Oral Communication-Nonverbal Communication

Action Language

•Relatively larger actions or activities that others may give meaning to. *Are subject to a variety of interpretations. *EX: Going to church, working ten hours a day, skipping class, shoplifting, etc.

Nonverbal Communication

*A leakage channel that may reveal feelings and emotions. *When you give meaning to nonword symbols. *It often more subtle--less obvious--than verbal messages. *A way of conveying messages of attitude, relationship, and feeling.

Sign Language

*Any type of gesture that is assigned specific denotative meaning by the sender. This means the sender can reasonably assume the receiver will give his/her gesture a meaning that is similar to the one intended. *The sender, however, can never be certain the receiver will assign the intended meaning as there is no meaning in the symbol or gesture itself. •Includes nodding yes or no •Includes waving hello/good-bye • Includes shrugging one's shoulders •Includes shaking one's fist

EYE CONTACT

*Communicates evaluative judgments interest of Exhibits intensity. * Shows degree of Reveals over one-half of all emotion meaning in a message of conflict The facial expressions of happiness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise are performed similarly in all cultures. *This cultural universality is unique to facial expressions among the major forms of nonverbal communication. *Can show affection, inclusion, involvement. * Can also be used to establish dominance and control, or to show aggression Encourages feedback by signaling that the communication channel is open. * Is avoided when no social or intimate contact is desired Is greatly affected by distance between communicators and tasks the appearance and personality of communicators cultural norms

PARALINGUISTICS

*Includes how we speak (does not include what we say) *Includes vocal pitch, rate of speech inflection, volume, quality of enunciation and even silence *Includes vocal sounds that are not words (uhm, ah, ugh, laughter, etc.) *Also includes the way in which written messages are delivered: printed, typed cheap or expensive paper, etc. *Has a large influence on the speakers. credibility *Culturally governed

Object Language

*Intentional or unintentional display of objects that might serve as statements about their user. *Possessions (clothes, jewelry, cars, furniture, etc.) can be used as a status or personality indicator. * Possessions can be used to signal status, personality, background about the sender that may be accurate or inaccurate Ex. Bracelets and the car that drives.

FACIAL EXPRESSION

*It communicates evaluative judgments. *EXPRESSION Reveals interest or lack of it *Exhibits intensity * Shows degree of involvement/understanding *Reveal over one-half of all emotional meaning in a message of conflict *The facial expressions of happiness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise are performed similarly in all cultures. This cultural universality is unique to facial expressions among the major forms of nonverbal communication.

Miscoded Cues

*Nonverbal communication in which cues are received perceived, but are misinterpreted. *Nonverbals that are assigned a significantly different meaning by the receiver than the sender intended *May occur because nonverbals are imprecise by nature. * May occur because of the unique frame of reference of every communicator and the perceptual differences this creates on a regular basis * Nonverbal miscodes are more likely than verbal miscodes because nonverbals are not a precise language

Missed Cues

*Nonverbal communication that is not received perceived during the communication interaction, but is important to the sender's message. i.e., the receiver does not physically perceive the important nonverbals. *May be missed because of the receiver's temporary inattention *May be missed because the nonverbal cue was weak or vague *May be missed because other cues distracted the receiver's attention.

ENVIRONMENT

*Refers to all the factors in the environment that influence the communication climate * Temperature, seating arrangement, elevation differences, room colors *Culturally determined and regulated

Proxemics

*Refers to the human use of space as symbolically significant behavior. *Two Types: A. Personal Space B. Territoriality *Both are strongly influenced by assumed roles, the status in those roles, the degree of intimacy in the relationship, and cultural norms. *Violation of personal and/or territorial space often leads to defensive behaviors

TACTILE COMMUNICATION

*Refers to touching behavior * Can be used as a positive/negative force *Can suggest power/status differences social roles, gender perceptions, etc.) *Some controversial studies suggest that in adult relationships, men touch more than women. This behavior has been interpreted as reflecting a higher status privilege for men. *Culturally regulated

Kinesics

*Relatively small, simple gestures, movements, postures, or behaviors that are part of a larger message • Often are not intended •Are subject to a variety of interpretations • Ex. Folding arms, slouching, crossing legs, scratching head, tapping on a desk, wiggling your feet, etc.

Territoriality

*Space that a person feels his/her own is (a room, dinner chair, private place, etc.) *Is usually unmovable

Personal Space

*Space that surrounds a person and moves with him/her from place to place Four degrees or zones of personal space: 1. intimate distance (touch to 18") 2. personal distance (18" to 4) 3. social distance (4' to 12) 4. public distance (exceeds 12) *The zone of social distance is used most often in our daily encounters

CHRONEMICS

*The study of how we perceive, structure, use, and react to time. *Includes perceptions of when someone is "on time" and the significance of being "late" *Our perception of time is culturally determined *Includes how an individual fills his/her time, i.e., always busy, slacker * Includes cultural definitions of the "right time" to get married, have children, retire, etc.

