Non-Verbal Communication

Role/importance of non-verbal communication during conversations

1. Deep understanding: Non-verbal cues have the power to guide us in understanding a person,
their needs, emotions, thoughts and feelings at a deeper level. When words and actions seem to
contradict, their demeanor and bodily gestures can be confidently relied upon.
Although Peter assured him that things were fine, Zayn knew that every time Peter was stressed
or anxious, he would fidget his fingers.

2. Reinforces a message: We tend to use heightened body movements and gestures when we
prefer to stress a point or emphasize something.
For example, angry people, usually express themselves more non-verbally than through words.

3. Complements words: Sometimes when words can’t do justice to the emotions experienced,
non-verbal communication can do its part. When people are engulfed in certain emotions, they
may not muster words to express their feelings. In such instances, body language can be of
immense help.
For example, it is easy to identify that someone is in deep remorse when they put their head
down and cast down their eyes.

4. To discover the underlying truth: Mouth lies, the body doesn’t. Understanding the nuances
of non-verbal communication can serve in identifying whether a person is truthful or not. This
hack is especially used by crime agencies where officials have the strenuous task of sieving
criminals out of innocent ones.
For example, a person who lies is more likely to avoid eye contact and have a stressed body
posture when lying.

Types of non-verbal communication

1. Facial expressions: It make up most of our non-verbal communication. What one may
hesitate to express verbally, could be exposed through expressions of the face. Facial expressions
include a wink of the eye, dilation of the pupils, a smile, etc. This is a universally known way to
identify the emotions and thoughts of people. Just by observing the face, it is easy to ascertain
whether a person is happy, sad, angry, scared etc.
2. Body posture: The way a person holds their body can say a lot about their intentions. The
sitting or standing posture, the subtle body movements, the hand positions and leg positions etc.
are very defining during a conversation.
For example, when someone has a closed body posture that includes folding their legs or hands
in front of their chest or crossing their legs over when sitting on a chair, this can indicate that the
person is nervous or experiences social anxiety.

3. Gestures: It refers to the conscious or unconscious body movements during communication

which can have an inner meaning. One of the most commonly used body gestures during any
conversation is hand movements. People move their hands excessively when communicating.
The nature of the movement would determine the hidden emotional meaning behind it. People
usually move their hands when talking to emphasize a point. Sometimes people take their hands
to their faces, and it could have a plethora of meanings.
A nervous person usually takes their hand unconsciously to their face as if they’re wiping
something off the face or they touch their forehead and gently scratch it.

4. Vocal intonations: Extent of power that intonation holds is more than that of the words used
during communication. Intonation refers to the vocal modulations when speaking. Each voice
intonation communicates different emotions and intentions. The emphasis placed on some words
over others can give a whole new meaning to the sentence.
For example, the sentence “I didn’t give him the pen” although seems to have only one meaning,
based on the intonation, can give many different meanings to the sentence. “I didn’t give him the
pen” and I didn’t give him the pen”.
The tone and the volume of the speech also play a key role during conversations. The volume of
speech is always kept on a moderate pitch during general conversations. However, as emotions
fluctuate, the volume of the speech has the propensity to go higher or lower.

For example, Shawn was watching two people conversing with each other. What seemed like a
friendly interaction earlier was suddenly escalating as both the parties started raising their voices.
Here, Shawn could predict the change like the conversation based on the tone and the volume of
the people.

5. Proxemics: It refers to the physical closeness of a person. The amount of space a person
prefers during a conversation also has a meaning to it. However, there are a few cultural factors
in this concept that must be taken into consideration. In cultures such as Latin America and
Arabia, physical proximity is considered normal, and they prefer to be physically close during
interactions. However, the same behavior might deliver a different message in other cultures
such as Asia.
For example, in a country like India, people wish each other by pressing both their hands
together in front of their chest with a subtle bow. This is a sign of respect and reverence for the
people they interact with. Generally, in many cultures, physical closeness would be perceived as
either aggression or sexual interest.

On the other hand, too much of a distance would mean disinterest and hostility. However, a
healthy amount of closeness from a known person or a seemingly harmless stranger can mean
warmth and acceptance from them.

