NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Non-verbal communication is a communication done without words. Often referred to as body

language, nonverbal communication encompasses much more than just signals transmitted by
the body.

Nonverbal behavior like body movements and posture, facial expressions, eye contact, hand
gestures and tone of voice all contribute to how we communicate and understand each other.
From our handshakes to our eye contact, nonverbal details reveal who we are and impact how
we relate to other people.

Acc. to Dr. Albert Mehrabian (1967) the total meaning in a message is “7 percent verbal, 38
percent vocal, and 55 percent facial.” This formula has led to the popular belief that 93 percent
of communication is “nonverbal” in nature.

Types of Non-Verbal Communication

K – KINESICS

O – OCULESICS

P – PARALINGUISTICS

P – PROXEMICS

A – ARTIFACTICS

C – CHRONEMICS

T – TACTILICS/HAPTICS

I. Kinesics is the study of facial expressions, gestures and postures. The founder of kinesics,
American anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell said kinesics meant:

“Facial expression, gestures, posture and gait, and visible arm and body movements.”

Building on Birdwhistell’s work, Professor Paul Ekman and his colleague Wallace V Friesen
classified kinesics into five categories: emblems, illustrations, affective displays, regulators, and
adaptors.

a. Emblems are nonverbal signals that can generally be translated directly into words.
Most people within a culture or group agree on their meaning. A good example is the
"A-OK" symbol made with the thumb and forefinger. Because these gestures can be
directly translated into words, they are quick to use and unambiguous in their meaning.
 However, as we noted earlier, culture quickly comes into play when you move outside
of your "home" culture. For instance, in many parts of the world this gesture is directly
translated as "OK", but in other places it might be translated as "Zero" or "None", and in
others it is even understood to represent an obscene gesture representing a body
orifice. Quite a different interpretation than being OK!
b. Illustrators are movements that complement verbal communication by describing or
accenting or reinforcing what the speaker is saying. People use illustrators to indicate
the size of an object or to draw a picture in the air or to emphasize a key word in what
they are saying. These might include pointing to an object in the room or pounding on
the table. The frequency of use of illustrators may vary by culture, but they are used
widely. Use of illustrators can help indicate interest, efforts to be clear or enthusiasm for
the topic being discussed.
c. Affect Displays are nonverbal displays of the body or face that carry an emotional
meaning or display affective states. Our gait (bouncing, suggesting happiness for
instance, or slouched and shuffling, suggesting depression), and our facial movements
(breaking into a big grin, suggesting pleasure, or frowning suddenly indicating
displeasure) send a message about our feelings. Affect displays are often spontaneous
and thus they may send signals that we would rather not convey based on social norms
or our goals for communication. We will explore facial expressions more in a later
section.
d. Regulators are nonverbal messages that accompany speech to control or regulate what
the speaker is saying. These might including the nodding of the head to indicate you are
listening or understanding something, for instance, and you are encouraging the
speaker to continue. Regulars are often associated with turn-taking in conversation,
influencing the flow and pace of discussion. For instance, we might start to move away,
signaling that we want communication to stop, or we may raise a finger or lift our head
to indicate we want to speak, or perhaps show our palm to indicate we don't want a
turn at speaking.
e. Adaptors are forms of nonverbal communication that often occur at a low level of
personal awareness. They can be thought of behaviors that are done to meet a personal
need as one adapts to the specific communication situation. They include behaviors like
twisting your hair, tapping your pen, scratching, tugging on your ear, pushing your
glasses up your nose, holding yourself, swinging your legs, etc. Given the low level of
awareness of these behaviors by the person doing them, the observer is sometimes
more aware of the behaviors than the doer of them. Adaptors may thus serve
unintentionally as clues to how a person is feeling. Adaptors are not intended for use in
communication, but rather may represent behaviors learned early in life that are
 somehow cued by the current situation and which may be increased when the level of
anxiety goes up in the situation.

II. Oculesics: It is the study of the role of eye contact in non-verbal communication. The most
important aspect of oculesics is eye contact that opens communication channels, signals
availability for interaction, listening, immediacy, and intimacy. The absence of eye contact
engenders negative attributions including rudeness, deceptiveness, insincerity, unfriendliness,
and timidity. Eye contact increases interpersonal influence and is a powerful behavior when
speaking. Through eye- contact, the speaker gets signals whether the channel of
communication is open. Nervousness results in a brief eye contact; and a long and fixed gaze
shows interest. Depending on our feelings, we have smiling eyes, angry eyes, painful eyes,
evasive eyes, and so on.

