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Nonverbal Communication in Seinfeld
Although it is an area that we regularly overlook, nonverbal communication is essential
in the function of everyday life. It is a relationship that can often be related to in Seinfeld, a
popular televised sitcom. Built primarily around the lives of four main characters, Seinfeld,
unlike many other television series, really has no overall story, sometimes being sarcastically
labeled as the show about nothing (Seinfeld). Instead each episode tends to focus on human
interaction and day to day problems that the average person encounters everyday. With this
comes the importance of nonverbal communication and how much of a part it plays in the
show’s realistic situations.
As our textbook points out, there are many different types of nonverbal communication.
Everyday we do body movements and facial expressions that we wouldn’t even notice unless
someone came up and pointed them out to us (Cherry). In Seinfeld, the main characters Jerry,
Elaine, George, and Kramer also use nonverbal communication and like us, don’t even notice
that they are doing it. This subject is even addressed during an episode were Kramer decides to
go on a vow of silence, saying that he will have no trouble communicating because for humans,
94% of communication is nonverbal (The Cartoon).
For example, take the face and eyes; two features that the book concludes as the most
“noticeable” parts of the human body (Adler 187). Whenever a character is trying to conceal a
secret or a problem in Seinfeld, they always try to avoid speaking, but they don’t realize that their
face is what truly gives them away. In a conversation between Jerry and Elaine, Jerry is trying to
hide that everyone thinks that Elaine is a horrible dancer (The Little Kicks). When Elaine
confronts Jerry about this he doesn’t speak and tries to look away which automatically shows
exactly what he is thinking. Even though he never said anything, Jerry’s facial expressions gave
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Elaine the same communication nonverbally. Their are numerous situations like this in Seinfeld,
mainly because the show is dependent on face to face conversations. In the U.S. we see eye
contact as a means to show other people that we are listening to them and are genuinely
interested in what they are saying. However, when we are trying to avoid talking about
something, it is our nature to look away and pretend that we’re not involved. The study of eyes
(oculesics) would reveal that Jerry and Elaine followed common eye patterns; Jerry’s lack of eye
contact shows that he is avoiding something, whereas Elaine’s focused eye contact show that she
is concerned.
Like eye contact and facial expressions, body movement is often hand in hand when it
comes to nonverbal communication. The majority of these movements are called (illustrators)
and they help us demonstrate what we are saying. During the introduction of Seinfeld episodes,
clips of Jerry’s comedic stand-up are normally shown during the opening credits. If his body
movements are looked at closely, we can see that he consistently uses illustrators to help him
speak. In other scenes, characters will also use motions that look like they are fidgeting with
something (manipulators). Like our book explains, playing with your hair or scratching your
nose when you’re being questioned can indicate that you’re nervous and uncomfortable (Adler
189). However, the book also goes on to say that these movements can also be a signal that a
person is completely relaxed (189). The character George constantly prides himself in his ability
to be a good liar. Although he frequently deceives people, every once in a while he will get
himself into a position that he finds uncomfortable (The Jimmy). Like anyone else who is
nervous, George’s natural reaction is to unknowingly use manipulators. It is these types of
movements that always show viewers that he isn’t comfortable and is a good indication that he is
not telling the truth.
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Other types of nonverbal communication include a person’s proximity and territory.
Sometimes we consider the area around us as our own personal space and we will act negatively
if we feel it is being violated (territory). The four distances of space are known as (proximity) are
our public distance, social distance, personal distance, and intimate distance, which all range
from over 25 feet to less than 2. Whenever the character Elaine is approached by men she
doesn’t like, it is obvious that she wants to keep them at a social distance. If the man over steps
his bounds in her personal or intimate distance, Elaine will always try to get away or find an
excuse to move somewhere else. Contrary to this, if Elaine is approached by someone that she is
attracted to or is interested in, she doesn’t mind it when this person tries to get in her more
personal space; sometimes even encouraging it. So proximity and territory often go hand in hand
with each other. Territory is also an important thing when it comes to the male characters of
Seinfeld. An example would be during one episode where Kramer and Jerry sit down and watch
a movie. Although there are two couches, Kramer decides to sit on the same one as Jerry, which
attracts Jerry’s attention instantly (The Label Maker). For Jerry there is another couch and
Kramer is now in is territory so he feels that something is wrong. Jerry then reacted on this and
asked Kramer to move over to the other couch. The book describes our idea of territory as a type
of protective bubble that will get our attention if we are not within a comfortable distance. Some
of the signs that we feel our territory is being violated are body movements, gestures, or just
moving somewhere else. For both Jerry and Elaine, they found that moving or getting the other
person to move was the most reasonable decision.
