Transcript Nonverbal Communication

A Basic Overview

Nonverbal communication
evolved long before
language.

Animals rely on nonverbal
communication
• dogs growl, show their teeth
• grunts, , clicks, mouth sounds,
• cats purr
vocal inflection
• Earliest languages were the
“click” languages
• horse’s put their ears back

Nonverbal communication is
an infant’s first form of
communication.
• Infants rely on touch, sound,
smell
• “motherese” sing-song pitch
variation (vocalics)

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In most cases, if you are
talking you are aware of it.
People choose their words
(though, not always
carefully)
Nonverbal is less mindful
• blushing, fidgeting

Cussing in words versus
sounds
• “Oh s#%*!” vs. “Aaagghhh!”
• Swearing actually increases
pain tolerance

nonverbal communication can be
highly conscious and strategic
• Food server touch and tip size
• Husbands do the dishes as
“foreplay.”
• Mirroring behavior in retail sales

People have an innate
capacity for language, but it
must be learned.
• Feral children
• Identical twins

Reading and writing must be
taught, learned.
• Complete illiteracy is always
just one generation away.


Nonverbal communication is
partly learned, partly
instinctive
There are some universal
nonverbal cues (smiling,
laughing, crying)


Nonverbal is the primary
channel for communicating
emotion.
Nonverbal cues convey the
relationship dimension in
an interaction
• Content dimension
• Relationship dimension
What inferences could you
reliably make based on the
nonverbal cues of these two
people?

Nonverbal behavior is
perceived to be more
genuine, authentic
• the eyes are the
“window to the soul.”
• Bush about Putin, “I
looked the man in the
eye. I was able to get a
sense of his soul.”

People presume that
nonverbal cues
• are more spontaneous
• are less intentional
• operate at a lower level
of awareness

Nonverbal primacy
• When there is a perceived
conflict between a verbal
and nonverbal message,
listeners assign more
weight to the nonverbal
message.
• The majority of the
affective (emotional
meaning) of a message is
conveyed nonverbally.
• The majority of the
“relational meaning” of a
message is conveyed
nonverbally.
• But not always…