NON-VERBAL

COMMUNICATION

“The most important thing in

communication is to hear what is not
being said”
-Peter Drucker
 Non Verbal Communication

• Communication without spoken language

• Includes gestures, facial expressions, and body positions (“body

language”)

• Involves unspoken understandings, cultural, and environmental

factors

• Non-verbal signals are often unconscious behaviors

• Deeply rooted in human nature and overall makeup

 Importance

• Communication researcher Mehrabian found that only 7% of a

message’s effect are carried by words; listeners receive the
other 93% through non-verbal means

• Birdwhistell suggested that spoken words account for not

more than 30-35% of all our social interactions

• Over 65 percent of the social meaning of the messages we

send to others are communicated non-verbally
 Three Aspects of Communication

VERBAL (7%)
VOCAL (38%)
VISUAL (55%)
 Types of Non-verbal Communication

Kinesics
Paralanguage or Para Linguistics
Proxemics
Haptics
Occulesics
Chronemics
Artifacts
 Kinesics
• It is the way the
body
communicates
without words,
that is, through
various
movements of its
parts

• The study of
posture,
movements,
gestures, and
facial expressions
 Functions
• Replacing spoken
messages
• Sending (un)comfortable
messages
•Reinforcing and modifying
verbal messages
Posture
Some Common Postures:

• Arms folded across the chest : unsympathetic

• Arms held loose : open positive attitude
• Upright posture : high status, I am the boss
• Bowing head : lower status
• Sideway lean : relaxation, friendliness
• Self wrapping : withdrawal, self protection
•Moderately upright : enthusiasm, friendliness
 FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Facial expressions reflect emotion, feelings, and attitudes

 The Face

• The face is an important source of information

• Since the face cannot be easily hidden, it is an important

source of nonverbal information and communicates a variety
of emotions

• In addition, eye contact, pupil size, and the smile provide

additional cues to informed observers
Facial Expressions
Six Basic Emotions
 Facial Expressions

Forehead Wrinkles Anger

Eyebrows Outer edges up Anger

Nose Upwards Contempt

Contempt
 Lips

• Parted relaxed, happy

• Together possibly concerned

• Wide Open very happy/very angry

 Arms

Arms Crossed Angry, Disapproving

Open Honest, Accepting

 Hands

On Top of the Head Amazement

Scratching Head Puzzled , Confused

Rubbing Eyes Tired

Rubbing Chin Thinking,

Timid, Shy
 Fingers

Fingers Interlocked Tense

Pointing at you Angry

OK Signal Fine

V Sign Peace
 Aggressive Body Language

• An overly firm handshake

• Invading personal space
• Hands-on hips or legs too wide
• Maintaining eye contact to the point of staring
• Aggressive physical movements like finger-pointing

Image:
[Link]
ncy-medicine-managing-disturbed-
patient/emergency-medicine/
article/1054367
 Defensive Body Language (Closed Body Language)

• Crossed arms or legs

• Avoiding eye contact
• Leaning away
• Hunched shoulders
• Eye rolling

[Link]
srsltid=AfmBOooq1-ES7GVEy_8UYuVGeZgqT2eZevFvCb23JuAW3QHHU-vo80Hj
 Bored Body Language

• No or lack of eye contact

• Excessive fidgeting
• Yawning
• Shifting weight and sitting uncomfortably
• Rubbing face

Image:
[Link]
search/bored-body-language
 Nervous Body Language

• Biting nails
• Fidgeting
• Coughing
• Weak handshake
• Putting hands on head

[Link]
 Engaged Body Language (Open Body Language)

• Good eye contact

• Confident stance
• Positive gestures
• Nodding in agreement
• Smiling

Image: [Link]
Cont..

• Proud people usually display their hands openly

• People who are not proud often hide their hands or put them in
their pockets

• Open hand signals indicate comfort and openness in

someone’s presence
 Common Gesture Clusters
Evaluation:
• Hand-to-face gesture with finger
on cheek

• Another finger covers the mouth

• Thumb supports the chin

• Legs crossed and arm across body

(defensive)

• Head and chin down, showing

disagreement or dislike
[Link]
book_of_body_language/[Link]
 Suspicion, Secrecy, Rejection, and Doubt

• These negative emotions are

communicated typically by:
• Sideways glances
• Minimal or no eye contact
• Shifting the body away from the
Speaker
• Touching or rubbing the nose
 Common Gesture Clusters:
Enthusiasm

• A smile and wide, alert eyes show positive feeling and

interest.
• Upright, open posture and leaning forward indicate
enthusiasm.
• Open hands and outward arm movements express warmth and
energy.
• Frequent hand gestures make a person seem lively and
agreeable.
• Good eye contact and nodding show engagement and
confidence.
 GESTURES

“LET YOUR BODY

TALK

ON YOUR BEHALF”
Standing Leg Cross Gestures
 Hands Clenched Together

• The person would be more difficult to handle when the hands are held high, than
they would be with the person whose hands are resting on the desk position

• Like all negative gestures, some action needs to be taken to unlock the person’s
fingers to expose the palms and the front of the body, or the hostile attitude will
remain
 Hands Clenched Together

• Research by Nierenberg and Calero on the hands-clenched position brought them to

the conclusion that this was a frustration gesture, signaling that the person was
holding back a negative attitude or emotion
 Steepling Hands

• People who are confident, superior types or who use minimal or

restricted body gestures often use this gesture, and, by doing so, they
signal their confident attitude

• It is frequently used in superior/subordinate interaction and that it can

be an isolated gesture which indicates a confident or 'know-it-all'
attitude.

