College Speech Study Guide — Chapter 5

Characteristics: inevitable, ambiguous, relational

Inevitable: inescapable actions, inactions, and body language all send messages.

Ambiguous: words and non-verbal cues can be interpreted in more than one way.

Relational: power dynamics, intimacy levels, and relational status.

Functions: substitute

Cues signal information you would rather not say aloud or help you communicate when you do not know the words to use.

Functions: complement

Reinforce verbal messages.

Functions: regulate

Help us coordinate verbal conversation

Functions: contradict

When the behavioral cues convey the opposite of the verbal message.

Functions: accent

Clarifying and emphasizing specific information in a verbal message.

Cultural differences in nonverbal codes

Think pointing or slurping.

Channels

Kinesics (body), proxemics (space), haptics (touch), chronemics (time), paralanguage (voice), appearance, artifacts.