Non Verbal

Communication
Nonverbal Communication

Is it possible to
communicate
without words?
 Nonverbal
Communication

Studies show that over half of your

message is carried through
nonverbal elements:
 Your appearance

 Your body language

 The tone and

 the pace of your voice.

 Nonverbal
Communication
Before someone processes our verbal messages,
 Taken in our appearance,

 Registered our enthusiasm and sincerety

 Noted our tone of voice and processed all into

nonverbal message.
 If this message reinforce the content of verbal

one, it means we send a powerful message.

 If the two messages do not match, they may

cancel each other and that means

nomessages delivered.
Nonverbal Communication
 The process of sending
and receiving wordless
messages by means of
facial expressions, gaze,
gestures, postures, and
tones of voice.
 Nonverbal cues include
all expressive signs,
signals and cues ---
which are used to send
and receive messages
 Language is not the only source of
communication, there are other means also.
Messages can be communicated through.

1. Gestures: It includes movement of hands, face or other

parts of the body.

2. Posture or Body language

3. Facial expressions

4. Eye contact

5. Emblems

6. Haptics

7. Appearance & object

 Meaning can also be communicated
through object

•Clothing
•Hairstyle
•Architecture
•Symbols
•Dance
•Icons (Image, picture, or representation)
•Handwriting style
•arrangement of words
•physical layout of a page
Vocalizations
 Non verbal sounds - not words,
but convey a meaning.
 Divided into three categories:
 vocal characterizers
 vocal qualifiers
 vocal segregates
vocal characterizers
 Laughing
 Sighing
 Crying
 Belching
 Inhaling
 Excessive groaning
 Whining
 Yelling
 Whispering
vocal qualifiers
 intensity (loud-soft)
 pitch height
 high-low
vocal segregates
(separators)

“um” “uh” “ah”

 Note:
 some sounds are not vocal,
 e.g., snapping one’s fingers,
stamping a foot
 …nv includes vocal and non vocal
phenomena
Some nonvocal
•made with the breath,
taking a small bit of air
•onomatopoetic words - zzz
Also other vocal
phenomena

 more sounds than words e.g.,

zap...buzz
Body Motion
(Kinetic Gestures)

Movements of the:
 Body
 Limbs
 Head
 feet and legs
 facial expressions
 eye behavior
 posture
 Some movements
provide information
about emotions

 Some give information

about personality
traits or attitude
Emblems
 Thumbs up OK
 V with fingers victory
 Finger pointed to temple suicide
 Hand grasping throat choke
 hand to mouth eating
 tilt head, eyes closed
sleeping
Use of Emblems (a)
 Insults
 Directions
come go
stop slow down
 Greetings
 Departures
Use of Emblems (b)
selected responses to questions
yes no
maybe I don’t know

physical state

emotion
triumphant angry
sad
 Part of body associated
with emblems
 Often the hands... but not
exclusively
 Nose wrinkle Disgust
 Drop of the jaw and exaggerated
raising of the eyebrows Surprise
 Upturned palms, shrugged shoulders
Uncertainty
 Regulators 2
 They can tell the speaker to:
continue
hurry up
become more interesting
explain
let the other talk
Turn-taking regulators
(the most studied kind)
Head tilting
Nods
Eye contact
e.g. less eye contact if you want
to terminate
conversation.
Touch
Behavior

touching
stroking
pushing

guiding another’s motion

Paralanguage
 How - not what you say.
 Speech behavior
 Voice quality and pitch
 Range and rhythm control
 Tempo
 Articulation
 Resonance
 Glottis control
 Vocal and lip control
 We Express Ourselves
Through….
 Posture( Gait, Walk, sitting)
(Position of body)
 Gestures( Movements of hands , Legs,
fingers etc.)
(A Motion of hand, head or body to
emphazize an idea or emotion while
speaking)
 Facial Expressions(Eyes, eyebrows,
lips,chin)
 Sensory Channels
It is also important to remember that while
communicating we not only use different
frames of mind but also use various sensory
channels like ;
 Verbal contents ( Words)
 Auditory content ( Voice tone)

 Visual content ( gestures, facial

expressions) and sometimes

sense of touch and smell ,too.
The Silent Language :
The Non Verbal
Communication
Our actions
 silence

 expressions in the eyes

 gestures

 posture

 walk

 Facial expression

 Vocal cues

 Touch

 Appearance

-all these can communicate without words.

Emotions- Express with Facial
Expressions
 Surprise
 Fear

 Disgust

 Anger

 Happiness

 Sadness
Four basic modes of Body
Language.-
 Responsive- ( Eager)
 Reflective-(Evaluating)

 Fugitive -(Bored)
 Combative- ( Aggressive)
 Two basic groups of postures:
OPEN/CLOSED and FORWARD/BACK

 OPEN/CLOSED is the most obvious.