• Managers often use this gesture position when giving instructions or

advice to subordinates and it is particularly common among
 Types of Steepling

• When the person concerned

is talking and giving his
ideas and opinions, he
normally adopts the raised
steepling gesture

• When the steepler is

listening, he uses the
lowered steeple gesture
 The Mouth Guard

The mouth guard is one of the few adult gestures that is as obvious as a
child’s

The hand covers the mouth and the thumb is pressed against the cheek as the
brain sub-consciously instructs it to try and suppress the deceitful words that
are being said

Sometimes this gesture may only be several fingers over the mouth or even a
closed fist, but its meaning remains the same
The Mouth Guard

• Many people try to disguise the

mouth guard gesture by giving a
fake cough

• If the person who is speaking uses

this gesture, it indicates that he is
telling a lie

• If, however, he covers his mouth

while you are speaking, it indicates
that he feels you are lying
 Head Gestures

Neutral Head Position: The position taken by the person who has a neutral attitude
about what he is hearing. The head usually remains still and may occasionally give
small nods

Interested Head Position: When the head tilts to one side it shows that interest has
developed
 Head Gestures

Disapproval Head Position: When the head is down, it signals that the attitude is
negative and even judgmental

Critical evaluation clusters are normally made with the head down and, unless you can
get the person’s head up or tilted, you may have a communication problem
Generally, people who walk fast and swing their arms
freely tend to know what they want and to go after that.
People who walk with their
shoulders hunched and ha
nds in their pockets tend to
be secretive and critical

They dont seem to like mu

ch of what is going on arou
nd them
 People who are
preoccupied or thinking,
usually walk with their
heads down, hands
clasped behind their
backs and pace very
slowly.
 Handshake: The Stiff-Arm

• The Stiff-Arm Thrust tends

to be used by aggressive
types and its main purpose is
to keep you at a distance and
out of the initiator's intimate
zone

• With palm facing directly

downwards forces the
receiver into submissive
position because they have
to respond with their palms
facing up.
 Handshake: The Arm-Pull

• Pulling the receiver into the

initiator’s territory can mean
one of the two things:

• First : The initiator is an

insecure person who feels
safe only within his personal
space

• Second : The initiator is from

a culture that has a small
intimate zone and he is
behaving normally
 Handshake: The Finger-Tip Grab

• The finger-tip grab is like the

stiff-arm thrust that has missed
the mark; the user mistakenly
grabs the other person's fingers
• Even though the initiator may
appear to have a keen and
enthusiastic attitude toward the
receiver, in fact he lacks
confidence in himself
• The main aim is to keep the
receiver at a comfortable
spatial distance
 Handshake: The Dead Fish

• Dead fish handshake is

uninviting, especially if the
hand is cold or clammy

• Its soft, limp feel is widely

unpopular

• Often associated with

weakness of character due
to the easily turned-up palm
 Handshake: The Knuckle Grinder

• The knuckle grinder is the

trademark of the aggressive
‘tough guy type’

• These knuckle-crushing
handshakes usually make
you wince due to sheer pain
inflicted
 Double-Handed Hand Shake

• The intention of the double-handed handshake is to show sincerity, trust or depth

of feeling towards the receiver. Left hand is used to communicate the extra feeling
that the initiator wishes to transmit and its extent is related to the distance that the
initiator’s left hand is moved up the receiver’s right arm

• Elbow Grasp - The elbow grasp, transmits more feeling than the wrist hold, and
the shoulder hold

• The wrist hold and the elbow grasp are acceptable only between close friends or
relatives
Handshakes
 Proxemics

• Study of distance individuals maintain between each other

while interacting and its significance

• It is the study of human use of space and the effects that

population density has on behaviour, communication, and
social interaction

• It remains an important component of interpersonal

communication that is uncovered through observation and
strongly influenced by culture
 Zone Distances

Intimate Zone
Only those who are emotionally close to that person are permitted to enter it.
This includes parents, spouse, children, close friends and relatives
Personal Zone
we stand from others at cocktail parties, office parties, social functions and friendly
gatherings
Social Zone
We stand at this distance from strangers, the plumber or carpenter doing repairs
around our home, the postman, the local shopkeeper, the new employee at work and
people whom we do not know very well
Public Zone
Whenever we address a large group of people, this is the comfortable distance at
which we choose to stand
When You Invade Space
Reactions to an invasion of your space

