Nonverbal Communication – Exam Condensed Notes

Principles & Core Distinctions

• Nonverbal communication = creating meaning via behavior other than words.
• Governed mainly by right brain; verbal by left.
• Conveys more emotional/affective meaning; lacks formal grammar/dictionaries.
• Tends to be more involuntary, ambiguous, but perceived as more credible than verbal.
• Accounts for ≈ 65\% of meaning in typical interactions.

Major Functions

• Reinforce, substitute, or contradict verbal messages.
• Influence others (e.g., compliance, deception).
• Regulate conversational flow (turn-taking cues).
• Express/maintain relationships & identity (tie signs, immediacy, self-presentation).

Main Types & Key Points

• Kinesics: gestures (adaptors, emblems, illustrators), head moves, posture, eye contact, facial expressions.
• Haptics: touch categories—functional-professional, social-polite, friendship-warmth, love-intimacy, sexual-arousal.
• Vocalics / Paralanguage: pitch, volume, rate, tone, fillers.
• Proxemics: personal space zones – intimate 0$–$1.5 ft; personal 1.5$–$4 ft; social 4$–$12 ft; public \ge12 ft. Includes territoriality (primary, secondary, public).
• Chronemics: monochronic vs. polychronic; biological, personal, physical, cultural time.
• Personal Presentation & Environment: body, clothing, artifacts, physical setting shape impressions.

Competence Tips – Sending

• Ensure multichannel congruence; monitor leaks (facial, vocal, adaptors).
• Use immediacy: eye contact, forward lean, open posture, smiles, appropriate touch.
• Control vocalics: eliminate fillers, add vocal variety, match pitch/volume to context.
• Respect space & touch norms; adjust gestures for culture/status.

Competence Tips – Decoding

• No universal dictionary—interpret clusters within context.
• Compare cues to person’s baseline; seek multiple signals before judging.
• Common deception indicators: increased adaptors, pitch rise, speech errors—but high error rate; beware truth/lie bias.

Context Highlights

• Relational: skilled nonverbals aid attraction, emotional support, maintenance; shorthand cues develop with intimacy.
• Professional: clear congruent cues boost credibility; decoding staff stress; mirroring builds rapport; appearance & punctuality affect impressions.
• Cultural:
  • Eye contact, touch, space vary (contact vs. non-contact cultures).
  • Gestures differ (thumbs-up, counting fingers, moutza).
  • Time: monochronic (USA, N. Europe) vs. polychronic (Spain, Mexico).
• Gender (differences are small & socially learned):
  • Women: more gestures, eye contact, expressive faces, closer distance with females.
  • Men: larger gestures, more space, less same-sex touch; under-display positive emotion.

Key Numbers & Facts

• Meaning from nonverbals ≈ 65\%; earlier studies claimed 90\%.
• Conversational speech rate norm ≈ 120$–$150 wpm; slightly faster perceived as credible.
• Student immediacy behaviors linked to learning & teacher evaluations.
• Effective handshake: 3$–$5 pumps (US/UK); Europeans often 1–2.