Chapter 4: Nonverbal Communication

Gestures and Body Movements

Kinesics is important when delivering a speech, as your body movements should support your words. For example, illustrators help clarify a point for your audience; confident posture reassures your listeners that you’re prepared and organized. Certain adaptors (like yawning), however, can leave the audience with the impression that you are bored with your own speech. We discuss these issues in Chapter 14.

Did you succumb to the dance craze and Internet meme the “Harlem Shake”? If so, you’ve joined millions in the silly, shimmying body movements that communicate sexuality one moment and hilarity the next—all without words (Cvitanic, 2013). You have probably heard others call such body movements “body language,” but the way you move your body is not a language at all—“Harlem Shaking” has no specific, consistently understood definition. Such behavior is called kinesics—gestures and body movements that send nonverbal messages. When Eva motions her arm to include Jane in a conversation, or Rodney walks into an interview standing tall to project confidence, you are witnessing kinesic behaviors. And although there is not a specific message conveyed, research shows that we’re fairly good at deciphering others’ emotions from their gestures and movements (Montepare, Koff, Zaitchik, & Alberet, 1999).

There are five main categories of gestures and movements that convey meaning nonverbally (Ekman & Friesen, 1969):

Emblems are often used to substitute for words, because they have a more definition-like meaning for the people who use them. The “thumbs up” and “okay” signs are both emblems that most Americans would recognize and understand. During his inauguration parade, Barack Obama greeted the marching band from his old high school with an emblem fellow Hawaiians would understand: a shaka sign—a pinkie and thumb salute that is widely regarded as a representation of the “aloha spirit.”
Illustrators reinforce verbal messages and help visually explain what is being said. Holding your hands two feet apart while saying, “The fish was this big!” is an illustrator. Illustrators can also be used to increase influence in relationships, as when we emphasize our words with pointing or sketching a thought in the air (Dunbar & Burgoon, 2005).
Regulators help us manage our interactions. Raising your hand and lifting your head, for example, indicate that you want to speak. Raising your eyebrows usually indicates you want information from others (Flecha-García, 2010). Both regulators and illustrators often pair with vocal signals to enhance communication, as when you say, “I, I, I . . .” while holding up your index finger to break into conversation (regulators) or emphasize the word “this” in the preceding fish example (illustrator).
Adaptors satisfy some physical or psychological need, such as rubbing your eyes when you’re tired or twisting your hair when you’re nervous or bored. Usually not conscious behaviors, adaptors are used to reduce bodily tension. Because they may be more frequent when someone is stressed, impatient, or bored, they are often interpreted as indicators of negative feelings (Goss & O’Hair, 1988).
Affect displays are nonverbal gestures that convey feelings, moods, and reactions. Slumping in a chair may indicate fatigue or boredom; a fist thrust high in the air indicates joy when your team scores a touchdown. Setting your jaw and hitting your fist on the table may indicate your anger or frustration. Affect is also displayed through facial expressions, as discussed next.