• Feel troubled

• Get defensive

• Become aggressive

• Retaliate
 OCCULESICS
“Eyes are so transparent
that through them
one sees the soul”

“Look a person in the

Eye when you
Talk to him”
 OCULESICS

• A subcategory of kinesics, is the study of eye movement,

behavior, gaze, and eye-related nonverbal communication.
 GAZE BEHAVIOUR

• FORMAL GAZE

• INFORMAL GAZE

• PERSONAL GAZE

• LATERAL GAZE
 Purposes for Eye Contact

• Sharing information
• Showing attention and interest
• Inviting and controlling interaction
• Being domineering, threatening, influencing, etc.
• Providing feedback during speech
• Revealing attitudes
 Power Gaze

• Power gaze is placed upwards around

the eyes

• The resulting eye contact has an

impersonal effect and is suitable for
consciously keeping conversations on
a business levels
 Social Gaze

• Eye gaze shifts between the two

eyes of the collocutor and
his/her mouth

• The resulting eye contact gains

warmth, becomes more
personal and cultivates the
friendship level

• More approachable and

sympathetic
 Intimate Gaze

• Eye gaze shifts between the two eyes of

the collocutor and his/her chest

• Characteristic of close communication

• Looking deeper is out of place in a

professional context: looking at the body
zone below the head and shoulders is
inappropriate
• Too much eye contact: dominance, lack of respect, threat, or
intent to insult

• Too little eye contact: inattention, impoliteness, insincerity,

or shyness

• Withdrawing eyes: signal of submission

 Vocal Cues

• Paralinguistic features: non-word elements of

spoken language
• Paralanguage/Vocalics: aspects of the voice such as
pitch, volume, tone, rate, pause, articulation, and
pronunciation
• These vocal features are a type of non-verbal
communication
• They enhance verbal messages by adding nuance and
emotion
 Pitch
– Pitch is the rise & fall in the human voice and it plays a
crucial role in communication. It expresses all the
emotions that are to be conveyed

•Pitch variation

 Monotones fail to keep listener’s attention

People in authority or When excited speak in high pitched
voice
 Volume

• Volume refers to the loudness/softenss of the voice. It is not

just what you say but how you say it

• E.g.: whispering = you want to hide something; speaking

aloud = you want to be heard by all

• While addressing an audience if you are not loud enough it

suggests lack of confidence

• Speaking loud over the phone = lack of good manners

 Volume Variation

• Loudness of our voice should be adjusted according to the size

of audience

• Some speakers believe only way to sound convincing is to

speak louder

• Proper word stress

 Volume

• Fluency in language is not the same thing as the speed of

speaking

• Present easy parts of message at a brisk pace and difficult,

complicated parts at slower pace

• In state of anxiety, urgency we speak fast and when relaxed at

a comfortable speed
 Non fluencies

• Pauses often inserted with sounds like ah, oh, uh, um, you
know, OK, yawning, laughing, chuckling…

• Carefully and sparingly used they add fluency to speaker, give

them time to breathe/ relax, make listener more alert

• Too frequent insertions may irritate listener

 Chronemics
• Refers to the perception of time in communication. It includes
punctuality, willingness to wait

• Time can be used differently by individuals and in cultures

• Time can be considered as a

commodity that can be saved
wasted, earned, or spent
•Countries that follow monochronic time perform only one
major activity at a time (U.S., England, Switzerland, Germany)

•It conceives of time as inflexible

•Schedules are adhered to closely

•The balance is between schedules and personal relationships,

preset schedules takes precedence over personal relationship
•Countries that follow polychronic time work on several
activities simultaneously (Latin America, the Mediterranean,
the Arabs)

•It conceives of time as flexible

•Schedules are not closely adhered

•The balance is between schedules and personal relationships,

take precedence over preset schedules
 Artifacts
• Your choice of clothing, sense of style, accessories, and even
your selection of your footwear give off plenty of nonverbal
cues
• Your clothes and the accessories you choose give other people
a sense of who you are. In the field of communication studies,
they are called artifacts
 Haptics

• It refers to touch. Touch is the most common type of non-

verbal communication

• Touch can communicate:

• – Attention
• – Affection
• – Greetings
• – Departures
• – Support
 Touch (Haptics)

• Touch, when used properly, may create feelings of warmth

and trust; when used improperly, touch may cause annoyance
and betray trust
 Be cautious while interpreting non-verbal clusters.....

• Observe and interpret non-verbal signals moment by moment

• Use eye contact effectively
• Understand cultural nuances in non-verbal communication
• Assess situations when verbal and non-verbal messages
contradict
Cont..

• Check context: interpret cues along with other cues, verbal

communication, and the situation

• Look for clusters: observe combinations of non-verbal signals,

like crossed arms with flat tone and avoiding eye contact

• Consider experience: prior knowledge of a person improves

interpretation of their behavior

• Practice perception checking: confirm your interpretations

instead of assuming you know someone’s thoughts
 References
• [Link]
types-plus-examples-in-action.