Module Eight:

Nonverbal Messages

In pairs turn your back to your mate.

Recount your most embarrassing moment without looking at your partner (the person behind you) – use words only

Now tell the person you are looking at the same story

In Pairs

7

• Communication without words

• The message sent must be received in some way by at least one

other person

Nonverbal Messages

• Nonverbal communication is more multidimensional, depending on such things as physical appearance, body movements, facial expressions, touch vocal characteristics, and the communication context

• Everyone uses nonverbal communication

Nonverbal Messages

• Accenting – emphasize• I love you.

• Contradicting – ie winking to show lies

• Complementing – add nuances: smile, frown

• Regulating – control flow of verbals: um, pauses

• Repeating – restate verbal messages: eyebrows raised

• Substituting – take place of verbals: thumbs up,nod

Verbal-Nonverbal Interaction

Top of page 141

Read “Thinking Critically About”

Forming and managing impressions

Forming and defining relationships

Structuring conversation and social interaction

Influencing and deceiving

Expressing emotions

Read pages 142-3

Nonverbal Communication Functions

Two men who have not seen each other for a long time meet on the street

Two women who have not seen each other for a long time meet on the street

Three women sitting around the table in a bar talking

Three men sitting around the table in a bar talking

A male student telling his roommate about his girlfriend breaking up with him

A female student telling her roommate about her boyfriend breaking up with her

Role Play

Smell

Face

Time

Artifacts

Touch

Body

Eyes

Paralanguage

Silence

Space

Channels of Nonverbal Communication

Emblems are gestures that directly translate into words – thumbs up – good job

Illustrators enhance the verbal message they accompany – ie gesture to left

Affect displays communicate emotional meaning-happy – often unconscious

Regulators are behaviours that monitor, control, coordinate, or maintain the speaking of others

Adaptors are gestures that satisfy a personal need- rub nose, pick lint, shred cup

Five Types of Body Messages

• When you first meet someone, you automatically analyze his or her physical appearance to form an impression

• Tall – short• Weight• Hair• Attractiveness

• Race

Body Appearance

• Gestures are body movements that communicate an idea or emotion

• They can emphasize or stress parts if a message, reveal discomfort with a situation, or convey a message without the use of words

• The hands and arms are used most frequently for gesturing, although head and foot movements are also considered types of gestures

• Many people have difficulty expressing their thoughts without using gestures

Body Movement and Gestures

• Touch is one of the most potent forms of physical expression

• It not only has the power to send strong messages, but it also affects your overall well being

• Being deprived of touch can have a negative effect on your physical and psychological health

Touch

• Your face is composed of complex muscles capable of displaying well over a thousand different expressions

• These expressions let you know if others are interested in, agree with, or understand what you have said

• Generally women tend to be more facially expressive and to smile more often than men

• Although men are more likely to limit the amount of emotion they reveal, everyone relies on facial expressions to comprehend the full meaning of the message

Facial Expression

• We learn to manage facial expressions in order to convey or conceal an emotion and to adapt our facial expressions to particular situations

• The most common techniques for adapting facial expressions are:• Masking• Neutralization• Intensification• Deintensifaction

Facial Expression

Intensifying - exaggerate

De-intensifying - underplay

Neutralizing - hide

Masking - substitute

Facial Management Techniques

See Table 7.2 on page 146

7

• Mirror of the soul

• Cultural/gender

Eyes

Seek feedback

Inform the other person that the channel of communication is open

Signal the nature of a relationship

Lessen psychologically the physical distance between you and another person

Eye Contact

• Help others maintain privacy

• Signal lack of interest

• Block off unpleasant stimuli

• Heighten other senses

• Lying

Eye Avoidance

• Women tend to engage in more eye contact when listening than men

• In North America lack of eye contact is frequently perceived as rudeness, indifference, nervousness, or dishonesty

• Direct eye contact is taboo or an insult in many Asian countries (collectivist cultures)

Eyes and gender/culture

Review for Next Class

6-23

Proxemics:

Your use of space to communicate• Intimate, personal, social, public

Territoriality:

The territory you occupy or own and the way you protect this territory

Space Messages

Intimate distance – touching – 46 cm

Personal distance – 46 cm – 1.2m

Social distance – 1.2m – 3.7m

Public distance – 3.6 – more than 7.6m

Spatial Distance Messages

See Table 7.3 on page 148

Status

Culture

Subject matter

Gender

Age

Influences on Spatial Distances

Location of homes/offices

Invasion of privacy – work

Marking territory

Territoriality Messages

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgSp8znMWZI

Video

Colour

Clothing and body adornment

Dress Hair Jewellery Body piercings Tattoos

Space decoration

Artifactual Messages

Haptics – the study of touch•Positive emotion•Playfulness•Control•Ritual•Task-relatedness

Touch Avoidance•Communication apprehension

Touch (Tactile) Messages

Stress – which wordsPitchRateVolumeRhythmVocalizations – crying, yawning

Judgements

Paralanguage – how you say something

Punctuation is powerful

Punctuate the following:

males in the class : A woman without her man, is nothing.

Are you ready for this........ ...?

females in the class: A woman: without her, man is nothing.

A woman without her man is nothing

Allows time to think

Can hurt others

Might indicate anxiety - shy

May prevent communication

Can encourage communications

May indicate nothing to say

Silence

Psychological time•Past •Present•Future

Time Messages

Psychological time

•Cultural time

•Biorhythms

Time Messages

Attraction

Taste

Memory

Identification – ie toothpaste, cleaners, significant others…

Messages from Smell

Facial expressions

Colours

Space

Time•– see Table 7.4 page 157

Nonverbal Cultural Differences

Complete 7.1 and 7.2 page 162: you can use emoticons ie:

Complete 7.3 #3 and #4 page163

Email me your results

Skill Building Exercises