Body Language Vs Nonverbal Communication

Non-verbal communication consists mainly of the things people do with their body language. There are times where words are expressed and non-verbal communication could help emphasize the message. A few examples of nonverbal communication are hand gestures eye contact, facial expressions as well as tone and volume. I was given this assignment to observe a situation and take note of the nonverbal communication that occurred. I also had to observe whether the non-verbals were able to execute the message and if the behavior was acceptable.

With the growing adversity in the country non-verbal communication plays a major role in the law enforcement field. Knowing how to read and listen to someone with a language barrier and or a different background can set the tone on how the encounter might turn out. According to the book (Multicultural Law Enforcement). With the increasing emphasis on community policing and staff diversity in law enforcement, cross-cultural communication skills have become more and more essential not only in establishing good relationships with citizens, but also with professional colleagues. In developing cross-cultural communication and competency skills, police officers who were not born in this country or who spoke another language at home can be a valuable resource, offering insights that can alleviate frustration in encounters with those who are not fluent in English.

Thesis Statement: Body language expresses emotions and actions unconsciously and differs between men and women depending on their brain type, emotional experience and culture.

Body language (the process of communicating nonverbally through conscious or unconscious gestures and movements). People all of the world use body language or gestures to communicate nonverbally. I personally think that nonverbal communication and body language are one of the biggest barriers in communication especially between one culture to other. Body gestures can be misinterpreted as rude or disrespectful depending on the country, region, or even the city you’re from.

Over this summer course I have learned a lot about communication. I learned how significant nonverbal and verbal communication is, along with listening. I never fully understood how big communication is in our daily lives. I now realize that it is a huge aspect of how we continue in our lives. This course has showed me different levels of communication.

The spoken language, while endlessly useful, is only a recent invention in comparison to body language. Dr. Albert Mehrabian’s often quoted study found that 7% of a message is conveyed through words, 38% through vocal elements, and 55% through nonverbal elements. While these statistics and their meanings may not be so straightforward, the overall take away is clear; nonverbal communication heavily affects the way we receive and transmit messages.

There are thousands of verbal languages in the world, like English and Chinese. People use these languages to convey our opinions with others and express their feelings. Apart from verbal language, body language is another powerful language that helps people express themselves clearly. Take Mr Bean(1991-1995), a famous British silent sitcom for example. There is no verbal communication in this sitcom, the plot is derived by Mr Bean’s funny behavior. It is body language’s magic that makes this sitcom popular. In people’s daily life, they often use body language when they try to persuade others. As is often the case, if they manage to persuaded others, they will owe their success to verbal language. However, body language plays a key role in affecting others. But since body language is out-of-awareness, people tend to ignore it. Here is a video about an interview with Calgary’s mayor Naheed Nenshi. By analyzing Nenshi’s behavior, people can obviously see the importance of body language.

These nonverbal cues are not simple to interpret. (Segal, Smith, Boose, and Jaffe, 2013) This is for the reason that it is largely influenced by the context and surroundings and comes along with many signals such as; facial expressions, hand, eye, and body movement, posture, gestures, closeness, and tone. (Skillsoyuneed.com) To intensify the issue, different genders have slightly different body language and many are unaware or forget which leads to misunderstanding. Linguist Deborah Tennan proposes that it is as if the two genders were raised in two diverse cultures. (Miller, 2011)

Body language is the way we stand, smile, and make eye contact. Everyone uses body language all the time. The way we stand can mean so much, such as showing confidence. It is not a good idea for a woman to cross her ankles while she is standing because it shows signs of insignificance and shy. A confident pose is to stand straight with your ankles uncross. We are taught to look people in the eyes when they are talking, but in other cultures (Hispanics, Asian, and Middle Eastern) eye contact is thought to be

This section was a little difficult as non-Verbal communication through a phone call is not the same compared too if you were talking to them in person. What I noticed first as an example of Andy’s non verbal was the frustration he seemed to have. When he had a sigh about my eating habits to his. This non verbal communication has an impact in our relationship because it shows me his frustration because we both know he wants to change. He is fine where he is at but he dosen’t want to stay like that forever. He knows I would give him the help and that is how it impacts our relationship bringing us closer. We both have eachothers backs and whenever we are ready we will start a healthier life.

In most instances, non-verbal message may complement and reinforce the message and some cases contradict the verbal message. In the American culture, a nod reinforces while a wink contradicts the message.

One of the areas studied in psychology is the use of Non-Verbal Communication (NVC). According to the Collins dictionary, this is defined as ‘those aspects of communication, such as gestures and facial expressions, that do not involve communication, but which may include non-verbal aspects of speech itself (accent, tone of voice, speed of speaking, etc)’. Used daily by humans and animals (Darwin 1972), NVC has a strong link to innate factors, and messages are sent unconsciously to the listener. Through body language, we can deliver simple messages which can aid or replace speech, show attitude or emotion, and with 55% of what we say being delivered through body language, and 38% dedicated to tone, it can sometimes contradict our verbal

When people communicate, they hardly notice their body languages. They do not realize that their body language is just as powerful as their words. Communication can be affected by the body language. Through body language, two people can communicate without ever saying anything. Through body language people can predict which certain characteristic a person posses. These characteristics can be masculine, feminine, or androgyny. Body language includes body hand gestures and other non verbal methods of communication. Nonverbal communication can be affected not only based on society’s view of a particular sex and what its characteristics should be, but also one’s cultural beliefs. Body language is very important to study and understand because

What is body language? Well, when we speak, we use more than just words. We also communicate with our hand gestures, facial expressions including eye contact, and other movements of the body. This is called body language or non-verbal communication. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines body language as the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others. 60-80% of all communication is non-verbal Did you know that psychologists have studied communication styles and note that 60-80% of all communication with others is non-verbal? Some psychologists even believe the statistics are higher than this. No matter what the exact figures are… I think you will agree with me that those numbers represent a really high percentage. This is indicative of the importance of non-verbal communication. It does not matter what language you speak, the importance of non-verbal communication needs to be valued. In fact, you can show your attitude, feelings and moods with non-verbal communication even better than words. Someone can detect if you are happy, sad, bored, disinterested, in agreement or not, etc. Maybe you have a close friend or a spouse, and you can tell exactly what that person is feeling or even thinking by the nonverbal communication clues. There is an English expression You can read him like a book. This expression means that you can tell exactly what that person is thinking and feeling just by looking at him/her. Relax – natural expression The main thing about body language is that when you relax, your body naturally responds to the words you convey. For example, if you say something positive, then your face, body and hands reflect that, too. And if you are upset, your face, body and hands will show that emotion. Perhaps you have noticed this before with others or with yourself. Many people believe that you if you say something and your body language reflects something different, that it is more important to listen to your body language. This means that your body language reveals the truth of what really is happening or what you meant to say rather than your words. That’s how powerful it is. Pick up clues from others A suggestion would be to watch other people when they

"What do you read my lord?" "Words," said Hamlet. Methinks he should hath answered "body language." Where many of us are obsessed with words, always thinking of what we 'll say next, we pay comparatively little attention to our body language. Strange given that 55% of communication is conveyed through body language and only 7% involves words.