Nonverbal Communication Notes

Nonverbal Communication

Questions for Thought

  • How would you describe nonverbal communication?
  • How does it manifest itself in our daily interactions?
  • What are some nonverbal behaviors typical of different cultural groups?

Theory: What Research Tells Us

Definition of Nonverbal Behavior

  • Generally defined as communication without words (Birdwhistell, 1970; Hall, 1959).

  • However, not all nonverbal behavior is communicative; it must convey shared meanings.

  • Communicative nonverbal behavior is part of a shared code of understanding and follows specific cultural rules.

  • Leathers (1997:11) offers a complete definition:

    The use of interacting sets of visual, vocal, and invisible communication systems and subsystems by communicators with the systematic encoding and decoding of nonverbal symbols and signs for the purpose(s) of exchanging consensual meanings in specific communicative contexts.

  • Nonverbal communication consists of three principal interacting systems: visual, auditory, and invisible. Leathers argues that the visual communication system is the most important.

Functions of Nonverbal Behavior

  • All cultures use nonverbal communication for various functions, but cultural differences shape how and when these behaviors are used.
  • Important functions common across cultures (Ekman & Friesen, 1969; Patterson, 1990):
    • Expressing emotions
    • Reinforcing, complementing, or accenting verbal messages
    • Acting as a substitute for verbal communication
    • Contradicting verbal messages
    • Regulating and managing communicative situations
    • Conveying messages in ritualized forms
  • Speakers use nonverbal cues to reinforce or emphasize oral communication.
  • Oral communication always involves some sort of nonverbal behavior (e.g., tone of voice, sentence inflections).
  • Nonverbal behavior usually interacts with and complements verbal behavior.
  • Understanding nonverbal behavior is key to understanding human communication.
  • Speakers regulate or control communicative situations through posture, gaze, extralinguistic cues, and other nonverbal behaviors.
  • Body language determines when to begin a conversation, who gains control, and when to end the interaction.
  • Example: In American conversations, direct eye contact indicates a speaker turn.
  • Ritualized forms of nonverbal behavior (e.g., shaking hands, bowing, kissing) vary greatly among cultures.
  • Nonverbal behavior provides information that speakers process and manipulate in social interactions.
  • Speakers rely more on nonverbal cues than verbal ones in interpreting communicative situations.
  • More than 65% of social meaning in a two-person exchange is carried by nonverbal cues (Birdwhistell, 1974).
  • Hall (1959:2): “[w]hat people do is frequently more important than what they say.