Non-Verbal Communication

• Non-verbal communication


  All communication that occurs without the use of words, spoken or written
• Non-verbal cues speak louder than words, as even though speech can be made up, bodily expressions can rarely be masked well enough to hide one's true feelings and emotions
• It is difficult to analyse non-verbal cues accurately as the interpretation of non-verbal cues is a very subjective concept, varying based on people's varied backgrounds
• Types/Elements of Non-verbal Communication

  • Kinesics
  • Proxemics
  • Chronemics
  • Haptics
  • Olfactics
  • Chromatics
  • Silence
  • Sign language
  • Artifacts
• Kinesics


  Study of the body's physical movements, the way the body communicates without words, i.e., through the various movements of its parts
• Sigmund Freud: 'He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent he chats with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.'
• Personal appearance


  • People see before they hear, clothing, hair, accessories, cosmetics, and so on
• Posture


  • The way one sits, stands, or walks reveals a lot, stiff positions like standing akimbo send the message of defiance or aggression, slumped posture indicates low spirits, erect posture indicates high spirits, energy, and confidence, leaning forward indicates open, honest, and interested, leaning backward indicates defensive or disinterested, crossed arms indicate defensive and not ready to listen, uncrossed arms indicate willingness to listen
• Gesture


  • Movement made by hands, head, or face, skillful and appropriate gestures can add to the impact of verbal communication, awkward gestures can mar the effectiveness of the message
• Facial expression


  • The face is the most expressive part of our body, a smile stands for friendliness, a frown for discontent, raised eyebrows for disbelief, tightened jaw muscles for antagonism, the six basic facial expressions are happiness, surprise, disgust, fear, anger, and sadness
• Eye contact (Oculesics)


  • Eyes are considered to be the windows of the soul, we look at the eyes of a speaker to find out the truthfulness of his/her words, intelligence, attitudes, and feelings, prolonging the eye contact for three to five seconds tells the audience that the presenter is sincere in what he/she says and that he/she wants us to pay attention
• Proxemics


  • The study of physical space in interpersonal relations, in a professional setting, space is used to signal power and status, gestures should be in accordance with the space available
• Chronemics


  • The study of how human beings communicate through their use of time, when we are late for an appointment, people react negatively, if we arrive early, we are considered either over-eager or aggressive, so we should always be on time, time language also varies from culture to culture
• Olfactics


  • The study of sense of smell, someone's smell can have a positive or negative effect on the oral message, although people of the U.S. respond negatively to body odors, Arabs are comfortable with natural body odors
• Haptics


  • Communicating through the use of bodily contact, touch, when used properly, may create feelings of warmth and trust; when used improperly, touch may cause annoyance and betray trust
• Chromatics


  • Communication of messages through colors, the connotations colors have may be positive or negative depending on the culture, in USA common to wear black when mourning, in India people prefer white
• Silence


  • Another important aspect in communication, what we communicate depends on what kind of silence it is, the more emotionally loaded subject is, the more silence we need, silence in group conversations are difficult to be handled for lot of people
• Sign language


  • Visual signs like crossed bones under a skull as a danger signal, cross over a cigarette as warning against smoking, lights-green or red at traffic points, railway stations, outside operation theatre of hospital, revolving light on the top of VIP vehicle/ambulance, audio signs like alarm signals, blowing a horn, buzzer, bells
• Clothing & other artifacts

  • Artifacts are forms of decorative ornamentation that are chosen to represent self-concept, they can include rings and tattoos, but may also include brand names and logos, from clothes to cars, watches, briefcases, purses, and even eyeglasses, what we choose to surround ourselves with communicates something about our sense of self, they may project gender, role or position, class or status, personality, and group membership or affiliation