Characteristics Of Nonverbal Communication

Examples of nonverbal communication of this type include shaking hands, patting the back, hugging, pushing, or other kinds of touch. Other forms of nonverbal communication are facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact. When someone is talking, they notice changes in facial expressions and respond accordingly.

Observe Body Language - This is a very powerful form of non-verbal communication. It is shown by the way we stand, how we place our hands or arms, make gestures and facial expressions.

Non-verbal communication: ways of communicating without using words (for example, through body language such as gestures, eye-contact and touch)

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.

I decided to go to Panda Express at 5:30 pm for my observations, while there I was able to observe just how much people rely on nonverbal communications to get their point across. Although I witnessed several encounters of unique body language, there were also a few actions that reoccurred several times in several different people. For example, when a customer would approach the counter where employee served the food, the employee would raise her eyebrows and smile at the customer. The employee’s smile, however, did not reach her eyes suggesting that while it is her job to smile and be welcoming to the customer, she most likely did not want to be at work. Additionally, I noticed that when customers approached the counter about 90 percent of them had their arms crossed. The act of crossing ones arms usually means that a person is trying to put a barrier between them and a situation that they either don’t like, or are uncomfortable with. This may mean that the customers were displeased with having to wait in line to get their food, on the other hand it may be that they were simply comfortable folding their arms. Once they reached the front of the line, every customer pointed to the food they wanted along with verbally telling the employee. This made their communication more effective as it helped to overcome the barrier of sound because the restaurant was noisy.

At certain times one must adopt their style of communication to meet individual needs and use various aids to help them embrace their communication.

Non-verbal communication | 1. Posture. This is the way in which someone holds their self, the way the stand etc. 2. Facial expression. This is the way someone’s face responds to an action or words. For e.g.…if someone was told something they like they would generally be wide eyed and smiling. |

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.

What does it involve? Movements of the face that express a person’s feelings Physically touching or holding a person Deliberate movements of the hands to express meaning The physical closeness between people during interactions • Smiling • Frowning

Nonverbal language is a form of nonverbal communication. It is also recognized as a cultural influence. An example of this is the volume in which something is communicated. Depending on the culture the volume can be interpreted differently. In some cultures, such as German, high volume is a sign of confidence. To many in the German culture this is a sign of a natural leader. However, in the Asian culture it can be perceived as anger or arrogance. Nonverbal language is also interpreted differently among different personality types. For extroverts, a high volume means that the individual is outgoing and personable. For introverts, this volume level can be obnoxious. Volume of the nonverbal language has similar effects if it is low. An

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.

Hand gestures, smiles and posture, these are all examples of non verbal communication. All people no matter their age, gender or physical state show non verbal gestures . According to business dictionary.com the definition of non verbal communication is as the following,”Transmission of messages by a medium other than speech or writing.”

Although there were times that I considered myself helping to deescalate the situation between Brenda and I, I was very much a part of the problem by being pass aggressive. Wood (2016) states that passive aggression is acting aggressively while denying feelings or acting aggressive. Verbally I could have tried having dialogue with Brenda to understand her perspective of what she was thinking to understand how she was feeling. I should have voiced how I felt, instead of trying to avoid the conflict, due to fear of what I might have inappropriately said. Wood states (2016), competent interpersonal communicators are sensitive to others and their preferences and choose their words accordingly.

Communication is the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2017)

“Systematic research on the role of nonverbal behavior in social interaction has been common only in the past 20 to 25 years.”(Edinger and Patterson, 1983, p. 30).because that statement was published in 1983, it is apparent that the study of nonverbal behavior has been around for roughly 50 to 55 years. However, that is still a relatively recent amount of time compared to research in other science fields such as chemistry or biology. Despite the fact that this field is relatively recent there are many theories about our interaction with others. This paper will discuss the nonverbal expectancy theory along with two other theories, and describe how these theories can work together.