Download UNDERSTADING NONVERBAL MESSAGES

UNDERSTADING NONVERBAL MESSAGES
Lecture Pertaining to PPT
Chapter 4
Slide: Communication Principles
-Review the other principles that have already been covered and explain how they are all
interrelated
Slide: Understanding Nonverbal Messages
-Briefly review the agenda
Slide: Nonverbal Communication Defined
* Write on board: matching game:
-On average, only 7% of emotional content is conveyed through verbal means.
-55% of emotional material is conveyed through the face.
-38% of emotional meaning is conveyed through vocal cues. Example: sarcastic tone
Slide: Why Focus on Nonverbal Communication?
-Nonverbal messages are more believable that verbal
-Since nonverbal’s are subconscious actions we believe they carry truer meanings
-Long-married couples spend less time verbalizing feelings and emotions
Slide: Why Focus on Nonverbal Communication? (cont.)
-Substitution: no verbal compliment, just an action
Example: hitchhiker sign
-Complement: actions used to clarify and extend verbal statements
-Contradict: actions dismiss the verbal claim
-Repeating: confirming actions such as pointing when giving directions
-Regulate: actions that clarify the turn to talk
Example: desire to speak by raising hand or use of eye contact, raised eyebrows,
an open mouth, etc.
-Accent: actions that add emotional intensity to a message.
Slide: The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
-Nonverbals are difficult to interpret because a variety of factors influence their meaning.
-Culture bound: friendly gestures in one culture may be highly offensive in others
-Rule governed: we develop expectations for appropriate nonverbal behavior
-Ambiguous: people are different and while some are expressive, others are not.
-To better understand other’s behavior we should engage in Perception Checking.
-Observe
-Interpret
-Ask the person directly
-Continuous: nonverbal behaviors may flow from context to context
-Nonlinguistic: lacks denotative clarity
-Multichannel: nonverbal cues can register on our senses from a variety of sources
simultaneously but we can only attend to one nonverbal cue at a time.
Example: Seinfield (close talker episode)
-If an attractive, credible, high status person talks too closely to you, you may
adapt to the situation and not think negatively of the person.
Slide: Microsoft Coporation (picture)
-Question: would you invest?
Slide: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
-Give examples of:
-Emblems (hitchhiker’s raised thumb)
-Illustrators (speaker pounding on a podium to emphasize a point)
-Affect displays (kissing)
-Regulators (eye contact)
-Adaptors (chewing fingernails)
Slide: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
-Quasi-Courtship Behavior:
-courtship readiness
-preening
-positional cues
-appeals to invitation
Slide: Edwin T. Hall’s Zones of Space
-Intimate zone (0-6 inches)
-Personal zone (6-18 inches)
-Social zone (4-12 feet)
-Public zone (12 feet +)
Slide: How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues
-Immediacy
-Arousal
-Dominance
Discussion Questions:

How do we use nonverbal communication in developing and managing our
relationships?

When you first meet someone, how long does it take to “size him or her up?”
-What cues are you looking for?
-What are the things that immediately say, “not even in your dreams?”

What does it mean in a long-term relationship if there is a sudden drop in touch
behavior or eye contact? Does it necessarily mean anything?

Is appearance important in American culture?
-What assumptions do we make about “beautiful” people?
Quiz Questions:
1. The most significant source of emotional information comes from what?
A) The face
2. Nonverbal messages serve various functions for verbal messages, name one?
A) substitute, complement, contradict, repeat, regulate, accent
3. What refers to the study of human movement, gestures, and posture?
A) Kinesics
4. What is quasi-courtship behavior?
A) nonverbal actions we consciously and unconsciously exhibit when we are
attracted to someone.
5. Name Edwin T. Hall’s 4 zones of space?
A) intimate, personal, social public
Activities

Nonverbal Trap (Beebe’s instructor manual)

Emotional Rescue (card game)

What feeling is being conveyed?