Physical Appearance in Non-Verbal 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.

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

Labels and stereotypes are also derived from physical differences which also play a huge part in the perception factors that affect our abilities to communicate. Physical differences such as height, weight, sex, or race plays a huge part in people’s perception. Often times the color of a person skin will change the perception of another person based off of stereotypes. The person could be considered overweight or disabled and these physical traits often effect people’s perception of what that person can accomplish. Physical traits often play a part in perception because of the societal and cultural factors that influence people.

Furthermore how would we be able to transfer all of our knowledge to the next person, better yet, how would we improve our capacity of knowledge as a whole. We

Any communication interaction involves two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, or what words are spoken and nonverbal, the cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures. Many people believe it is their words that convey the primary messages but it is really their nonverbal cues. The hypothesis for this research paper was: facial expressions directly impact how a person is perceived. A brief literature search confirmed this hypothesis.

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.

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.

For this discussion post, I observed a stranger for thirty seconds to one minute to take note of their general appearance features and do an analysis of the categories and personal characteristics that I perceived to be possessed by the person based on their appearance. I will describe the physical appearance characteristics that led to my first impression analysis and the personal cultural influences that I believe contribute to my analysis of the person’s characteristics. I will also think about my own appearance, describe fashion behaviors that I implement to give others information about me, identify general assumptions that I believe others make about me, and describe the assumptions and why I feel they are made. I will consider Jane

Today in our society our appearance means everything. People judge ones personal worth by their appearance, for example two men standing beside you one man is in a suit and dressed well, the other is dressed in oversized clothes and his hood up on his jacket, which person are you more willing to approach? this is a key example of what our appearance says about us in our society today.

In a romantic relationship, it is easy to have miscommunication between a man and a woman. “Most researchers agree that 70% or more of the meaning of any message is communicated through nonverbal channels like eye contact, facial expressions, posture, hand gestures, etc.” (Stinnett, 2015). Verbal and nonverbal messages are like a relationship, they work well together that way the message is sent and delivered appropriately and that there is no miscommunication. Women have their way of expressing themselves to their boyfriend, fiancé, and or husband and vice versa for men. This paper will focus on the varying behavior of gender in expressing the different type of emotions using nonverbal communication in a romantic relationship. Following

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

Since the beginning of time, humans have gathered their first impression of someone based on their appearance. Perception is a basic human process that causes people to become aware of something through their senses. That being said, people always link a person’s personality or skill to the way they look. Because the human race is so judgmental, people who cannot afford to look a certain way, people who want to look differently, and people who were born with different defects are being wrongly perceived. Thinking that someone is less of a person because of their physical appearance is a large problem in this growing society. It is important to analyze all of the issues rising because of judgment in order to ensure a future where all people are accepted and given equal opportunity.

“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.

However, not everyone is in agreement with Mr. Clinton and Ms. Portner. One such individual is Karon Jahn, who spoke at the 78th Convention of the Speech Communication Association. Jahn’s argument is principally centered on infringement of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Jahn creates proper pathos with her plea that one’s body and appearance are the most personal and unique aspects of one’s personality. It is inherently important for one to be able to create their identity and image argues Jahn. Appearance is how first impressions of individuals are made. This nonverbal communication is an essential part in the relationship determining process.