I will now be evaluating a couple concepts from chapter six of Interplay, in which the focus is on nonverbal communication and how it can communicate meaning to others without the use of words. One of the first concepts that I would like to address is how nonverbal communication is very ambiguous, as it can be interpreted in several different ways. When communication is nonverbal, it is up to the interpretation of the receiver, just as all forms of communication are. However, nonverbal communication is even more so, as with verbal communication thoughts are being voiced, but silence can be interpreted as “warmth, anger, preoccupation, boredom, nervousness, thoughtfulness – The possibilities are many.” (Adler, Rosenfeld, Proctor, 2015, pg. 176) …show more content…
This concept focuses on the theory of a bubble called “personal space,” and how we tend to consider our close surroundings to be our own personal area. The size of “personal space” varies from culture to culture, but was divided into four categories within the North American culture. These categories are intimate distance, which is skin contact to 18 inches and is reserved for those whom we trust and with whom we are emotionally close, and personal distance, which is 18 to 4 feet for a range of personal communication varying from couples on the closer end to friends towards arm’s length. Then there is social distance ranging from 4 to 12 feet, which can increase the person aspect of a conversation, such as between a student and their professor, and finally public distance, which is 12 feet at least and establishes a distance in which two-way communication is less frequent (Adler et. al, 2015, pg. 193-194). People tend to react negatively to a stranger entering their personal space, and use strategies in an attempt to create a “wall” between them and the other individual. One of the examples in this section reminded me of a time when a person that I found attractive made her way into my personal space in social setting, which instantly caused me to read into her behavior. Even though no words were exchanged, simply be entering my close proximity she was sending me a message, and I read into the situation. This is where the ambiguity of nonverbal communication can come in to play. However, by her entering my personal space, between 18 inches and 4 feet, it sent me a signal that could have been interpreted to mean that she wanted me to see that she was nearby and initiate a conversation. However, if she had been a stranger who I was not interested in conversing with and I found myself stuck in
Nonverbal Communication is just what it sounds like, communicating without words. This movie is very good about displaying nonverbal communication toward the audience without breakin...
There are two forms of communication, verbal and nonverbal. The strongest form of communication is when both of these elements work together to convey the person’s message. This essay will analyze the forms of verbal and nonverbal communication in the show “Blackish” by Kenya Barris, an American comedy that surrounds an African American family. The episode being analyzed is from season 3 episode 2, titled “GOD”, where the daughter explains to her dad that she is beginning to lose faith that god exists, so the father tries to persuade her in different forms. To be more specific, the scene being analyzed is when the family goes with the mother to get a sonogram of the baby. The use of verbal and nonverbal language can affect the environment or
The seventh chapter in Interplay centers itself around listening, and how vitally important it is in interpersonal communication. The first concept that I found to be interesting in this chapter is mindful listening. First, this book defines listening of the interpersonal type to be “the process of receiving and responding to others’ messages” (Adler, Rosenfeld, Proctor, 2015, pg. 206). More specifically, the book then goes on to describe mindful listening as “giving careful and thoughtful attention and responses to the messages we receive.” The authors use examples such as when listeners tend to pay closer attention when the message is more important to them or concerns an important topic. This is as compared to answering to information mindlessly,
Communication is everywhere. We, as interactive human beings, spend the majority of our time corresponding with others to satisfy our physical, identity, social, and practical needs (Adler, Rodman, & Sevigny, 2011). Often, this is consciously done; we search our minds for the accurate linguistic means to express our experiences, and use them to communicate with those around us. However, communication is not as straightforward and effortless as we may believe. It is, in fact, often unintentional, with 65% of it occurring as a result of non-verbal cues (Matsumoto, Shibata, Seiji, Mori, & Shioe, 2010). As mentioned by Marta Dynel (2011) in a study done on nonverbal communication, “Non verbal signs and signals ... are prevalent practically in all social encounters, which entail at least two individuals, who need not even talk or consciously interact otherwise”. Examples exist in all mediums, including in the animated film ‘Up’, where one scene depicts transactional communication between a male and female character, all expressed nonverbally . The nonverbal communication in this scene, along with various other communication constructs, will be discussed.
Nonverbal behavior is channeled by norms and most of us abide by them without being aware of them. Physical appearance, gesture and body movement, face and eye behavior, vocal behavior, personal space, touch, scent/smell, and time are all forms of nonverbal communication behavior. Norms differ amongst various cultures, ethnic, and geographic groups. There are endless ways and forms to violate nonverbal norms, and by doing so can lead to a barrier in communication, which are problematic to distinguish.
In every society nonverbal communication is one of the most powerful tools that a person can use to interpret the message that is being delivered. Even though verbal communication is fairly straightforward, nonverbal communication allows others to sense the true emotions of the person that is expressing them. For example even though a person may say that they are not irritated, their usage of voice may display otherwise. Nonverbal communication not only reveals hidden messages, but it also complements, substitutes, and exaggerates verbal communication.