Some techniques for improving your effectiveness as a receiver of contradictory nonverbal and verbal communication are:

1. Consider as many of the verbal variables in the communication situation as you possibly can. 2. Consider all available verbal cues. 3. When a contradiction occurs between the verbal and nonverbal messages, get more information before forming hasty conclusions. 4. Remember that we are inclined to believe nonverbal messages over verbal messages despite the fact that our reading of nonverbals is often prone to error. Therefore, keep your opinions tentative and resist deciding which message (the verbal or nonverbal is true. 5. Describe to the other person the contradiction you find between the verbal and nonverbal messages you have received. Ask for clarification

I. An Overview of Nonverbal Communication

A. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION is defined as the process of creating meaning through the use of nonword symbols. B. NONVERBAL SYMBOLS. Any symbol that is not specifically a word is automatically defined as a nonverbal symbol. *This includes gestures, objects, actions, facial expressions, eye contact, etc. *Even the way in which a word is presented (tone of voice, hand writing, etc.) is defined separately as a nonverbal. *This means it is impossible to communicate without the presence of at least some nonverbal symbols.

II. Some PRINCIPLES of nonverbal communication

A. Nonverbal communication is not a precise language. As one example, a single gesture can easily be assigned more than one meaning. Nonverbals are often vague or unintended. When compared to verbal communication, nonverbal communication is highly prone to misinterpretation. B. There are often not enough words to represent the complex feelings and ideas we want to express. Nonverbals partially compensate for this inadequacy C. Nonverbal communication is continuous. "We cannot not communicate." We're not always aware of what we're communicating.

Causes of Nonverbal Miscoded Cues

Attaching meaning to a random unintentional movement. Attaching an unintended meaning to an intentional cue Communicators not sharing similar cultural backgrounds.

An Overview of Nonverbal Communication (part II)

C. We send and receive messages consciously or unconsciously through our use of and attention to Ten Primary Message Systems. They are.. 1. Defense (How we protect ourselves) 2. Earning a Living (Occupation and income) 3. Learning (Degrees, knowledge, experience) 4. Ranking/Roles (Perceived status, social roles) 5. Recreation (what you do with your leisure time) 6. Sex Roles (Display of gender identity and traits) 7. Territoriality (ownership and use of physical space) 8. Time (How you regard and use time, punctuality, etc.) 9. Use of Resources (what you make of what you have) 10. Speech, writing (Statements made, verbal skills) Only one of these is verbal spoken or written words. The remaining nine message systems utilize nonverbal symbols to communicate. The overwhelming majority of our communication takes place on a nonverbal level

Some PRINCIPLES of nonverbal communication (Part II)

D. communication is especially persuasive and powerful in communicating emotions. It tends to have much generating more impact than does verbal communication in empathy and the perception of authentic feelings. E. Nonverbals are sometimes difficult to keep under control. As a result, our true emotions will, at times, "leak" through in telltale hints of nervousness, anger, boredom, etc. We are frequently unaware of the nonverbal messages we are sending. F. messages are often seen as more credible or believable than verbal messages. When a contradiction occurs between the verbal and nonverbal messages, we tend to believe the nonverbals more. This can create problems, because nonverbals are so prone to being misinterpreted. G. Nonverbals are more subtle--less obvious--than verbal messages. This can be an advantage when we are hesitant to be straightforward about our real feelings. It can also be a disadvantage in those situations in which we cannot find the words to express our feelings, and we truly want the other person to understand our thoughts. H. Nonverbal communication is culturally learned and governed by cultural norms. In order to communicate effectively with another culture (intercultural communication) we must not only learn and understand their verbal language system, but also their nonverbal language systems. I. Nonverbal communication primarily serves to define the nature of the relationship between communicators. Verbal communication, on the other hand, emphasizes the content or informational aspect of communication. For instance, to promote inclusion, involvement, and reduce power differences between communicators: 1. establish equal seating/equal standing positions 2. remove physical barriers 3. maintain comfortable eye contact 4. dress appropriately

Physical Appearance

Has four main dimensions: a. object language b. sign language c. kinesics d. action language

Examples of Miscoded Cues

Hearing a siren and thinking it is on your car radio when it is in fact the ambulance trying to pass your car. Interpreting the smile on your boss' face as sarcastic when it was meant to be sincere.

III. There are EIGHT FORMS Nonverbal Communication.

It is important to remember that meaning does not reside in these nonverbal forms. Meaning is only in the sender and receiver.

Some PRINCIPLES of nonverbal communication (Part III)

J. Nonverbal communication is a powerful tool that has been used throughout history in all social and political issues. It can be a language of dissent, protest, revolution, or for maintaining the current state of things.

Examples of Missed Cues

Not noticing the tension in the sender's voice when the sender said, "It doesn't matter". Crossing the train track unaware of the blinking red lights at the crossing.

Causes of Nonverbal Missed Cues

Receiver not perceiving a cue that is important to understanding meaning External noise(conditions in the environment that interfere with listening)

V. NONVERBAL AND VERBAL INTERRELATIONSHIPS

There are many possible combinations of relationships between messages and nonverbal This is significant every verbal message is accompanied by some nonverbal message. Listed below are some of the message relationships IMPORTANT: Any one message can simultaneously illustrate than one relationship. They are not mutually exclusive. A. Nonverbal messages often REPLACE or SUBSTITUTE FOR verbal messages B. Nonverbals can REINFORCE or CLARIFY verbal messages. C. Nonverbals can REGULATE the flow of the verbal message. (eye contact, facial expression, personal space, etc.) D. Nonverbals can CONTRADICT verbal messages, causing ambiguity

IV. PROBLEMS DECODING NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION.

There are two causes of the inaccurate interpretation of nonverbal messages; these contribute to communication barriers and breakdowns.