one’s advantage gives the business person the power and the skill to be more successful. T. S. Eliot wrote in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, […]

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