CampbellsvilleUniversityResearchPaper onNonVerbal CommunicationSubmittedbyMuraliPadiri548239 Table of Contents: Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………..3 Introduction. 3 Categories of Non_Verbal Communications (NVC) 5 Physical Communications.
5 Participant Characteristics Affecting NVC in Service Encounters ……………………………
6 Effects of non-Verbal Communication…………………………………………………….…..8 Importance……………………………………………………………………..………………9 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..……….
.11 References……………………………………………………………………………………12 AbstractTheoral communication competence is defined on the top of the most relevant skillsfor one’s professional and personal life. Because of the importance ofcommunication in our activities of daily living, it is crucial to study methodsto evaluate and provide the necessary feedback that can be used in order toimprove these communication capabilities and, therefore, learn how to expressourselves better. In this work, we propose a system capable of evaluatingquantitatively the quality of oral presentations in an automatic fashionIntroductionNowadays,the society is demanding new kinds of competenciesto its citizens and especially its professionals. With the implementation ofthe Bachelor degree in the European Higher Education Area, the concept ofcompetences became even more important in the educational field. One of themain goals of this plan is to provide specific skills and competencies to the student. Oral expressionand communication are among the most relevant competenciesin everyone’s life.
Communication is a process in which people verbally ornon-verbally share information and ideas. Non-verbal communication can be bestdefined as a silent form of communicating with a person or party without usingany form of speech to grab the attention of the audienceor to exploit a message. Non-verbal communication is often used to express athought or thoughts and make your message more appealing and interesting to theperson you are speaking. Non-verbal communication has a great influence on our social environment and the wholecommunication process.
There are four important functions of non-verbalcommunication. These functions can complement, regulate, substitute for, oraccent a verbal message. In addition to these functions, there are many typesof non-verbal communication: paralanguage, body movement, facial expressions,eye messages, attractiveness, clothing, body adornment, space and distance,touch, time, smell and manners.
Beforea discussion of the details of this channel of communication, it is importantto understand the role and function in general terms. According to Richmond,McCroskey and Payne (1991) there are six inter-related functions of NVC. At abasic level, NVC can simply repeat or reinforce a verbal message, for example holdingup three fingers and ordering three drinks at a bar.
The purpose in thiscontext is to increase the likelihood of the accurate reception of the verbalmessage. The second function ofnon-verbal communication is a substitute for a verbal message. For instance,waving or beckoning is used where verbal communication is suboptimal due to distance or other situationalfactors.Inaddition to the management of the personal interaction, the non-verbal behavior may also project a subtleindication of emotion.
The use of NVC to express emotions, communicateattitudes and establish and maintain relationships is a recognized socialskill. Ehrenwald (1996) suggests that the development of empathy ininteractions is dependent almost exclusively on these non-verbal cues.Similarly, Argyle (1983), and Keating et al. point out that facial expressionsconstitute one of the most important means by which emotions are manifest. Incombination these non-verbal signals are salient indicators of thoughts andattitudes and as such are a powerful complementary communication mechanism. Inprocess terms, NVC is a series of cues encoded by the sender, eitherconsciously or unconsciously, and subsequently decoded by the receiver.
Communicationand reception of these messages happencontinuously on both sides of the dyad, forming a second level of conversation.The impact of this communication channel is ultimately dependent upon accuratecoding and decoding of the signals by both parties. The problem is that withinthis basic conversational paradigm there are a number of possibilities for abreakdown in the discourse. For example, lack of eye contact could beinterpreted as lack of interest rather than embarrassment or distraction, andvice versa. If verbal and non-verbal messages are synchronized both parties getthe right impression. The problem occurs when these two forms of communicationcontradict each other, or one of the parties misinterprets part of the message.As NVC is generally considered to be more credible as it is less controllable,it is this part of the exchange that will carry more weight in decodingunderlying meaning.Categories of Non-VerbalCommunication Non-verbalcommunication can be divided into four categories: aesthetic, physical, signs,and symbols.
1.Aesthetic communication occurs through creative expression. This would includeall the art forms: music, dance, theater, crafts, art, painting, and sculpture.Ballet is an example of this, as there aredance and music, but no spoken or sung words.
