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What is it about human behavior that intrigue or influence us? I am going to share with you a nonverbal exercise I engaged in to determine how my nonverbal communication could, or possibly have, effected how I am perceived by others. For this self evaluated exercise I carefully choose two people, my sister Laura, who I am very close to and Wally, a colleague who I feel comfortable with. Laura’s observation took place in her home and lasted approximately thirty minutes; Wally on the other hand, took place at work and lasted approximately fifteen minutes. I began the first exercise with Laura who was providing me with details of a family function that was to take place in the near future. I felt relaxed and comfortable when visiting and made eye contact when she was explaining the tasks that needed to be done for the upcoming event. When she was talking I caught myself constantly glancing over to see what was on the television. Because I was distracted, I asked her to repeat what she was saying several times. I then noticed my posture; very relaxed, leaning back in a chair...
Nonverbal communication surrounds us all the time. “Nonverbal communication is all aspects of communication other than words” (Wood, 2016, p. 135). It is not communication with words, but we use nonverbal communication when we talk. We use nonverbal communication without even realizing it in every facet of our lives. This type of communication can be challenging depending on someone’s culture. Something that means one thing in America, can mean something totally different in another country. It is important to know this so that you don’t offend someone from another culture (Wood, 2016, p. 149).
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.
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.
It is amazing to see how much nonverbal communication plays such a large role in simple day to day activities. We do most without being conscious of it, as it is second nature to us. We share our thoughts and feelings with face expressions, and often feel the need to support our words with gestures to further convey our point we are trying to make. Doing this study, also made me aware of the nonverbal cues I am sending out as well. I am thankful now that I am aware of these things, I am able to have more control of the message I want to send
The group took some time over the weeks of the quarter to learn to “read” one another’s body language and to understand each other’s subtexts. For example, in the early weeks of our working together one group member was demonstrating with his or her body language (slumped shoulders, body slightly turned away from the group) and lack of eye contact some nervousness whenever...
Closing the door on an individual is very frustrating and rude toward the person it is affecting. This assignment has taught me that I need to be aware of how I portray nonverbal communication because it can leave a negative impression on someone, and it can also can harsh relations with individuals’. As a result, I feel that I have bettered my nonverbal communication skills, and I am hoping that these skills will help me properly portray myself in a positive
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.
Any communication interaction involves two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, or what words are spoken and nonverbal, the cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures. Many people believe it is their words that convey the primary messages but it is really their nonverbal cues. The hypothesis for this research paper was: facial expressions directly impact how a person is perceived. A brief literature search confirmed this hypothesis.
The speech that was analyzed was “Your Body Language Shape Who You Are” by social psychologist, Amy Cuddy. Amy explained in her speech that other people’s and your body language can display how a person can perceive themselves in a power dominance situation. Also, Cuddy described how an individual can change how a room of people views them by simply arranging their posture. Amy Cuddy gave an effective speech by her delivery of the topic, her credibility on the subject, and how she kept the audience engage.
“When we think of nonverbals we think of how we judge others, how they judge us, and what the outcomes are… we are also influenced by our nonverbals, our thoughts, and our feelings, and our physiology” (paragraph 6). Amy Cuddy is a respected women, known for her compassion and care to inspire other to better their lives. In the beginning of her speech Your body language shapes who you are published in 2012 on Tedglobal, she offers her “life hack” to the audience, assuring them if they improve their non verbals and body language it will improve their life in many ways. Cuddy begins building her trustworthiness and credibility with the audience by quoting respectable sources, giving convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing
Hall, J. (2012). Nonverbal cues and communications.Encyclopedia of Social Psychology Education. Thousand Oaks. CA: SAGE, 2007 626-628. Retrieved November 2, 2013 from SAGE online.
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.
Richmond, V & McCroskey, J 2011. Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations. 7th ed. Allyn & Bacon.
Found information states that “nonverbal communication is the process of transporting messages through behaviors, physical characteristics and objects”. Its how and what we use in order to express our feelings and say things. Using symbols is a way of using nonverbal communication. Also nonverbal communication is the way we use body language and gestures too. Nonverbal communication is often used unconsciously. When using the certain communication it can be misinterpreted also. There are many different categories of nonverbal communication. They are the following: Aesthetics, Artifacts, Chronemics, Haptics, Kinesics, Paralanguage, Physical Appearance, Proxemics, and Oculesics.
Teaching requires a strong relationship between the teacher and students. Nonverbal communication is vital, if underestimated, in building this trust. Nonverbal communication is “all those elements of a communication which are not essentially linguistic in nature” (Smith, 1979, p. 637). Some aspects of nonverbal communication include eye contact, facial expression, gestures, touch, proximity, posture, vocal qualities, and artifacts (Smith, 1979; Johnson 1999). These all interact with verbal communication and have many meaning that can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. As such, it is up to the teacher to be sure that their intentions are clear.