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Lesson Topic: Introduction to Nonverbal Communication
Grade level: 11-12th grade Interpersonal Communication
Length of lesson: 50 minutes
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard(s):
Standards:
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
Benchmarks:
11.9.1.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups,
and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues
c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence;
ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas
and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
11.9.7.7 Understand, analyze, evaluate, and use different types of print, digital, and multimodal media.
a. Evaluate the aural, visual, and written images and other special effects used in mass media for
their ability to inform, persuade, and entertain.
b. Examine the intersections and conflicts between visual (e.g., media images, painting, film,
graphic arts) and verbal messages.
Understanding (s)/goals
Students will understand:
 Nonverbal communication and tone make up over 90% of the
message we are communicating to others.
 We make many inferences and decisions based off nonverbal
communication. We can become more of aware of why we are
making certain assumptions and judgments when we understand
nonverbals.
 We can avoid sending or receiving the wrong messages if we are
more conscious of our nonverbals.
Essential Question(s):
 Why is it important to be
aware of nonverbal
communication?
 What do our gestures and
expressions mean? What are
they communicating to others?
 What are others
communicating to us through
nonverbals?
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:
 Identify non-verbal behavior and messages
 Discuss the impact of non-verbal communication
 Discuss the meaning of gestures and expressions (from pictures)
 Act out a dialogue using gesture and expression only (if time)
 Watch a video clip without sound and discuss body language, relationships, emotions and feelings
(silent movie discussion)
Performance Task(s):
 Card game
 Wordless Acting (if time)
 Reflection
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Other Evidence:
 Discussion on verbal vs. nonverbal communication
 Discussion of their own verbal and nonverbal
communication
 Discussion of images and silent movie
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Materials:
 Deck of playing cards
 PowerPoint with images of nonverbals to lead discussion
 Copy of “Wordless Acting Conversation” handout (optional)
 Copy of Communication Packet (optional)
 Clips from a silent movie (The Artist is a good choice)
 Reflection
Prior Knowledge
The students have been studying interpersonal communication all semester. However, this is their first
introduction to nonverbal communication.
Intro (5-10 minutes):
1. Shuffle the deck of cards well and walk around the room to give each student a card.
2. Instruct the students to keep their cards a secret. No one can see the type or color of another's card.
3. Make it clear to students that they will not be able to talk during this exercise.
4. Instruct students to assemble into 4 groups according to suits (hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades)
using nonverbal communication.
5. Once students get into those groups, they must line up in order of rank, from ace to king.
6. The group that lines up in proper order first wins!
7. Have a discussion on how groups communicated. We communicate non-verbally (without words),
as well as verbally (with words). What nonverbals did they use? (Brainstorm to elicit key terms).
Learning Activities (20 minutes):
1. Start Powerpoint:
“When you think about communication, you probably think of words. When we converse
with someone, we exchange about 200 words per minute. But just because we’re speaking
doesn’t mean that’s the only communication that’s going on. Actually, most of our
communication is non-verbal—it occurs without words.”
Some of the ways we communicate to others non-verbally are through:
 Body Language/Posture
 Facial Expression
 Eye Contact
 Appearance
 Gestures
 Vocal Cues
 Proxemics/Spatial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxz7uqIBRLA&list=LPX68SOB8rMGA&index=4&feature=plcp
2. “Nonverbal communication is the unspoken communication that goes on in every face-toface encounter with another human being. It tells you their true feelings towards you and
how well your words are being received. 90% of our message is communicated nonverbally,
and only 10% is actual words. That means that research suggests that very little of our
communication is actually verbal. Through nonverbal communication, we make all kinds
inferences and decisions—even though we don’t always realize it. It’s important to be aware
of nonverbal messages, so we can avoid sending and receiving unintentional messages.”
3. “We first need to recognize that people communicate on many levels. From these
photographs, we can tell a lot about the people’s relationship and their emotions. Let’s look
at their facial expressions, eye contact, posture, hand and feet movements, body movement
and placement, and appearance. Every gesture is communicating something if you listen
with your eyes.”
In each photograph, have students look for these nonverbal clues:
1. Body Language/Posture
2. Facial Expression
3. Eye Contact
4. Appearance
5. Gestures
6. Vocal Cues
7. Proxemics/Spatial
For each photograph, guide discussion with these questions:
 “What is happening in this photo? How do you know? What nonverbals lead you to
infer that?
 What are the people in this photo feeling? How do you know? What nonverbals lead
you to infer that?
 What is their relationship? How do you know? What nonverbal lead you to infer
that?