6. Silence: One of the loudest forms of communication could come in the form of silence.
Silence can disclose a thousand words although it isn’t necessarily dependent on words. Stephen
Robbins, in his book “Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior” beautifully gives the example
of a Sherlock Holmes episode where Holmes solves a mystery with just the silence of a dog at
night. This imparts how not just presence, but absence of things is also capable of conveying
substantial messages.
During therapy sessions, silence can be favorable for the therapists to encourage disclosure from
the clients. During interactions, silence can mean many things. It can mean agreement, or a
subtle disagreement and it could also mean that the other person is contemplating, depending on
the context and other cues.
7. Signals and signs: Every culture gives a home to a different set of signs and the cultural
exclusivity of each sign is what segregates one culture from another. That may mean in one
culture may not mean the same elsewhere.
Another interesting example is this picture of a person trying to cover his eyes. Normally, this
would be perceived as a relatively casual gesture. However, in the Iranian culture, this gesture
would mean showing the middle finger. What seems like a rather innocent gesture can get one in
trouble depending upon the location.

8. Oculesics: It is the study of the communicative role of the eyes in non-verbal communication.
This deals with four important aspects such as eye movements, gaze, eye contact and pupil
dilation. People adopt different eye behaviors based on their moods, emotions and feelings.
For example, Rachel feared her school teacher. So, every time she met the teacher, she would
avoid eye contact and her pupils would dilate every time her teacher comes forward to talk to
her.

9. Chronemics: It is the study of the use of time in the context of communication. This deals
with how people respond to time and how that communicates certain messages about them. Time
can say a lot about someone, their status, level of patience, lifestyle, punctuality and also their
interactions. Time can be an important determinant in understanding the nature of a relationship.
For example, when Martin invited Sam to watch a baseball match together, Sam put it down
because he preferred spending more time with Regan as he valued his relationship with Regan
more and wanted to nurture it. People do not mind spending more time, waiting for them,
neglecting other priorities despite time constraints and many such instances when it comes to
close ones.

10. Paralanguage: It refers to the associated parts of verbal communication such as tone,
intonations, volume, pitch, manners of speaking etc. In many situations, words necessarily do not
hold as much meaning as the tone in which it is said.
For example, Joseph can easily identify if his mom is angry with him or not just by the tone in
which his mom addresses his name. When she’s calm, she calls him with softness in her voice
and if she’s angry, the pitch of her tone raises.
11. Olfactics: This refers to the study of smell and its role in non-verbal communication. This
involves scent, body odor, the usage of perfume and things like that. Of all species, humans are
the most scented and they try to hide their scent the most because it is considered unpleasant.
Sometimes the smell of a person can reveal a person’s status, power and profession etc.

12. Haptics: It refers to the use of touch during communication. Many studies reveal the essence
of touch in human growth; it shows that children who experienced more physical contact with
parents and guardians grew healthier and with fewer deficits compared to their no-contact
counterparts. Haptics varies concerning different cultures, age, sex and other variables.
There are contact cultures and non-contact that prefer and avoid touch during conversations.
Western cultures prefer more contact and touch when interacting compared to Asian cultures
where any form of touch during social interactions and in public places is frowned upon.

Observing such non-verbal cues during interactions can help us understand the thoughts and
emotions of individuals. However, it isn’t fitting to say that just the mere observation of these
cues will give us the whole insight into the minds of other people. Although they should be
observed, high emphasis shouldn’t be placed on one or two signs as the reason behind those cues
could be many other factors. Therefore, the contextual factors, psychological factors and the
environment etc. must be contemplated and taken into consideration.

How do people make their impressions best via non-verbal communication?

Artefacts and appearance: Another most important way to create an impression is based on our
appearance. People make quick assumptions about someone based on the way they appear. For
example, a beggar doesn’t proclaim himself to be a beggar. But we may still identify one very
easily. This is because of the way the beggar carries himself; be it his clothes, his unkempt hair
or the other subtle yet significant details.

non-verbal communication, artefacts include the clothes, jewelry, the kind of hairstyle one has,
and personal adornments that people wear. This signifies a person’s status; this is especially true
during interviews where interviewers make their first impression about a candidate based on how
they carry themselves. Although words aren’t used to communicate the nature of a person,
appearance clearly can.