LESSON 4. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

According to McConnell, (2003), nonverbal communication is behavior, other than spoken or written communication, that creates or represents meaning. In other words, it includes facial expressions, body movements, and gestures. Nonverbal communication is talking without
speaking a word. It is very effective, maybe even more so than speech. As the saying goes, "action speak louder than words"
Speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style, as well prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation, and stress. On the other hand, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial
arrangement of words, or the physical layout of a page. However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-to-face interaction, where it can be classified into
three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction.
Nonverbal communication is all about the body language of speaker. Nonverbal communication helps receiver in interpreting the message received. Often, nonverbal signals reflect the situation more accurately than verbal messages. Sometimes nonverbal response contradicts verbal
communication and hence affects the effectiveness of message. Nonverbal communication has the following three elements:-

Appearance
Speaker: clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics.
Surrounding: room size, lighting, decorations, furnishings.

Body Language
Facial expressions, gestures, postures and how one stands is an important element of non-verbal communication. For example, leaning towards a speaker indicates intense interest. Frequently looking away from the speaker indicates disinterest or impatience

Sounds
Voice Tone, Volume, Speech rate

Functions of nonverbal communication
According to Argyle et al (1970) spoken language is normally used for communicating information about events external to the speakers, non-verbal codes are used to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships. It is considered more polite or nicer to communicate attitudes towards others non-verbally rather than verbally in order to avoid embarrassing situations (Rosenthal, Robert and Bella (1979). Argyle (1988) concluded that there are five primary functions of nonverbal bodily behavior in human communication namely:-

i. Express emotions

ii. Express interpersonal attitudes

iii. To accompany speech in managing the cues of interaction between speakers and listeners

iv. Self-Presentation of one se

v. Rituals (greetings)
In regards to expressing interpersonal attitudes, humans communicate interpersonal closeness through a series of nonverbal actions known as immediacy behaviors. Examples of immediacy behaviors are smiling, touching, open body positions, and eye contact. Cultures that display these
immediacy behaviors are considered high-contact cultures.

Advantages of non-verbal communication

i. You can communicate with someone who cannot hear.

ii. You can communicate in places where you have to avoid talking audibly.

iii. You can communicate without others around you hearing what is being communicated.

iv. You can communicate when a person is too far away from you to hear you (for example, by gesturing)

v. Non-verbal communication makes conversation short and brief.

vi. Non-verbal communication saves on time and can be used as a tool to communicate with people who don't understand your language

Disadvantages of non-verbal communication

i. Long conversations using non-verbal communication are usually not possible.

ii. Non-verbal communication varies from culture to culture.

iii. Particulars of messages using non-verbal communication cannot be discussed in detail.

iv. It is not useful as a public tool for communication

v. It cannot be used everywhere and is less influential than verbal communication.