 Are the nonverbal genuine or artificial? What leads you to think that?”
4. Talk through scenarios. Ask students to share what they would do to communicate each
scenario verbally and nonverbally.
 “When you feel bored with what is going on, how do you usually express your feelings?
 When you feel very annoyed with another person with whom you want to build a better
relationship, how do you express your feelings?
 When another person says or does something to you that hurts your feelings deeply, how do
you express your feelings?
 Someone repeatedly asks you to give them money. You don't want to give them any money.
How would you express yourself?
 You feel affection and fondness for someone but at the same time you can't be
sure the other person feels the same way about you. How do you express your
feelings?
 Your close friend is leaving town for a long time and you feel alone and lonely. How would
you express your feelings?”
5. Other discussion questions:
 “Do non-verbal messages always match verbal messages?
o How do we know? What do we look for?
Nonverbal messages can either complement what you are saying or contradict what
you are saying
 Do you tend to depend on verbal messages more than non-verbal messages or vice versa?
o If a person’s words say one thing and their nonverbal communication says another,
you are likely to listen to the nonverbal communication – and that is usually the
correct decision.
 Do you think it is possible to disguise your body language? Why or why not?
Though some aspects of body language can be controlled, it’s likely that the attempt
to suppress your unconscious body language will display itself in other ways.
 How might a person communicate his or her status with nonverbal cues?”
8. (10 minutes) Silent film actors used exaggerated gestures and facial expressions to more clearly
convey their emotions. Have the class watch these scene from a silent film and identify some of
these exaggerated expressions and gestures. What emotions or ideas do they convey? Stop video
periodical to ask students what nonverbals they are seeing and how they know what it going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPm0IuVylFU
Stop before Peppy drops her purse:
What can you infer about this man? What kind of person is he? How is he communicating
his status? What other nonverbals are you noticing?
Stop after Peppy bumps into him:
What are the people in this scene feeling now? Did the emotion of this situation change?
How do you know? How did the facial expressions change? What other nonverbals did you
pick up on?
Stop at the end:
What happened in this last section? Was the situation resolved? How do you know? What
are the different people in the scene feeling? What other nonverbals did you identify?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DflRty3nxo
Stop after Peppy walks into the room:
Is she supposed to be here? How do you know? What nonverbal clues communicated that?
Stop when they are about to kiss:
What are these two people feeling? How do you know without them saying anything? What
kind of nonverbals are relied upon in this section?
Stop when the man walks in:
What are the people in the room feeling? What is the man who walked in feeling? What
nonverbals told you that?
Stop at the end:
What are the people feeling at the end of the scene? What did Peppy’s nonverbals when
leaving the room tell you? How did the man respond? Another nonverbal that you
identitfied? Overall, was it difficult to follow the story without talking or was it easy? Did
anything surprise you?
(Optional Activities for before the conclusion if there is time:
1. Practice using a scripted dialogue. Pairs of students rehearsed parts, then acted out the dialogue
using expressions, gestures and posture.
Nonverbal Activity: Wordless Acting
Separate students into groups of two and determine one student in each group as student A,
and one as student B. Give each student a copy of the following script. Student A will read
his lines aloud, but student B will communicate his lines in a nonverbal way.
Dialogue:
A: Have you seen my book? I can’t remember where I put it.
B: Which one?
A: The murder mystery. The one you borrowed.
B: Is this it?
A: No. It’s the one you borrowed.
B. I did not!
A: Maybe it’s under the chair. Can you look?
B: OK--just give me a minute.
A: How long are you going to be?
B: Geez, why so impatient? I hate when you get bossy.
A: Forget it. I’ll find it myself.
B: Wait—I found it!
2. Hand out Communication Packet. Students can read in groups, partners, or individually. )
Conclusion (10 minutes):
1. I want to finish up today with the “Top 10 Nonverbal Communication Tips” (see powerpoint)
2. “Through today’s activities, I hope you recognize that people communicate on many levels. Today,
I challenge you to be aware of your nonverbal communication with others. If you are having a
conversation with some, try and be extra aware of their facial expressions, eye contact, posture,
hand and feet movements, body movement and placement, and appearance and passage as they
walk toward you. Every gesture is communicating something. With practice, your ability to read
nonverbal communication will grow and you will become accustomed to watching and interpreting
nonverbal communication.”
Reflection on Nonverbal Communication
“Name:
Explain in your own terms what nonverbal communication is:
Why is it important to be aware of your nonverbal communication and others nonverbal communication?”