Even in an opera, where there arewords, there are still facial expressions, costumes, posture, and gestures. 2. Physical communication includes a smile or frown,wink, touch, smell, salute, gesture, and other bodily movements. Socialconversation uses a lot of these physical signals along with the spoken words. 3.Signs are a more mechanical kind of non-verbal communication and include signalflags or lights, a 21-gun salute, a display of airplanes in formation, horns,and sirens.
4.Symbols of communication are used to build self-esteem. This includes jewelry,cars, clothing, and other things to communicate social status, financial means,influence, or religion. Physical Communication Physical communication is the most used formof non-verbal communication. A person who is aware of another person’snon-verbal cues understands that person better.
Even the way you are standingand your position in a group of people can communicate. The amount of distancebetween you and another person will be interpreted in a certain way, and themeaning will change according to the culture. It can mean either an attractionor can signal intensity.
Standing side-to-side can show cooperation, where aface-to-face posture may show competition. Your posture can communicate in anonverbal way, whether you are folding your arms, slouching, crossing yourlegs, or standing and sitting erect. Finally, any actual touching can convey attractionor a level of intimacy, e.
g., shaking hands, patting the back, hugging,pushing, or other kinds of touch. Other forms of non-verbal communication arefacial expressions, gestures, and eye contact. When someone is talking, theynotice changes in facial expressions and respond accordingly. These includeraising your eyebrows, yawning, sneering, rolling your eyes, gaping, andnodding.
The meaning of these movements is pretty much the same in allcultures. Gestures, however, are many times an individual’s way ofcommunicating with most people gesturewhen talking. Eye contact is very important in communicating nonverbally. Youcan read a person’s emotion through his/her eyes, and many times it is not thesame emotion that their words are trying to convey.Participant Characteristics AffectingNVC in Service Encounters Theeffectiveness of NVC is also governed by the characteristics of the individualsinvolved in the exchange, both customer, andemployee, and their likely response to coding and decoding signals. We canidentify three specific participant variables of note: culture, gender, and personality. Culture Inidentifying differences in response to NVC psychologists have identified anumber of characteristics that would suggest that coding and decoding of thistype of information are not common.Cultural norms and learned behaviors play an extremely large part in thisinterpretation and there is evidence to show that people can read moreaccurately the nonverbal behavior of others who are cultural, linguistically and racially similar.
It is evident thatsome behaviors are universal whilst others are not, for example, Keating et al. (1981) found that smiling was interpretedas happiness in all of the cultures studied.Gender Thesecond major difference in the interpretation of non-verbal behavior is betweengenders. Put simply, men and women behave differently and interpret the cuesthey are presented with differently (Eisenberg and Lennon 1983).
Womengenerally smile more (and frown less), approach closer than men, fidget less and make more eye contact,especially when listening (the submissive style). Women also respond morepositively to (appropriate) touch, as they perceive it to be friendly, whilemales have a higher level of touch avoidance than women (Argyle 1994). As wellas these sex-norm differences in behavior, there are more subtle differencesbetween men and women, i.
e. men speaking to men will use different NVC than menspeaking to women.Personality Thefinal individual characteristic that affects the interpretation of nonverbal behavior in service encounters is personality.The consideration of personality, in general, is a far greater topic than canbe described here, as every non-verbal channel is affected by personality. Theimportant issue in The Role of Non-Verbal Communication in Service Encounters17 this context is the way that individuals interact with the situation (Argyle1994).
This concept has two dimensions: communication competence andcommunication apprehension (see Boorom, Goolsby and Ramsey 1998). Communicationcompetence refers to the ability to follow and make sense of conversations,interaction involvement, and turn taking and yielding, all of which determinethe effectiveness of the interaction. Communication apprehensiveness is definedas “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either realor anticipated communication with another person or persons” (McCroskey1984, p.l4). This type of apprehension varies on a continuum from a trait,which is a generalized unease of an individual in communication situations, toa state of fear in a specific situation.
Individuals with communicationapprehension have poor cognitive processing during interactions and have beenfound to differ on three behavioral characteristics: attentiveness,perceptiveness, and responsivenessEffects of Non-Verbal Communication Non-verbalcommunication, especially body language, can send a strong message in spite ofwhat your words say. Even the tone of your voice, its pitch, volume, quality,and speed affect what you say. Your body language can: • Repeat the messageyour words are saying; • Contradict what your words are saying; • be asubstitution for your verbal message, andAdd to the meaning of your message. Relationships depend on a lot of non-verbalcommunication for them to be strong and lasting. The quality of yourrelationships can be improved if you can skillfully read people and understandthe emotions behind their words. When one party receives mixed signals, trustcan leave and thus damage the relationship. Trust can be created in arelationship by sending nonverbal clues that match your words. The way yourespond to someone non-verbally can show that you understand and care aboutthem, and the relationship will grow and be fulfilling to both.
