Three Theories of Nonverbal Communication Essay

By observing us children learn how to interact with others, accomplish goals, and get along in the world. We are the examples, and what many do not realize is that our non-verbal messages and actions are stronger than our verbal ones. Non-verbal communication consists of expressions, tone of voice, eye contact, and actions.  The way you listen, look, move, and react tells the other person whether or not you care, if you’re being truthful, and how well you’re listening. When your nonverbal signals match up with the words you’re saying, they increase trust, clarity, and rapport. When they don’t, they generate tension, mistrust, and confusion. There are many different types of nonverbal communication. Together, the following nonverbal signals and cues communicate your interest and investment in others.

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.

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.

Nonverbal cues are a major part of expectancy violations theory (West & Turner, 2014). EVT suggests that people hold expectations of how people should act or respond to certain situations (Burgoon et al., 2016; Chiles & Roloff, 2014; Dickter & Gyurovski, 2012; Frisby & Sidelinger, 2013; Houser, 2005; Johnson, 2012; Lannutti & Camero, 2007; McAuliff, Lapin, & Michel, 2015; Meltzer & McNulty, 2011; Miller-Ott & Kelly, 2015; Sidelinger & Bolen, 2015; Walther-Martin, 2015). Also, scholars believe that these preconceived notions are learned (Burgoon et al., 2016; West & Turner, 2014; Walther-Martin,

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.

Nonverbal communication is behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning with out the use of words. Sometimes accompanying verbal messages, to clarify or reinforce them. (Floyd, Communicating Nonverbally, 2013) It is said to be true that nonverbal communication sometimes gives more information that verbal communication. People’s facial expressions, gestures, and personal appearance are all forms of nonverbal communication and it relies on our sense of vision. For instance, when my sorority and I get together for a meeting and the president of our chapter stands up in front of everyone to share information, it is important that we let her know that we are interested by nodding our head in agreement, smiling at her, clapping our hands, and keeping eye contact with her so she knows our focus is on her. For our chapter it is important to reassure our president that we are listening and focused on what she has to say by using nonverbal behaviors. Without nonverbal communication, it would be hard to tell when someone is interested or not in a conversation. Nonverbal communication helps us maintain

Found information states that “nonverbal communication is the process of transporting messages through behaviors, physical characteristics and objects”. Its how and what we use in order to express our feelings and say things. Using symbols is a way of using nonverbal communication. Also nonverbal communication is the way we use body language and gestures too. Nonverbal communication is often used unconsciously. When using the certain communication it can be misinterpreted also. There are many different categories of nonverbal communication. They are the following: Aesthetics, Artifacts, Chronemics, Haptics, Kinesics, Paralanguage, Physical Appearance, Proxemics, and Oculesics.

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

One thing we all have in common is that we must all communicate in one form or another. Everyone communicates even if they know it or not. Both verbal and nonverbal communication is used during conversations. Using both forms helps convey and support the message you are trying to send.

Eye contact is used to make sure that the message was understood or to show that you are paying attention (eye contact)

Following proxemics, arises kinesics. “Kinesics are gestures, body movements, facial expressions, and eye contact behaviors” (Jandt, 2016). This type of nonverbal communication is very important to acknowledge when traveling as people perceive and interpret what is seen much quicker. Kinesics are globally understood differently. For example, a “thumbs up” or “OK” gesture in the United States could be a symbol of agreeance or good job and a symbol for money in Japan (Levine & Adelman, 1993), meanwhile, in Argentina it is considered a sign of crudity. Another example of kinesics is when one physically hits the left palm with the right fist, which in the United States it is an action of “rock, paper, scissors,” in Argentina is it interpreted as “I don’t believe what you are saying” or “that’s stupid” (“How to Use Effectively”, 2017). When greeting, it is common for people of the same gender to have frequent physical contact, that is a hug and kiss on both cheeks. A handshake or a nod is a sign of respect for others. Also, when speaking about an object or others, instead of pointing, “use your open hand rather than a finger,” as it is considered unpolite (Katz, 2007). When going out to have dinner or lunch at someone’s home or at a restaurant, always keep the hands visible when eating, and do not rest your elbows on the table, which is considered a sign of no interest (Argentina Guide, n.d.). When one is finished eating, it is expected to place the “knife and fork across the

Nonverbal communication is when a person users gestures instead of words. Gestures can be facial expressions or body expressions. While doing research I learned that gestures are different around the world of different cultures. I chose French, Italian, and German to compare and contrast.

Whereas with verbal communication, the Japanese place a higher importance on implicit, nonverbal communication because nonverbal cues give truth to how an individual truly feels about a situation. “The Japanese are able to guess at each other’s feelings from facial expressions, movements of the eyes and the slightest gestures, and their conjectures are not mistaken” (Kowner, 2002, p.341). In Japan, if two individuals hold eye contact for a lengthy period of time, it is viewed as disrespectful and an invasion of privacy. The posture of an individual is a vital aspect of nonverbal communication, because the Japanese believe posture shows if one is being attentive and respectful during a conversation. Another nonverbal cue is the gestures an individual uses during a conversation, which can have several different meanings and can lead to one being offended when no offense was meant in the first place.

Throughout the semester, my skills that needed improvement were to work of my nonverbal communication, how to perceive others, and how to present the self. In the skill of nonverbally communicating, I needed to work especially on my facial expressions, so people can better understand me. The skill of perceiving others would have benefitted me because often, I cannot tell or fail to notice other people’s thoughts or emotions. Lastly, I needed to work on presenting myself, I need to feel more comfortable and confident in myself, while being with others.