Your use of body movement, voice, touch, personal space, appearance, beliefs about time, and environmental features work together to create your nonverbal communication. This influences how others perceive your messages, who you are, and how you feel. Understanding the different types of nonverbal expression and how they work will help you make sure these impressions are the right ones.

At age 16, Tyra Banks began doing fashion shows in Europe for designers such as Chanel, Valentino, and Fendi. She subsequently appeared in Elle and Vogue, and was the first African American woman to grace the cover of GQ. But what catapulted her to the top of the global modeling industry was not just her beauty—it was also her unique self-awareness of, and control over, the various types of nonverbal communication. For example, Tyra distinguishes 275 different smiles she uses when modeling, including seven basic smiles she teaches protégés on her show, America’s Next Top Model.² One of these smiles doesn’t involve the mouth at all, just the eyes—which Tyra calls a smize. Another smile uses body posture and movement—specifically, shifting her shoulder position sideways and downward, and turning her head toward the listener. These and the 273 other smiles all reflect specific emotions or situations, from anger to surprise.

Tyra Banks has built a media empire from her uncanny ability to manipulate her nonverbal communication on fashion runways, on television, and in photographs. But the types of nonverbal communication she uses—and coaches other models how to modify—are the very same ones you use in your daily life. Scholars of communication identify seven such types: body movement, voice, touch, personal space, appearance, beliefs about time, and environmental features. Although you experience these collectively as a whole, understanding how each type influences your own and others’ communication can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful interactions.