Download Understanding Nonverbal Messages

Understanding Nonverbal
Messages
Mr. Quiros
Doral Academy Prep
Period 2/6
Why Focus on Nonverbal
Communication?
• Nonverbal Communication – Behavior
other than written or spoken language that
creates meaning someone.
• Nonverbal Messages Communicate
Feelings and Attitudes
• Nonverbal Messages are More
Believable than Verbal Messages
Why Focus on Nonverbal
Communication? (cont.)
• Nonverbal Messages are Critical to
Successful Relationships
• Nonverbal Messages Serve Various
Functions for Verbal Messages
The Nature of Nonverbal
Communication
• Culture Bound Nature
• Rule Governed Nature
– Expectancy violations model: A model that suggests that we
develop rules or expectations for appropriate nonverbal behavior
and react when those expectations are violated.
• Ambiguous Nature
– Perception Checking: Skill of asking other observers or the
person being observed whether your interpretation of his or her
nonverbal behavior is accurate
• Continuous Nature
• Nonlinguistic Nature
• Multi channeled Nature
Codes of Nonverbal
Communication
• Appearance
• Body movement, gestures, and posture
– Kinesics: The study of Human movement, gesture, and posture
– Emblems: A nonverbal cue that has a specific, generally understood
meaning in a given culture and may substitute for a word or phrase
– Illustrators: A nonverbal behavior that accompanies a verbal message
and either complements, contradicts, or accents it.
– Affect Displays: A non verbal behavior that communicates emotions
– Regulator: A nonverbal message that helps to control the interaction or
level of communication between people.
– Adaptor: A nonverbal behavior that helps satisfy a personal need and
helps a person to adapt or respond to the immediate situation.
• Quasi Courtship Behavior – Nonverbal actions consciously and
unconsciously exhibited when we are attracted to someone.
Codes of Nonverbal
Communication (Cont)
• Eye Contact
• Facial Expressions
• Touch
– Haptics: The study of human touch
– Touch ethic: A person’s own guidelines or standards as to
appropriate and inappropriate touch.
• The Voice
– Paralanguage: Nonverbal aspects of voice (e.g. pitch, rate,
volume, use of silence.)
– Back-channel cue – A vocal cue that signals when we want to
talk and when we don’t
– Response Latency: How long it takes someone to formulate a
response to a statement or question in conversation.
Codes of Nonverbal
Communication (Cont)
• Environment, Space, and Territory
– The Physical Environment
– Space
• Proxemics: Study of how close or far away from
people and objects we position ourselves.
– Territory
• Territoriality: Study of humans use space and
objects to communicate occupancy or ownership
of space.
• Territorial marker: A thing or action that signifies an
area has been claimed
Edward T. Hall’s Classification of
Spatial Zones
•
•
•
•
Zone 1 – Immediate Space – 0-1.5 feet
Zone 2 – Personal Space – 1.5-4 feet
Zone 3 – Social Space – 4-12 feet
Zone 4 – Public Space – 12 feet & beyond
How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues
More Accurately
• Immediacy – Feelings of liking, pleasure, and
closeness communicated by such nonverbal
cues as eye contact, forward lean, touch, and
open body orientation.
• Arousal – Feelings of interest and excitement
communicated by such nonverbal cues as vocal
expression, facial expression, and gestures
• Dominance – Feelings of power, status, and
control communicated by such non verbal cues
as relaxed posture, greater personal space, and
protected space.