Interpersonal

Nonverbal
Nonverbal

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Verbal Nonverbal
Communication Communication

• The words we • Actions, vocal

use qualities, and
activities that
typically
accompany a
verbal message

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The Nature of Nonverbal
Communication
• Affective

• Ambiguous

• Continuous

• Multi-channeled

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Functions of Nonverbal
Communication
• Substitute
Verbal
• Complement Communication
• Contradict

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 Nonverbal
Communication
• Facial expression and eye contact
• Kinesics (body motion)
• Proxemics and personal space
• Artifacts
• Touch (haptics)
t hiinngg
• Paralanguage
E v e
e r
ryyth
• Chronemics (time) Ev
xc eep
p tt
• Physical characteristics eex c
tthhee
or dd ss!!
w
wo r
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When nonverbal
and verbal
contradict, we
tend to accept
the nonverbal
inference.

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Uses of Body Motion
• Emblems
• Illustrators
• Affect display
• Regulators
• Adaptors

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 Emblems

• Nonverbal
gestures that take
the place of a
word or phrase

Microsoft Photo
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 Illustrators
Nonverbal gestures that complement
what a speaker is saying

Microsoft Photo
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 Affect Displays

• Facial
expressions and
gestures that
augment the
verbal expression
of feelings

Microsoft Photo
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 Regulators
Facial expressions or gestures that
are used to control or regulate the
flow of a conversation

Microsoft Photo
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Adaptors

• Body motions
that are used to
relieve tension
Microsoft Photo

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Facial expression is the
strongest nonverbal
communicator
Of the face the eye
communicates more than
any other feature.
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Eye Contact
The majority of people
in the United States
and other Western
cultures expect
people to look them in
Microsoft Photo the eye when
communicating.

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Eye Contact
• Japanese direct their
gaze to a position around
the Adam’s apple.
• Chinese, Indonesians,
and Mexicans lower their
eyes as a sign of
deference.
Microsoft Photo

• Arabs look intently into

others’ eyes showing
keen interest.

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 Paralanguage
Vocal communication minus the words

• Pitch
• Volume
• Rate
• Quality

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Touch
• Touching and
being touched are
essential to a
healthy life
• Touch can
communicate
power, empathy,
understanding
Microsoft Photo

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Self-Presentation

• What message do
you wish to send
with your choice
of clothing and
Microsoft Photo personal
grooming?

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Time
• How do we
manage and react
to others’
management of
time
– duration
– activity
– punctuality
Microsoft Photo

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Polychronic and monochronic
variations of time exist within
cultures. Should we ask
polychronics to conform in the
workplace?

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 Proxemics - how we use the
space around us - our environment
• Intimate distance, up to 18”, is appropriate
for private conversations between close
friends.
• Personal distance, from 18”- 4’, is the space
in which casual conversation occurs.
• Social distance, from 4’ – 12’, is where
impersonal business such as job interviews
is conducted.
• Public distance is anything more than 12’
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 Personal Space at Work
• Your office
• Your desk
• A table in the cafeteria
that you sit at
regularly

Microsoft Photo
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 Color Influences
Communication
Yellow cheers Red excites Blue comforts
and and and
elevates moods stimulates soothes

In some In some
cultures cultures
black suggests white suggests
mourning purity

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Nonverbal Signals
Vary from culture to
culture

Microsoft Photo
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What does this symbol
mean to you?
• In the United States it is a
symbol for good job
• In Germany the number
one
• In Japan the number five
• In Ghana an insult
• In Malaysia the thumb is
used to point rather than a
finger
-Atlantic Committee for the Olympic Games
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To improve our
communication . . .
We need to monitor our own nonverbal
communication and exercise care in
interpreting that of others.

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