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nonverbal communication, 211 nonverbal communication codes, 217
 kinesics, 218
emblems, 219
illustrators, 219
regulators, 220
adaptors, 220
vocalics, 221
haptics, 223 functional-professional touch, 223 friendship-warmth touch, 224 sexual-arousal touch, 224 aggressive-hostile touch, 224
proxemics, 225 |
affect displays, 232
You can watch brief, illustrative videos of these terms and test your understanding of the concepts by clicking on the VideoCentral features in the chapter. |
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Principles of Nonverbal Communication
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Nonverbal communication includes all unspoken behavioral displays.
- Nonverbal communication generally carries more meaning than verbal, especially when we send or receive mixed messages.
- Both culture and gender shape people’s perceptions and use of nonverbal communication.
Nonverbal Communication Codes
- Although eight different nonverbal communication codes exist, the behaviors that most people associate with nonverbal communication, such as facial expressions, gestures, and body posture, are kinesics. Four different forms of gestures are commonly used during our interpersonal encounters: emblems, illustrators, regulators, and adaptors.
- Something as seemingly simple as body posture—how we lean, position our shoulders, and hold our heads—can communicate substantial information regarding immediacy and power to others.
- Although we often think of the voice as one thing, many different specific features (such as tone, pitch, loudness, and speech rate) contribute to the complex nonverbal code of vocalics.
- People vary their duration, placement, and strength of touch (known as haptics) to communicate a broad range of meanings, including functional-professional touch, social-polite touch, friendship-warmth touch, love-intimacy touch, sexual-arousal touch, and aggressive-hostile touch. People’s impressions of these various forms of touch are strongly influenced by culture.
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- Culture also influences proxemics, or use of space and interpersonal distance during en-counters with others. Forms of distance include intimate, personal, social, and public space. All human beings experience territoriality and resent perceived invasions of personal domains.
- We send powerful messages about intimacy and caring through chronemics, or our use of time. People differ in their perceptions of the significance of time. Some have an M-time orientation, others a P-time view.
- Like it or not, our physical appearance strongly molds others’ impressions of us. Many people favor those they perceive as attractive over those they perceive as unattractive.
- We use personal artifacts to portray who we are to others and to communicate information regarding our worth, status, and power.
- Features of our physical environment—such as size, furnishings, and materials used in our home or office—also send distinct messages about status and mood.
Functions of Nonverbal Communication
- Our nonverbal communication serves many purposes in our interpersonal encounters and relationships. One of the most common is affect displays, which function to show others how we are feeling.
- We can harness all of the nonverbal communication codes to send powerful messages of intimacy, dominance, and submissiveness to others.
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- How might you use your knowledge of gender differences to improve your nonverbal communication skills? Review the practical tips on pages 214 and 216.
- How can you use online communication to better maintain long-distance relationships? Try the Skills Practice on page 217.
- Want to nonverbally communicate that you like someone? Follow the suggestions on page 220 for how to effectively convey immediacy; then do the Skills Practice on page 221.
- What should you do to effectively use touch during interpersonal encounters? Find out on pages 223-225.
- What can you do to enhance your use of personal space during encounters with people from other cultures? Review the suggestions on pages 225-226.
- Do you understand the differences between M-time and P-time orientations? Take the Self-Quiz on page 227, and review the rules for increasing sensitivity to others with different time orientations on page 228.
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- Why is it important to dress appropriately for the situations and encounters you’re going to face? Find out on pages 228-229.
- Want to improve your nonverbal communication in the workplace? See the tips for effective nonverbal self-presentation in the workplace on pages 232-233; then do the Skills Practice on page 233.
- Do you know which nonverbal cues are most likely to be perceived by others as communicating dominance? Test your dominance knowledge by taking the Self-Quiz on page 235.
- What are mixed messages, and how can you most effectively deal with them if you receive them from others? Review Making Relationship Choices on pages 236-237 to find out.
- What general guidelines can help you responsibly manage your nonverbal communication? Refresh your memory by consulting pages 238-239.
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