Fixing Cars: Nonverbal Communication

DeVito mentions six principles of nonverbal communication. The first principle states that nonverbal messages interact with verbal messages. To me, this means that nonverbal messages can have a series of effects on verbal messages. In the Naked Face article, Gladwell stated “When someone says “I love you,” we look into that person’s eyes to judge his or her sincerity.” If someone is telling me that they love me but their eyes and body language so not seem sincere, I’m going to assume that their nonverbal actions are contradicting their verbal communication.

Joe Navarro, a former FBI counterintelligence agent and an expert on nonverbal communications and body language, asserts in his essay “Every Body’s Talking” that the body sends messages that are more effective as the words we say, interlocutors react unconsciously to mutual non-verbal messages, and don't realize that they communicate a lot of information without their knowledge. Although Navarro cleverly claims that a disagreement between two interlocutors can occur while the verbal message (words) is positive, and that non-verbal communication and body language add an extra dimension to the message, sometimes in contradiction with it, he fails to consider the cultural aspect. Different postures and gestures have different meanings in different cultures. This can be a drawback to use non-verbal communication. Insufficient samples also weaken this argument. In fact, people observed by Navarro cannot represent the entire globe’s population. The argument I have against his statement is that it is erroneous to claim that no one can keep a secret since if the lips are silent, the body is speaking.

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.

There are eight key forms of nonverbal communications used on a daily basis. These forms can affect the way people view another person; however, without understanding the forms of nonverbal communication there is certain to be a lot of misinterpretations. Cultural and language differences are a common reason for miscommunication. When communicating with people in different cultures, a person should be extremely aware of the hand gestures and nonverbal communication tools they are using. Many of the hand gestures used in the United States that mean good things, mean offensive and profane things to other cultures. Nonverbal communication is described as body language, hand gestures, and facial expressions. It is known that people reveal more information through nonverbal communication, than words alone to get a point across. There will always be some interaction between two or more people that everyone’s

Technology can be positive through providing face to face live video and audio chats, but can also be detrimental when it comes to simple texting without nonverbal messages. Facetime has been able to provide expressions and voice cues that help bring meaning to verbal messages. Nonverbal communication is hard to fake and is more trustable. While, texting can be detrimental to relationships because the meanings of words are skewed since they don’t have nonverbal cues to give context and meaning to them. The relationships that is most influenced by technology is my friends at Uconn because we spend so much time together and the amount of closeness I feel with these people is no comparable to those affected only by technology because I feel a sort of closeness through maintaining a close distance to them and I have the ability to exchange vocal and facial cues.

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.

Nonverbal communication covers all aspects of communication beyond words. It is anything from body gestures to the way words are spoken. The tone, demeanor, hidden meaning behind words, mix that with body language and what is creates in nonverbal communication elements. Even clothes and personal appearance can send a nonverbal message. Nonverbal communication accounts for nearly 65-93% communication means (Wood, 2014). One area where nonverbal communication sent a negative, incorrect message is the movie Erin Brockovich. The clothing of the main character sent the message that she was uneducated, white trash. This could not be further from the truth. She was an intelligent, single mother who saw a problem where nobody else did.

The aspect of nonverbal communication has been studied extensively for at least four decades. During the 1960s, volumes were printed about "body language." While that label has become trite to the point of jokes, the subject itself is valid and has been given a more appropriate label: nonverbal communication. Words, in and of themselves, do not convey the entire message in any communication interaction. There are always nonverbal cues. Even in a telephone conversation, there is are cues in terms of voice inflection, tone, volume, speed. Loudness and/or a harsh tone, for instance, communicates hostility and/or anger. Whether the speaker means to convey that message or not is immaterial because it is the listener's interpretation that will set the tone for the rest of the conversation.

The link above will direct you to the scene in the movie “Rush Hour.” This scene is titled, “Do You Understand the Words That Are Coming Out of My Mouth?” Spoiler alert, this movie is all about two inspectors that have been partnered up together to save the Chinese councilman’s daughter. The scene is shown by demonstrating Inspector Lee coming off the airplane from China to assist Agent Carter in the investigation. In addition, Inspector Lee is a great friend and agent that has been with the Chinese councilman for a very long time.

Fixing cars is my dad’s favorite hobby. As I was growing up, he wanted me to follow in his footstep and teach me everything he knew about fixing cars. Knowing the parts, components, and which tool to use was the easiest part in the learning process. However, because of a language barrier between our native tongue and the real name of the parts, components, and tools in English, it was really

Another feature in nonverbal communication against verbal communication is that it sometimes can contradict the verbal communication. It is because when someone is expressing some idea but the body language shows features that are saying the opposite or as well as, in a conversation with person verbally agree and the listener’s o listeners express negation by their faces.

In every society nonverbal communication is one of the most powerful tools that a person can use to interpret the message that is being delivered. Even though verbal communication is fairly straightforward, nonverbal communication allows others to sense the true emotions of the person that is expressing them. For example even though a person may say that they are not irritated, their usage of voice may display otherwise. Nonverbal communication not only reveals hidden messages, but it also complements, substitutes, and exaggerates verbal communication.

What happens to informal communication when the nonverbal behavior is incongruent with what is being

Communicating through social media and technology can sometimes be challenging, what are these challenges and how does this affect the nonverbal communication; and do you think this form of communication causes inabilities to interact positively and work effectively with others. While communicating through new technologies and social media can be challenging at times for some, one must also remember that “nonverbal behaviors can be important in establishing trust in working relationships, but modern technologies may challenge our ability to maintain that trust” (Nelson & Quick, 2017, pg. 131). This is because too much of a good thing can cause harmful reactions when trying to communication with another through that of modern