Figure 1 shows the formation of an impression, whichindicates that 55% of body language works in our interactive communication. Importance Non-verbalcommunication plays an important role in all communications. It is impossibleto communicate without sending out non-verbal clues. These clues help othersdetermine the attitudes and attributes that may not be expressed by the wordsspoken. One broad area of non-verbal communication involves body position andmotion.
Referred to as kinesics, this area of non-verbal communicationencompasses posture, facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, and bodyorientation. Individuals use these channels to convey a variety of emotions aswell as to display important clues regarding their personality. Posture is apowerful way in which individuals send non-verbal clues. Posture clues areoften very subtle in nature so that individuals have to really look in order tosee them. On the other hand, some posture clues are very apparent. Forinstance, when an individual slumps forward he or she is usually perceived asbeing bored or extremely interested. A person who sits with his/her armscrossed is sending out a non-verbal message that he/she is closed toinformation.
Posture clues are the easiest to interpret when the receivernotices subtle changes the sender may not be aware of. An individual’s postureprovides important clues as to how an individual is feeling on the inside. Aperson who is sitting in a rigid position is usually threatened by something orsomeone, while a person sitting in a relaxed position appears to be comfortablewith his/her surroundings. In addition, posture can often signal real orperceived status. In general, lower status individuals are usually more rigidand tense in posture, while those of a higher status appear more relaxed.Importanceof Non-Verbal Communication at Workplace Inthe workplace, effective communication can be used to improve performance andto produce the desired results. There are many non-verbal cues that are usedevery day in the workplace, most of whichare stronger than the spoken language.
Professionally speaking, a handshake canmake a strong first impression, whether it is positive or negative. Men tend tohave better handshaking skills than women; handshakes should be inviting,strong but not overpowering. Workplace touching is often discouraged due tosending out mixed messages, but handshakes are usually accepted and encouragedin most cases. Eye contact is yet another important non-verbal cue that can beused both positively and negatively inthe workplace. In the US, eye contact conveys honesty and sincerity; making eyecontact is often an invitation to open communication and signifies the need forfeedback. In contrast, avoiding eye contact signals distrust, suspicion, orlack of interest; similarly, prolonged eye contact or a stare signifiesaggression or flirting. At the workplace, dressing professionally is somethingmost employees need to pay attention to, as it shows confidence in oneself.American businesses value being on time and being conscientious of this iscrucial in business.
Paying attention to all these non-verbal types ofcommunication can prove successful in almost every business. Non-verbalcommunication has the ability to strengthen and develop the existingrelationships or it can destroy them. A relationship can be regulated bynon-verbal communication because it can support or replace verbalcommunication. Some of the contributing factors are sending and receivingability and accuracy, the perception ofappropriate social roles, and cognitive desire for interpersonal involvement.If the communicators are unaware of the types of messages they are sending andhow the receiver is interpreting the messages, difficulties can arise fromnon-verbal communication. Facial expressions may intentionally orunintentionally cause negative feelings. Introduction and management rely onnon-verbal communication in interpersonal relationships.Conclusion Non-verbal communication is crucial in a plaindaily communication situation and it is also so for the interpreter.
Non-verbalcommunication can take various forms, each of which illustrates or replaces acertain part of the verbal communication. It includes many more elements thanone might think at first. In order to be able to work properly, theinterpreters need to make sense of non-verbal cues. This is only possiblebecause a special part of our brain deals with the emotional part of themessage. Not only intelligence but also emotional intelligence is needed forinterpreting non-verbal elements. Whether non-verbal communication supports businessmen in their tasks or presents adifficulty depends entirely on them and their actions.
In general, as we advancein our careers and even in our life, we tend to have more and be at leastbetter if not the best. Learning the non-verbal language is a very difficulttask that takes a lot of time and needs a lot of practice. But it is a veryimportant step that guarantees success in business. If a person can interpretnon-verbal language, he can control his own body language and his emotions;this always guarantees success. Not everyone can verbally communicate well, buteveryone can learn how to interpret the non-verbal communication of others. References1.
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