III. Paralinguistics: It is the study of variations in pitch, speed, volume, and pauses to convey
meaning. Through these, one’s voice can convey enthusiasm, confidence, anxiety and the
speaker’s mental state and temperament. Interestingly, when a speaker is making a
presentation and is looking for a response, he will pause. However, when no response is
desired, he will talk faster with minimal pause. A loud high-pitched voice tone can express
anger, excitement on face. Mixed signals occur when the tone, pitch and facial expressions of
the speaker do not match the words that he is speaking. This confuses the listener as to the
exact motive of the speaker. For example, praise delivered in a sarcastic tone conveys mockery.

IV. Proxemics: It is the study of measurable distances between people as they interact. The
term was introduced by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1963. Edward T Hall (1966) specified
four distance zones which are commonly observed by North Americans.

Intimate distance - (0" to 18"): This zone extends from actual touching to eighteen inches. It is
normally reserved for those with whom one is intimate. At this distance the physical presence
of another is overwhelming. Teachers who violate students’ intimate space are likely to be
perceived as intruders.

Personal distance (18" to 4'): This zone extends from eighteen inches to four feet. This is the
distance of interaction of good friends. This would also seem to be most appropriate distance
for teacher and student to discuss personal affairs such as grades, conduct, private problems,
etc.

Social distance (4' to 12'): This zone exists from four to twelve feet. It seems to be an
appropriate distance for casual friends and acquaintances to interact.
Public distance (12' to 25'): Extending outward from twelve feet a speaker becomes formal.
Classes of teachers who maintain this distance between themselves and their students are
generally formal, and some students may feel that the teacher is cold and distant.

V. Artifactics: It studies the non-verbal signals or communication which emerges from

personal accessories such as dresses, shoes, jewelry, watches, bags, piercings, tattoos etc. It
communicates economic level, educational level, trustworthiness, social position, level of
sophistication, economic background, social background, educational background, level of
success, moral character, masculinity and femininity. Clothing can communicate many ideas,
including social class, attitudes (conservative, liberal, moderate), style and creativity, and age.
For example, a professor is more likely to take seriously a student who dresses conservatively
and appropriately for class than a student who constantly lounges in sweats and an old t-shirt.
Piercings and tattoos often facilitate complex messages, especially in terms of presentation and
perception. For example, a young person may get a tattoo of a religious object, perhaps a
cross. While that person's intent may be to indicate to others his/her devotion to faith, an
older individual may misinterpret the message and think that the person with the tattoo is
defying his/her religion.

VI. Chronemics: It is the study of how time affects communication. It is used to understand
the use of time in differing cultures, its effect on technology and time management. Acc. to
Edward T. Hall there are two main viewpoints regarding time: The first are “polychronic”
cultures that can attend to multiple events at the same time. They value relationships and
traditions and are focused more on the overall outcome of an event than on punctuality. The
second are “monochronic” cultures. These cultures view time as tangible, as a commodity
whereby “time is money,” taking care of one event at a time.

India is a polychronic culture, in other words, people tend to change priorities depending on
their importance and attitudes towards punctuality are relaxed. Most large global organisations
require adherence to strict deadlines and fast decision-making, so they struggle to cope with
the idea that when doing business in India, time cannot be controlled and is not absolute.

Strict time is followed in the United States, Germany, and Switzerland, and beyond punctuality,
it means people are focused on time in general. Flex time is attributed to more Southern
European countries like Spain, France, and Italy, which are more easygoing about time focusing
more on relationships than punctuality.

VII. Tactilics/Haptics: Tactile communication is a form of nonverbal communication and the

way by which people and animals communicate via touching. Touch is the most effective means
to communicate feelings and emotions. The withholding of touch may communicate a variety
of negative feelings. Communicating through non-verbal haptics/tactilics involves handshake,
pat, kiss, slap, hug, massage, hit, kick, embrace, tickle etc. Each touch communicates a unique
message like fear, disgust, love, encouragement, gratitude, sympathy, anger, sex, pain, violence
etc. Moreover, haptic communication depends on environment and interpretations such as on
who, why, when and differs with setting and purpose as professional, friendship, guide,
punishment, sympathy, arousal, attention, greeting, seeking, etc.