How Effective Is Nonverbal Communication Universal?

On September 12, 2008, I observed two people; Person A and Person B. The observation took place at Applebee’s, a local restaurant, beginning at 7:21 p.m. and ending observation at 8:06 p.m. I was serving their table for the evening, enabling myself to observe them closely. The restaurant had died down from the dinner rush, leaving them one of three tables in the smoking section, normally filled with eight. Along with the outside light fading, the lighting indoors was dim, making the dining experience feel more quiet and intimate. The background noise was filled with a light roar of other group’s conversations, and a jazz station played quietly from the speakers overhead.

Nonverbal communication is communication by means other than verbal communication, which is the use of sounds and spoken language to communicate a message. Nonverbal communication includes, body language, eye contact, gestures, facial expressions, silence, and personal space. Nonverbal communication has different meanings in every culture. How is this communication viewed in different cultures, and is it interpreted as offensive when a mentally disabled person portrays nonverbal communication that is usually seen by nondisabled people as inappropriate, offensive, and or even rude?

While this conversation was taken place I also noticed facial expressions, which is a gesture executed by using facial muscles. Below is an example of how both gestures and facial expression are both used during a nonverbal conversation.

Most people are surprised to learn exactly how much information they communicated about themselves through their facial expressions. The intricacies of what one does with their the eyes, eyebrows, forehead, lips, tongue, teeth, and mouth while listening or talking combine to send some

Nonverbal communication also reflects and shapes the relationships that are built with other individuals. As individuals make connections with one another, they use nonverbal communication. These include handshakes, smiles, and waves. Each of these send a message to another individual regarding a relationship. A handshake could represent a relationship between an employer and an employee. A smile can represent a wanted relationship between someone that an individual is attracted to. When waving to an individual it can be a way to shape a friendship.

'Body language,' includes all the communication. This can include how we should greet others, how we should sit or stand, our facial expressions, our clothes, hair styles ,our tone of voice, eye movements, how we should listen, how we should breathe, how close we should stand to others, and how we touch others. The pressure of body language can especially be felt in emotional situations where body language usually prevails over words.

It seems that in today’s fast paced society filled with smartphones, computers, mobile tablets and all the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, that we forget the subtle art of nonverbal communication and how it affects human interactions. By non-verbal communication I am not talking about things such as emails, texts, carrier pigeons and whatever other method of messaging system you prefer to use. I am referring to the face to face exchanges with real humans and how small things such as personal space or body language can alter the outcome of any connections we have throughout the day. There are varying influences that come play a part during these exchanges. Kinesics, haptics and proxemics are merely a few of these aspects. If extra people paid attention to the soundless ways humans communicate their needs and desires, consequently I feel there would be less miscommunication, misinterpretations and an overall improved human experience. Simply observing someone’s body language can clue you in on what could possibly be running through their mind during your communication.

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.

Theorists view body language, gestures, symbols, tones, language, and more to figure out human conversations. Although they may be subtle and unconscious, they are important. Analyzing how a married couple communicates and resolves problems reflects many aspects of communication. In the show, Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit, season 19, episode 1, this is done with the use of powerful and powerless language, communication accommodation theory, and nonverbal codes in the characters of Karla and Frank. This married couple has a distinct conversation that makes it significant to analyze for this paper. When her rapist is caught after six years of looking for him, Karla is asked by the special victims unit if she is willing to testify against him in court. She is excited to put her rapist in jail; however, her husband, Frank, has something else in mind, and he does not care about Karla’s traumatizing experience at all. Throughout this interaction, the usage of verbal and nonverbal communication within the couple establishes what type of relationship they have because of the way he speaks with Karla, giving off the impression of an unhealthy relationship.

Ten nonverbal communication techniques to make a positive impression in a job interview are mentioned below:

Before analysing the video is important to define what is communication. Communication is an act of transmitting information such as thoughts, ideas, and emotions furthermore, those elements can also be expressed with verbal communication and nonverbal gestures, signs, and symbols (Hargie, 2011). Moreover, it is necessary to understand the difference between conventional implication and conversational implication. In the first case the linguistical meaning is attached to the message itself and in the second case, the meaning of the message is implied therefore is different from the linguistic meaning (Blome-Tillmann, 2013).

Facial Expression: The human face is an essential part when it comes to expressing nonverbal communication. You face acts as a window into your mind; it expresses countless emotions throughout the day. Facial expressions are considered to be generic through different cultures. It is important to remember to keep

The typical teacher in a classroom environment is immensely active; The teacher is likely in continual verbal contact with students: answering questions, asking students questions, presenting material, etc. The teacher also communicates mood and feeling as well as certain meanings through a steady stream of physical activity; a teacher leans forward, taps, points, waves his hand, turns, smiles, frowns. This non verbal activity can be divided into four categories: conducting, acting, wielding and personal, and increased effectiveness in these categories can produce a enriching education process for students when complemented with verbal aspects of a classroom, even for students who have learning or mental disabilities, specifically students with down syndrome. It is easy to observe that a teacher's nonverbal communication skills are a basic and important component of teaching much like verbal communication, and varying effectiveness can help or hinder a student's success.

John Warren Stewig in an article published in the professional journal Language Arts provides an excellent commentary on nonverbal communication. His article is an exceptional example of academic writing that has been formatted as a primer or tool to be used by other educators. Professor Stewig provides a breakout of how much of a given message can be considered verbal and how much nonverbal. He also introduces the term kinesics and divides kinesics into two categories: personal and professional gestures. He closes his article by consulting the reader of their obligation to improve a child 's appreciation of the total range of message sending and their effectiveness as communicators.

“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.