Something that corresponds with territory is the physical attractiveness of the other
person or people around you. After all, no one really minds when a person they are attracted too
moves close to them. If we find someone attractive we are more likely to accept them if they
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come within our private space. According to the book attractive people are also thought of as
“being more sensitive, kind, strong, sociable, and interesting” (Adler 198). This would give
reason to why we automatically tolerate attractive people over people who are not as good
looking. It is the same way in Seinfeld, no matter which character it is they will always go up and
talk to somebody if they find them attractive, but they will also go to desperate measures to try to
avoid talking to someone that they find unappealing.
Touch is also an aspect that must be included when we think about nonverbal
communication. The study of touch (haptics) has consistently revealed that people who touch
when they are communicating will have a better influence on the person being touched (Adler
190). This is not to be mistaken with a harmful trespass that will make a person react negatively.
It is more of a gesture that complements what someone is saying. I have found that whenever I’m
discussing something that takes persuasion or an explanation it is always more pleasant when it
is accompanied by a light touch on the shoulder. Situations in Seinfeld are the same way; the
characters know that people react positively to touch so they will execute them accordingly. An
example would be when Elaine is trying to get Jerry to see her version of a story. She talks and
simultaneously touches his arm to try to make him comply (The Little Kicks). According to our
text women are often more comfortable with touching men than men touching women. For men
it is common to touch their male friends more than their female ones because with women there
is always the danger of unwanted touching (Adler 191).
Not all nonverbal communication is completely nonverbal; (paralanguage) is a term used
to describe the characteristics of a message (191). This would include the vocal rate,
pronunciation, pitch tone, volume, and emphasis of a message (191). One of the most overlooked
aspects of paralanguage are (disfluencies), pauses in communication that are sometimes made up
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of words like “uh” of “um” (192). It is difficult to explain without watching the show, but Elaine
has problems with this all the time. Unlike the character George, Elaine is horrible at lying and
pauses in her speech or lack of confidence in her volume are always telltale signs that she is
struggling. I have never thought about it before, but I can’t neglect the importance of
paralanguage. Say we have a text message that says “yeah I had a good time”. When we read this
without hearing it being spoken to us we have to decided on what to interpret; did the person
really enjoy themselves, or are they being sarcastic? Paralanguage eliminates any significant
confusion within a message. If we have the same message said at a low volume with a hesitant
sigh before it, then we automatically know that they obviously didn’t have a good time. However
if the message is said with confidence and a confirming tone then we know that the person is
genuine in their response.
Nonverbal communication is not something that one can pick up over night. Experts have
put a lot of effort studying and determining the components of nonverbal communication in
humans. As the book reveals facial expressions alone have an endless amount of possibilities
making them extremely different to organize and understand (Adler 188). The underlying fact is
that we can understand what we already know and use during our conversation. If we use
something consistently then we are going to be able to identify when some is using the same
communication with us. Although almost everybody already knows about facial expression and
body movement, the book also covered other interesting characteristics that are not thought of as
common knowledge. Touch, paralanguage, proxemics, territory, and physical attractiveness are
all types of nonverbal communication that we use everyday, but never notice. I have discovered
that I, myself consistently use these things but have never truly thought about them until I wrote
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this paper. Now with this information in my mind I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot about
the wide variety of sources that humans can communicate through.
Sources
Adler, R.b., Rosenfeld L.b., and Proctor R.f.. Interplay: the Process of Interpersonal
Communication. 10th ed. Oxford: University P, 2007.
Cherry, Kendra. “Types of Nonverbal Communication.” About.com: psychology. Web. 31 March
2010. <http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/a/nonverbaltypes.htm>
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"Chronemics." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronemics>
Heathfield, Susan M. “Listen with Your Eyes.” About.com: human resources. Web. 31 March
2010. <http://humanresources.about.com//interpersonalcommunic/a/nonverbal_com.htm>
"Kinesics." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 1 Apr. 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics>
Segal, Jeanne. “Nonverbal Communication Skills.” Help Guide.org. Web. September 2009.
31 March 2010. <http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm>
"Seinfeld." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 31 Mar. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seinfeld>
“The Cartoon.” Seinfeld: Season 9. Writ. Bruce Eric Kaplan. Dir. Andy Ackerman.
Columbia TriStar Television, 2007. DVD
“The Jimmy.” Seinfeld: Season 6. Writ. Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin. Dir. Andy Ackerman.
Columbia TriStar Television, 2005. DVD
“The Label Maker.” Seinfeld: Season 6. Writ. Alec Berg and Jeff Schaffer. Dir. Andy Ackerman.
Columbia TriStar Television, 2005. DVD
“The Little Kicks.” Seinfeld: Season 8. Writ. Spike Feresten. Dir. Andy Ackerman.
Columbia TriStar Television, 2007. DVD.