People with arms folded and legs
crossed and bodies turned away
are signaling that they are
rejecting messages.
 People showing open hands, fully
facing you and both feet planted
on the ground are accepting them.
 FORWARD/BACK

 FORWARD/BACK indicates whether people

are actively or passively reacting to
communication. When they are leaning
forward and pointing towards you they are
actively accepting or rejecting the message.
 When they are leaning back, looking up at
the ceiling, doodling on a pad, cleaning
their glasses they are either passively
absorbing or ignoring it.
 ( Eager (Evaluating)
)

( Aggressive) (Bored
)
Responsive

ENGAGED
Leaning forward
Open body
Open arms
Open hands
 LISTENING
Reflective
Head tilted
Lots of eye
contact
High blink
rate
Fugitive

BORED
Staring into space
Slumped posture
Doodling
Foot tapping
Combative

LET ME SPEAK
Finger tapping
Foot tapping
Staring
 Leaning
Back With
hands
 Superiority Supporting
 Relaxed Head

Rejecting
• Ready

•Positive
• Able
• Goal
oriented
person

Sit down
readiness
 Honesty
 Loyalty
 Devotion

Hand to
Chest
  A Doubt
 Hesitanc
e

“Well, I don’t Know

”
 Curiosity

Touching the
Nose
  Boredom
 Tired

“ I am bored.”
 Low Steepling
 Confident ( Joining
 Proud Finger tips)
 Egotistic

Sleeping
  Expectatio
n
 Unspoken
demand

Hand Rubbing
 Evaluatin
g
 Judging

Chin -stroking
evaluation
  Negative
Emotional
Reaction
 Scrutinizing
people

Gesture with
glasses
 Open Hands

 Sincere
 Open to suggestion
 Acceptance of
authority

Sincerity Helplessnes
 Frustration
s
 Helplessness
  Non-
Cooperative
 Hostile
 Unconcerne
d

Getting a Leg
 Defensive
or
 Sometimes,

seeking
comfort

Arm Gripping
  Preferred
by teenage
girls

Crossed
Arm
 Defensive
 Generally
among
colleagues
or peers
or
 In elders it
is for the
right to be Crossed arm
heard Defensive
Physical Characteristics
 Not all nonverbal communication comes
through movement and motion
 Some are static self presentation
characteristics
 body height
 weight
 hair
 skin color
 breath odor
Artifacts
 When objects interact with persons
to send nv cues
- clothes
- lipstick
- false eyelashes
- wigs
- perfume
Environmental Factors
 Associated with the communication
event that impinge upon the human
relationship, but not part of it.
 furniture
 architectural style
 interior decorating
 lighting conditions
 colors
 temperature
 First Impression
We know the importance of “first impression”
But first impressions happen everytime when
we initiate the communication.

Positive first impression make communications

much easier and more comfortable.

Negative first impressions can cut off a

relationship before it gets started.
First Impression
First impression includes:
 Dress & grooming

 Voice

 Handshake

 Eye contact

 Body posture
 Language of Gestures
Body language and nonverbal communication
are transmitted through the eyes, face,
hands, arms, legs and posture (sitting and
walking)
Each individual, isolated gesture is like a
word in sentence; it is difficult and isolated
dangerous to interpret in and of itself.
Therefore consider the gesture in the light of
everyhing else that is going on around you.
 Eyes
Windows of the soul, excellent indicators of feelings.
Honest person has a tendency to look you straight in the
eye when speaking.
At least listeners accept it like that. People avoid eye
contact with other person when an uncomfortable
question asked.
Try to reduce tension and build trust rather than increase
tension.
The raising of one eyebrow shows disbelief and two shows
surprise.
People are classified as right lookers and leftlookers. Right
lookers are more influenced by logic and precision, left
lookers are found to be more emotional, subjective and
suggestible.
 The Face
The face is one of the most reliable indicators of a
person’s attitudes, emotions & feelings
By analysing facial expressions, interpersonal
attitudes can be discerned and feedback obtained.
Some people try to hide their true emotions.
Common facial gestures are:
Frowns: unhappiness, anger
Smiles: happiness
Sneers: dislike, disgust
Clenched jaws: tension, anger
Pouting lips: sadness.
 The Hands
Tightly clenched hands usually indicate that the person is experiencing
undue pressure.
It may be difficult to relate to this person because of his tension and
disagreement.
Superiority and authority are usually indicated when you are standing
and joining your hands behind your back.
Cupping one or both hands over the mouth, especially when talking,
may well indicate that the person is trying to hide something
Putting your hand to your cheek or stroking your chin generally
portrays thinking, interest or consideration.
Fingers bent across the chin or below the mouth most often shows
critical evaluation.
Rubing gently behind or beside the ear with the index finger or rubbing
the eye usually means the other person is uncertain about what you
are saying.
Leaning back with both hands supporting the head usually indicates a
 The Arms and Legs

