Topic 4 Part 1 Non-verbal communication Pre-reading Thinking about the topic 1. Think of some examples of non-verbal communication. How can people communicate without using words? 2. Can you explain the difference between conscious and unconscious body language? 3. In what professions is non-verbal communication inevitable either to use or understand? Reading Body language Humans use language to communicate, but we also communicate nonverbally with our bodies. The way in which we stand or sit, how we use our eyes, what we do with our hands, as well as what we wear - all of these convey powerful messages to other people. In fact, anthropologists claim that only a small percentage of what we communicate is verbal (about 7%); most of it is nonverbal (about 58%). Some of our body language is conscious, such as the "thumbs up" gesture used in many cultures to signal "OK". But much of what we communicate with our bodies is unconscious. Even in one's own culture, unconscious body language can be difficult to read. Imagine, then, how much more incomprehensible the body language of someone from a different culture would be! After reading Answer the following questions: 1 With what parts of our bodies do we convey nonverbal messages? 2 What is conscious body language? Give an example. 3 What is unconscious body language? Think of an example. Adapted from: Espeseth, Miriam. Academic Encounters. Listening, Note Taking, and Discussion. Cambridge: CUP, 1999, pp. 86 – 87 Look at the diagram and find out how much of our communication non-verbal communication is. People trust more our body language than what we say. [LINK] When Demosthenes was asked what was the first part of oratory he answered, "'action"; and which was the second, he replied, "action"; and which was third he still answered, "action." People tend to believe actions more than words! Today, many researchers are concerned with the information sent by communication that is independent of and different from verbal information; namely, the non-verbal communication. Verbal communication is organized by language; non-verbal communication is not. Communication is the transfer of information from one person to another. Most of us spend about 75 percent of our waking hours communicating our knowledge, thoughts, and ideas to others. However, most of us fail to realize that a great deal of our communication is of a non-verbal form as opposed to the oral and written forms. Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, body posture and motions, and positioning within groups. It may also include the way we wear our clothes or the silence we keep. Go through the web site http://www.bizmove.com/skills/m8g.htm Then answer the questions below. 1 What categories does G. W. Porter divide non-verbal communication into? 2 What are static features of non-verbal communication? 3 Could you name dynamic features? 4 What can you learn about kinesics and facial expressions? Topic 4 Part 2 Those characteristics that may be found in all forms of nonverbal communication are called “universals”, and they provide a framework within the specifics of nonverbal communication may be viewed.They are: Nonverbal communication occurs in a context. Nonverbal behaviors are usually packaged. Nonverbal behavior always communicates. Nonverbal communication is governed by rules. Nonverbal behaviour is highly believable. Let’s focus on one of them. Nonverbal behavior always communicates The observation that all behaviour communicates is particularly important in regard to nonverbal communication. It is impossible not to behave; consequently, it is impossible not to communicate. Regardless of what one does or does not do, one’s nonverbal behavior communicates something to someone (assuming that it occurs in an interactional setting). Even small movements are extremely important in interpersonal relationships. We can often tell, for example, when two people genuinely like each other and when they are merely being polite. If we had to state how we know this, we would probably have considerable difficulty. These inferences, many of which are correct, are based primarily on these small nonverbal behaviours of the participants – the muscles around the eyes, the degree of eye contact, the way in which the individuals face each other, and so on. All nonverbal behaviour, however small or transitory, is significant; all of it communicates. Facial communication Facial Communication Research The way in which we use our hands, face, and eyes creates meaningful nonverbal messages. First of all our faces communicate, especially our emotions. In FAST (facial effect scoring technique), the face is broken up into three main parts: eyebrows and forehead, eyes and eyelids, and the lower face from the bridge of the nose down (Ekman, Friesen, and Tomkins, 1971). Judges then try to identify various emotions by observing the different parts of the face and writing descriptions of facial movements. In this way we can study more effectively just how the face communicates various emotions. It appears from cross-cultural research that facial expressions have a somewhat universal nature. For example, people in Borneo and New Guinea who have had little contact with Western cultures were able to match accurately emotions with pictures of facial expressions of Westerns. Further, their own facial expressions, posed to communicate different emotions, were accurately decoded by Americans. Similarly, in studies conducted with children who were born blind and who therefore could not see how others facially expressed the various emotions, the children seem to use the same facial expressions as their sighted peers. Studies such as these point to a universality among facial gestures. The wide variations in facial communication that we do observe in different cultures seem to reflect what is permissible and not permissible to communicate, rather than a difference in the way in which emotions are expressed facially (Matsumoto, 1991). For example, in some cultures it is permissible openly and publicly to show contempt or disgust, but in others people are taught to hide such emotions in public and to display them only in private. Adapted from: Seal, Bernard. Academic Encounters. Reading, Studying Skills, and Writing. Cambridge: CUP, 1997, pp. 136, 147 - 148 Watch the video and remember 3 techniques which are important not only for presentations. They are a good example of effective body language. http://www.bnet.com/videos/how-to-use-body-language-to-improve-your-presentation/162643 Write down the three techniques and take some more notes about each of them. 1. 2. 3. Discuss with your partners the following material. Taken from: Viney,Peter.Viney,Karen. Handshake – a course in communication. Oxford:OUP, 1996, pp.29,32.ISBN 0-19-457220-X