UNIT-IV
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION AND PERSONAL
COMMUNICATION
DIMENSIONS AND FUNCTIONS OF NON-VERBAL
COMMUNICATION – PERSONAL APPEARANCE – BODY
LANGUAGE-PARALANGUAGE – ENVIRONMENT – USE OF
CHARTS, DIAGRAMS, TABLES AND VISUAL AUDIO AIDS FOR
COMMUNICATION – LISTENING – PROCESS OF IMPROVING
LISTENING – TEAMS – TYPES – DYNAMICS-IMPROVING GROUP
COMMUNICATION – UNDERSTANDING OTHERS AND SELF,
SELF CONCEPT – INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTION – FEEDBACK
Non-verbal Communication
2
It is defined as the messages expressed by
nonlinguistic means.
Includes silent behaviors, environment, artifacts, and vocal
intonation
Is a powerful mode of communication
Characteristics
3
Nonverbal Communication is Primarily Relational.
Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous.
Nonverbal Communication Reflects Cultural
Values.
Types of Non-verbal Communication
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Proxemics
Haptics
Chronemics
Kinesics
Artifacts
Vocalics or Paralanguage
Environment
PROXEMICS (distance)
5
Different cultures have different comfort levels of
distance
As children grow older and become less dependent
on parents they require more space
Men tend to take up more space than women
Example: When you go to the movies with someone
of the opposite sex who usually gets the armrest?
HAPTICS (touch)
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Touching is considered essential and therapeutic.
Touching can influence liking and compliance.
Is used to show intimacy or power/control.
People with high status touch others/invade others’
spaces more than people with lower status
CHRONEMICS (time)
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Our use of time reflects:
Power/status
Cultural norms
Expectations
Interpersonal priorities
KINESICS (behavior)
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Facial expressions
Eye contact
Body language
Gestures
Physical appearance
Facial expressions
9
A popular saying goes like this; “The face is the
index of the heart”. Whatever we feel deep within
ourselves is reflected on the face. Many times it
determines the consequences of personal
communications.
For example,
our facial expressions are generally asociated with
happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness,
astonishment etc.,
Eye contact
10
Every one knows that eye contact is of paramount
importance in all face-to-face communications.
When we look at somebody’s face, we focus primarily
on his eyes and try to understand what he means.
The eyes along with the eyebrows, eyelids and the
size of pupils convey our innermost feelings.
Body Language
11
It refers to the non-verbal signals that we use to
communicate. It is a form of mental and physical
ability of human non-verbal communication, which
consists of our postures, gestures, facial expressions.
Individuals send and interpret such signals almost
entirely subconsciously.
Posture
12
Posture refers to the way one stands, sits and walks.
The position of hands and legs and other parts of the
body reveals not only an individual’s state of mind-
whether he is vibrant, alive, dynamic or nervous,
confidence etc., but also his grip on the subject-
matter of communication.
VOLCALICS (Paralanguage)
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Consists of vocal tone, speed, pitch, volume,
number and length of pauses, and disfluencies
(“um”s, “ah”s), etc.
Paralanguage tends to be more powerful than
language
Affects how other’s perceive us
Stereotyping (e.g., accents, vocabulary, grammar
Influenced by culture, gender, class (intentionally
or unintentionally)
Physical Appearance
14
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”
We tend to notice obvious things first (gender, race),
then note attractiveness
Physically attractive people generally are perceived
better
Importance placed on physical appearance can be
very damaging
It’s what we do with it that’s most important
ENVIRONMENT
15
Communicates something about you
We surround ourselves with things that are
important/meaningful to us
Use artifacts to define our territory
Can influence interactions
How people use an environment communicates
something about them
Functions of Nonverbal Communication
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Repeating
Substituting
Complementing
Accenting
Regulating
Contradicting
Deceiving
Listening
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The process of receiving, constructing meaning from,
and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal
messages; to hear something with thoughtful
attention
Listening vs. Hearing
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Hearing- physical process; natural; passive
Listening- physical & mental process; active; learned
process; a skill
Advantages of listening
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Listeningis the most powerful form of
acknowledgment.
Listening builds stronger relationships.
Listening promotes being heard.
Listening creates acceptance and openness.
Listening leads to learning.
Barriers to Listening
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Uninteresting Topics.
Speaker’s Delivery.
External Distractions.
Mentally Preparing Response.
Equate With Hearing
Bad Listening Habits
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Criticizing the subject or the speaker
Getting over-stimulated
Listening only for facts
Not taking notes OR outlining everything
Tolerating or creating distraction
Letting emotional words block message
Wasting time difference between speed of speech
and speed of thought
Ways to improve listening
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Concentrate on speaker’s words, not his looks.
Keep recalling the points.
Relate the speaker’s words to your experience.
Don’t get distracted.
Have a positive attitude.
Listen for between-the line message.
Take notes.
Ask questions.
