Non-Verbal Communication in Healthcare 4

Vocabulary flashcards covering key nonverbal communication concepts from the lecture notes.

Nonverbal Communication

The process of sending or receiving messages without spoken or written words, using visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic channels.

80% Rule (Nonverbal Communication)

Nonverbal communication can account for up to 80% of essential communication between people.

Kinesics

The study of body movements (head and body) that convey information about the message and the messenger.

Hand and Arm Gestures

Kinesics involving hand and arm movements; open hands signal openness, folded arms may indicate reluctance or self-protection.

Body Posture

The position of the body that can indicate receptiveness or engagement; e.g., leaning shows interest, rigid posture signals reluctance.

Facial Expressions and Eye Contact

The face conveys emotions; congruence with verbal message; lack of expressions is noteworthy; diseases can cause flat affect.

Eye Contact

A facial-expression cue that helps convey attention and engagement in communication.

Congruence

When facial expression and verbal message are consistent with each other.

Mixed Messages

Incongruence between verbal and nonverbal communication, often involuntary and not necessarily deceitful.

Vocalics (Paralanguage)

Nonverbal vocal cues such as Hmmm/uh/ah, pitch, tone, volume, and silence.

Proxemics

Spatial cues; social distance is usually about 3–4 feet, but closeness may occur in clinical care depending on needs.

Haptics

Touch used to convey care, reduce anxiety, create connections; includes concepts of Good Touch vs Bad Touch.

Autonomic

Involuntary physiological responses (sweating, flushing, breathing, pupil dilation, tears) that affect nonverbal signals.

Emotion Recognition

The ability to identify emotions from facial cues; more difficult with masked faces; varies by emotion intensity.

Mask-Related Emotion Recognition

Emotions are harder to recognize in masked faces than unmasked faces, with fear being an exception in some findings.

Mirroring

Conscious use of matching another’s nonverbal cues to build rapport and guide interactions.

Reading Facial Cues (Basic Emotions)

Interpreting basic facial expressions (e.g., fear, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust) to infer emotion in a clinical setting.