Eye Contact And Nonverbal Communication

For example, some cultures speak loudly and/or often while other cultures speak softly and/or only when necessary. Eye contact also varies by culture. Some cultures see direct eye contact as respectful while others see looking away or looking down as a sign of respect. It is important to understand how other cultures communicate so that there are fewer misconceptions when caring for people of another culture (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002).

To me interpersonal communication describes the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between two different people. Joseph DeVito states that “interpersonal communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable” due to these things effective communication is a necessary skill for us to function in our day to day lives (p. 20). Therefore, I have created a theory for interpersonal communication that goes as follows; To experience effective communication you must understand: your culture, the other person’s culture, and how to listen effectively. By knowing these three things you can consistently avoid misunderstandings and promote understanding in your interpersonal and intercultural relationships.

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.

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.

The woman, her mostly gray blonde hair freshly styled and worm to just below her shoulders, wore a blue medium-heavy summer jacket with a very colorful scarf wrapped around her neck. Her pants were comfortable looking jeans, and her shoes were almost new looking black flat walking shoes. She only had a cup of tea in front of her with two bags, which she dipped up and down constantly until she pulled them out and began drinking. They both wore wedding bands on their ring fingers. I would imagine them both to be in their late sixties to early seventies.

Being an active listener all of my life, I realized that the two things I always do when I sit down and talk with a person I care about are to lean forward and look at him straight to the eyes. Surprisingly, when I disengage with someone, I stop looking at him. That made me also think of some people that are normal, but when they talk to you, they look between your eyebrows. I was always finding it annoying, but now I can see that it is something they may need to do to avoid the distress and the overstimulation of an eye contact. However, some cultures such as the Japanese and Navajo forbid the eye contact with elder or strangers. As Kate Shela - a shamanic healer – states, looking at someone’s eyes is an active deep intimacy that frightens us, but at the same time liberates us.

In his article about eye contact studies, also known as Oculesics, Anderson (2015) states that studies conducted over many years by different researchers have come to a consensus about how eye contact is perceived. Looking someone directly in the eye especially when you or they are talking is considered polite because it shows attention is being given even if that isn’t the case inside the person’s head. Sometimes eye contact can also be misleading. The example given in the popular press proposal about the neighbor asking your help to move and you don’t want to but yet say yes, it is an example of misleading. A common myth however is that because a person isn’t directly looking at a person when they are talking, you are being rude and not listening. However there is no research that can validate this myth. There are many people who actually listen better when they are tinkering with an object and even looking away. The other social aspect, especially in Asian cultures, is considered to be rude by showing little to no eye contact, especially during a handshake.

Some examples of unproductive communication are Nervous mannerisms (e.g. scratching, pulling an ear, or playing with hair), unprofessional handshake, fidgeting, pointing a finger or object at people, raising eyebrow, peering over glasses

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.

My assumption of facial displays is that they communicate the most information during interactions. I also believe that facial expressions allow individuals to figure out the truth about how someone is feeling.

In my household, there has always been a strong emphasis on the importance of eye contact. Eye contact falls under the category of kinesics, or body movements and positions. Even though eye contact seems like a small gesture, it is still extremely important in the act of communication. I remember when I was growing up, my dad would often tell me things such as “look at me when I’m talking to you”. Even though I would mainly hear those statements when I was in trouble, they left an impact on me. I also remember my grandma telling me that “your eyes are the window to your soul”. Americans place a strong worth on eye contact. The textbook supports this idea by stating “To the European American, direct eye contact is expected” (Lustig & Koester 289). I’ve always been told by my elders to make strong eye contact and it has stuck with me throughout my life. Making eye contact is now second nature to me and I don’t put much thought into it. When I was having a conversation with Christina recently, I noticed I make a lot more direct eye contact then she does. When I’m telling her something or responding to something she said, I make sure to look at her directly, so she knows she has my full attention. But, when she’s talking, she’ll glance away or sometimes even look at her phone while talking to me. I know that she is paying attention to me because of the feedback she gives, but if I didn’t know her

Body language, while easily overlooked as a means of communication, is used every day when people interact with one another. We interact beyond words by using what we call nonverbal signals. According to many experts in this field, such as James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond, the authors of Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations, body language makes a huge difference in our daily communication. For example, the way we pose, the expressions on our face, and even the tone of our speech, which are all nonverbal communication methods, change the volume of speech and thus have various impacts on the overall communication. Almost half of our communications involves people’s use of body language to convey their thoughts, whether or not those happen unconsciously or consciously; understanding body language is very important for daily communication with one another. Since Eastern University is a small Christian college, students and professors have the opportunity to have better and intimate relationships with each other. Therefore, professors should not only use more efficient body languages to interact with students individually but also use various types of body language to improve class atmosphere. Furthermore, the use of body language can help international students have a better understanding of the American education system.

I give "Eye Contact" 3 of 5 stars. The film begins with a teenage girl jogging towards and then into a lighthouse. The character's name is not established. Once in the lighthouse, she looks out the window, and sees a figure standing at its base. She looks at it for a minute, before going back down and deciding to leave. On her way out, she sees the figure now standing at the top of the lighthouse. She runs off again, and on her way, she sees the figure. She finally gets to the end of the path and into a dirt road, seeing the figure again, but this time much closer. She screams before running off. She continues to run for a while, seeing the figure many times on her way. The jogger gets to her home, closing and locking the door, and goes to

“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.