Crossed arms tend to signal defensiveness. They

seemingly act as a protective guard against an
anticipated attack or a fixed position which the
other person would rather not move.
Conversely, arms open and extended toward you
generally indicate openness and acceptance.
Crossed legs tend to seem disagreement.People
who tightly cross their legs seem to be saying that
they disagree with what you are saying or doing.
If the people have tightly crossed legs and tightly
crossed arms, their inner attitude is usually one of
extreme negativity toward what is going on
 Posture: Sitting and
Walking
Sitting with your legs crossed and elevated foot moving in a
slight circular motion indicates boredom or impatience.
Interest and involvement are usually projected by sitting on
the edge of the chair and leaning slightly forward.
Generally, people who walk fast and swing their arms freely
tend to know what they want and to go after that. People
who walk with their shoulders hunched and hands in their
pockets tend to be secretive and critical. They don’t seem
to like much of what is going on around them.
Dejected people usually scuffle along with their hands in
pockets, heads down, and shoulders hunched over.
People who are preoccupied or thinking, usually walk with
their heads down, hands clasped behind their backs and
pace very slowly.
 Interpreting Gesture
Clusters
Certain combinations of gestures are especially reliable
indicators of a person’s true feelings. These combinations are
clusters.
Each gesture is dependent to others, so analysis of a person’s
body language is based on a series of signals to ensure that
the body language clearly and accurately understood.
All the individual gestures fit together to project a common,
unified message.
When they do not, this means a incongruity.
For example: A nervous lough.
A laugh generally signal of relaxation. But if there are nervous
signals in body language that means the person is trying to
escape from an unpleasent situation.
 Common Gesture Clusters
Openness:
Several gestures indicate openness and sincerety
 Open hands,

 unbuttoned coal or collar,

 leaning slightly forward in the chair,

 removing coat or jacket,

 uncrossing arms and legs, moving closer.

When people are proud of what they have done, they

usually show their hands quite openly.
When they are not often put their hands into their
pockets, or hide back
When people show signals of openness that means they
are generally beginning very comfortable in your
presence which is good.
 Common Gesture Clusters
Defensiveness:

People who are defensive usually have

 a rigid body,
 arms or legs tightly crossed,
 eyes glancing sideways or darting occasionaly.
 minimal eye contact
 lips pursed, fists clenched and downcast head
 Common Gesture Clusters
Nervousness
Whistling,Jingling pocket change , Fidgeting, Twitching lips or
face Clearing one’s throat,Chain smoking. Covering the mouth
with hand,
Tapping fingers
Common Gesture Clusters
Evaluation:
Evaluation gestures say that the other person is being thoughtful or is
considering what you are saying. Sometimes in a friendly way sometimes
in an unfriendly way.
Typical evaluation gestures include
 tilted head,hand to cheek, leaning forward and chin stroking
Sometimes evaluation gestures take on a critical aspect.
 The body is more drawn back
 The hand is to the face but the chin is in the palm of the hand with one
finger going up the cheek and the other fingers positioned below the
mouth.
 This is generally an unfavorable gesture.
 To gain time for evaluating the situation people use cigarette or pipe
smoking habits, removing eyeglasses.
 A final negative evaluation gesture is dropping his eyeglasses to the
lower bridge of noise and peering over them.
 This gesture usually causes a negative emotional overreaction in other
people.
 Suspicion, Secrecy,
Rejection, and Doubt:

These negative emotions are communicated typically by:

 Sideways glances

 Minimal or no eye contact

 Shifting the body away from the speaker

 Touching or rubbing the nose.

When a person do not want to look at you it could mean he is

being secretive, has private feelings in opposition to what
you are saying or hiding something.
A sideway glances means suspicion and doubt.
Shifting your body from someone means you wish to end the
conversation, meeting etc.
Touching nose may indicate doubt or concealment
 Common Gesture Clusters
Readiness
Readiness is related to the goal-oriented
high achiever with a concern for
getting things done.
It communicates dedication to a goal and
is usually communicated by sitting
forward at the edge of a chair.
This may negatively give the appearence
of being overly anxious also.
 Common Gesture
ClustersBoredom or
Impatience
These unproductive feelings are usually conveyed by the
 Drumming of fingers

 Cupping the head in the palm of the hand,

 Foot swinging

 Brushing or picking a lint

 Looking at your watch or the exit

Common Gesture ClustersEnthusiasm.

This is an emotion hat you love to see in other people and
they in you. It is conveyed by
A small upper or inward smile,Hands open and arms
extended outward,Eyes wide an alert, A lively and bouncy
walk,A lively and well-modulated voice.
 Words & Phrases That Usually
Annoy and Hurt People
 You should have
known better…..  Avoid absolutes
 I can see no point unless you mean
in ..
them.
 You must realize
that..
 Avoid putting the
 I find it difficult to other person down.
believe….  Avoid superior
 Don’t be stupid.. sounding
 You can’t do that… judgements.
 That’s irrelevant...
Saying What We Really
Mean

The price we pay for

not saying what we
mean - or saying
something we didn’t
mean can cause guilt,
anger, loss of self
esteem.
Accusation,
screaming, and
aggressiveness can’t
prove our point.
Informing Without Hurting

 First try listening to

others.
 Acknowledge Others’

views and feelings.

 Inform without

hurting.
 Avoid the word

‘never’ and the use

of ‘You - messages’
e.g.
“ You are always late.
You have never……”