The presence of nonverbal messages in our communication is very important. Following the text, researchers have estimated it is up to “65 percent of social meaning we convey in face-to-face interactions is a result of nonverbal behavior” (131). The movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” is a typical example about the interactions among characters, also with audience. Several scenes in this movie show us the effects of nonverbal messages in communication, especially through the character Daniel, who disguises himself as a middle-aged British nanny in order to be near his children.
The first conversation with someone you know. The first person I talked to was my son Joseph. Our conversation lasted about thirty to thirty-five minutes. In opening the conversation I asked him if he was ready for bed not knowing that the conversation would move into a more sensitive topic in which it was about his Asperger. Joe’s Asperger is a very sensitive topic and he doesn’t like to talk about so I was surprised that he was willing bring up the conversation on his own. I wasn’t going to pass up on this conversation, so I began with a question to keep the conversation going and then give feedback when needed. I would say that this conversation was 50/50. We both took turns with saying how we felt, what we could do to solve any problems, and etc. I listened, and gave him the best feedback in a supportive and loving way. There were some points when Joe had a hard time completing sentences in a smoot and accrete way, he sometimes has to rephrase, but I know this, am patient, wait for him to gather his thought, and say what he means. Nonverbal communication with Joe is a little hard at times because he can go on about something and not let the other person take a turn, but he has gotten a lot better at this.
Harper, R, 1978. Nonverbal communication: The State of the Art. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Nonverbal communication can be shown by many different gestures, body movements, and understood by all the different channels. For example, when Dory believes that Marlin has entered her personal space by following her too closely she reacts by using proxemics to intimidate Marlin. Dory purposely enters Marlin’s personal space to show dominance and her gestures show “affect display.” Dory’s affect display is “the movements of the face that convey emotional meaning- the expressions that show anger and fear, happiness and surprise…” (DeVito 144) It is a nonver...
Nonverbal communication is rich in meaning. Everyone communicates through nonverbal gestures and motions. I realized that you can decipher a lot from an individual or individuals by just paying close attention to what they do, and that words are not really necessary. Watching two people interacting, I figured that they are really close by their space communication, eye language, and body movements.
Nonverbal communication is a very important aspect of communication. It can complement and contradict your verbal messages, as well as help regulate conversations. Some examples of nonverbal communication include gestures, facial expressions, touch, and proxemics. Gestures can be simple, such as waving hello, throwing up a peace sign, and even flipping the bird. However, even repetitive habits such as tapping nails on a desk or bouncing your foot up and down are forms of gestures. In the research article, “Nonverbal Communication as a pain reliever: the impact of physician supportive nonverbal behavior on experimentally induced pain,” Ruben, Blanch-Hartigan, and Hall explore the effects that nonverbal communication have on patients in pain.
Usually while communicating we do not give space ( proxemics ) much thought. But proxemics is a very important aspect of non-verbal communication. I am a very affectionate person and I hug people a lot. It is my portrayal of affection. Though my manner of hugging is different, as it is according to my comfort level with that person. This is because there are different level of appropriate space, depending on your relationship with the person you are communicating with. I give side-way hugs to people I know but aren’t that close to. This type of hug would be considered in information and business distance. Another type of hugs I give are back rub hugs. I usually give back rub hugs to those whom I am comfortable with, making these type of hugs to be casual conversation distance. My much more intimate hug, where I snuggle into another person would be considered to be in intimate distance. Every type of my hugs are categorized in different space levels. These space levels are important because it affects the receiver influence on the message my hugs give. The receiver is going to interpret the message my hugs give through these space. Though not everyone define proxemics the same way due to cultural gap. Every culture defines appropriate space while communicating differently. Sometimes it creates misunderstanding between receiver and sender due to misinterpretation
I learned a lot about Human Communication in this class when I read the chapter about Nonverbal Communication. Nonverbal Communication is the process of using messages that are not words to generate meaning. I learned that it happens every day. I also learned that is very hard to read or understand depending on the person you are speaking to or with. Verbal and Nonverbal codes work in conjunction with each other. The words we speak or say are used in conjunction six different ways: to repeat, to emphasize, to complement, to contradict, to substitute, and to regulate. I never knew until reading this chapter that we do these things all most every time we communicate. These are things I took for granted until now. I now know that I will pay
I have learned about body language, and the tone of ones voice and the words you choose can make a difference in the way the message is received. Again, I think that this course has introduced me to a meaning and understanding of these types of messages that are more in depth, and complex then I expected. I feel as though the verbal codes are still a little confusing to me. For some of the codes, I can figure them out by looking at the prefix of a word such as morphology; the smallest form meaning in a language, and phonology; the combining of basic sound units of a language. For others, I wasn 't aware that there were words that define a concept, such as semantics, which is the study of the meaning of words. The majority of nonverbal messages in intercultural communication make sense to me. I can think of examples of when they are used in everyday life, but I think it is interesting that we, as least I, do not think of them when we they actually occur. For example, when I talk I do not think of the nonverbal behaviors I am doing that are tied to what I am saying, or illustrators. However, there are a few messages that are so close in similarity that I do have to think about them, such as the difference between regulators and vocalics, and proximity and