Transcript non-verbal communication

Learning ahead
 Types of non-verbal communication
 What do facial expressions say about us?
 Importance of Personal space & physical contact
Survey
 About 7% of the message is conveyed through words.
 About 38% is conveyed via vocal pitch, emphasis and related
factors.
 About 55% is conveyed by gesture, posture and related factors
Non-verbal communication
 Importance of non-verbal communication
 Non-verbal communication is an essential part of all person-
to-person situations.
 Non-verbal communication is the study of communicative
behaviors outside of words.
 Non-verbal communication is the visual element of
communication.
Non-verbal communication
(1) body language
 Body language refers to non-verbal signals, gestures,
postures, eye contact and so on, which used to aid or hinder
communication
 but non-verbal communication refers not only to bodily
behaviour but also to things beyond the body.
Types of body language
 Open body language
E.g. Smiling; good eye contact; palms open and upwards;
nodding; body facing the sender/ receiver; good poise; etc.
 closed body language
E.g. Poor eye contact; shaking head; shrugging shoulders;
crossed arms; frown; rolling eyes, etc.
Some basic signs of body
language
 Open
Smile
Nodding head
Hands by the side
Maintaining eye contact
 Closed
Frown
Shrugging shoulders
Shaking head
Tapping fingers
Cross arm
Slouching（无精打采）
Rolling eyes
The use of body language
 How should we do?
 Body language signals should not be interpreted in isolation
 Most gestures or signals are usually accompanied by other
gesture.
 All body language needs to be put into context in the same
way as we do for other forms of communication.
Comparison
Gesture
a circle
with one’s
thumb and
index
finger
Country
most
countries
Japan
France
Germany
Brazil
Meaning
Comparison
Gesture
a circle
with one’s
thumb and
index
finger
Country
most
countries
Japan
Australia
Germany
Brazil
Meaning
OK
money
zero
rudeness
Comparison
Gesture
Country
most
countries
thumbs up
Japan
Germany
Turkey
Russia
Meaning
Comparison
Gesture
thumbs up
Country
Meaning
most countries
O.K, good job
or fine
Japan
Five
Germany
One
Turkey
rude
Russia
Comparison
Meaning
Gesture in the
USA
No, don’t Moving the
do that.
index finger
from side to
side.
I don’t
Shrugging one’s
know
shoulders.
Gesture in
China
Comparison
Comparison
Meaning
Gesture in the
USA
No, don’t Moving the
do that.
index finger
from side to
side.
I don’t
Shrugging one’s
know
shoulders.
Gesture in
China
Moving the
hand
from side to
side
Shaking the
head
Non-verbal communication
(2)Facial expressions
 Facial expression is a gesture executed with the facial muscles.
 Facial expression, along with sight and perception, is core to
how a message is perceived by the receiver.
 Facial expression can tell a lot about of someone feeling
without using words.
Facial expressions (Cont’d)
 We are able to decode messages which facial expressions send
fairly easily.
 Because faces give away what the person is thinking.
Non-verbal communication
(3)Personal Space
 Human beings like animals, have an
invisible ‘bubble’ of personal space.
 What is ‘personal space’?
---the distance required between two people
when interacting
Personal Space (Cont’d)
 The elements influences personal space
 1. Personal space varies between cultures
 Southern European people have smaller personal space than
Northern European people
 2. The relationship between people determines how
much personal space is required. in general terms, the
closer the relationship, the closer the personal space
 There are four zones:
 1) The intimate eg. lovers and relatives
 2) The personal eg. friends and close colleagues
 3) The social eg. work colleagues in a meeting
 4) The public
Personal Space (cont’d)
 3. One needs to remember that personal space varies
considerably between classes and sexes. It appears to be the
case that:
 People with greater prestige and power in organizations
demand more space
 Many males demand more space than female
 People from rural areas need more personal space than urban
people
Non-verbal communication
(4)Physical contact
 Physical touch
 It varies from country to country, culture to culture and person
to person when it comes to physical contact.
Tips
 Body language is a powerful way to express thoughts and
feelings.
 Do not read body language signals in isolation – consider the
context of the situation.
 Our body language will be different for each experience and
will depend on who we are dealing with and our relationship
with them.