Accordingtoexperts,asubstantialportionofourcommunicationisnonverbal.

Everyday,werespondtothousandsonnonverbal
cuesandbehaviorsincludingpostures,facialexpression,eyegaze,gesturesandtoneofvoice.Fromourhandshakestoour
hairstyles,nonverbaldetailsrevealwhoweareandimpacthowwerelatetootherpeople.
Scientificresearchonnonverbalcommunicationandbehaviorbeganwiththe1872publicationofCharlesDarwin'sThe
ExpressionoftheEmotionsinManandAnimals.
Sincethattime,abundantresearchonthetypes,effects,andexpressionsofunspokencommunicationandbehavior.Whilethese
signalsareoftensosubtlethatwearenotconsciouslyawareofthem,researchhasidentifiedseveraldifferenttypesofnonverbal
communication.
Inmanycases,wecommunicateinformationinnonverbalwaysusinggroupsofbehaviors.Forexample,wemightcombinea
frownwithcrossedarmsandunblinkingeyegazetoindicatedisapproval.
1. Facial Expressions
Facialexpressionsareresponsibleforahugeproportionofnonverbalcommunication.Considerhowmuchinformationcanbe
conveyedwithasmileorafrown.Thelookonaperson'sfaceisoftenthefirstthingwesee,evenbeforewehearwhattheyhave
tosay.
Whilenonverbalcommunicationandbehaviorcanvarydramaticallybetweencultures,thefacialexpressionsforhappiness,
sadness,anger,andfeararesimilarthroughouttheworld.
2. Gestures
Deliberatemovementsandsignalsareanimportantwaytocommunicatemeaningwithoutwords.Commongesturesinclude
waving,pointing,andusingfingerstoindicatenumericamounts.Othergesturesarearbitraryandrelatedtoculture.
Incourtroomsettings,lawyershavebeenknowntoutilizedifferentnonverbalsignalstoattempttoswayjuroropinions.
Anattorneymightglanceathiswatchtosuggestthattheopposinglawyer'sargumentistediousormightevenrollhiseyesatthe
testimonyofferedbyawitnessinanattempttounderminehisorhercredibility.Thesenonverbalsignalsareseenasbeingso
powerfulandinfluentialthatsomejudgesevenplacelimitsonwhattypeofnonverbalbehaviorsareallowedinthecourtroom.
3. Paralinguistics
Paralinguisticsreferstovocalcommunicationthatisseparatefromactuallanguage.Thisincludesfactorssuchastoneofvoice,
loudness,inflectionandpitch.Considerthepowerfuleffectthattoneofvoicecanhaveonthemeaningofasentence.Whensaid

inastrongtoneofvoice,listenersmightinterpretapprovalandenthusiasm.Thesamewordssaidinahesitanttoneofvoicemight
conveydisapprovalandalackofinterest.
Considerallthedifferentwayssimplychangingyourtoneofvoicemightchangethemeaningofasentence.Afriendmightask
youhowyouaredoing,andyoumightrespondwiththestandard"I'mfine,"buthowyouactuallysaythosewordsmightreveala
tremendousamountofhowyouarereallyfeeling.
Acoldtoneofvoicemightsuggestthatyouareactuallynotfine,butyoudon'twishtodiscussit.Abright,happytoneofvoice
willrevealthatyouareactuallydoingquitewell.Asomber,downcasttonewouldindicatethatyouaretheoppositeoffineand
thatperhapsyourfriendshouldinquirefurther.
4. Body Language and Posture
Postureandmovementcanalsoconveyagreatdealoninformation.Researchonbodylanguagehasgrownsignificantlysincethe
1970's,butpopularmediahavefocusedontheoverinterpretationofdefensivepostures,armcrossing,andlegcrossing,
especiallyafterpublishingJuliusFast'sbookBodyLanguage.Whilethesenonverbalbehaviorscanindicatefeelings
andattitudes,researchsuggeststhatbodylanguageisfarmoresubtleandlessdefinitivethatpreviouslybelieved.
5. Proxemics
Peopleoftenrefertotheirneedfor"personalspace,"whichisalsoanimportanttypeofnonverbalcommunication.Theamountof
distanceweneedandtheamountofspaceweperceiveasbelongingtousisinfluencedbyanumberoffactorsincludingsocial
norms,culturalexpectations,situationalfactors,personalitycharacteristics,andleveloffamiliarity.Forexample,theamountof
personalspaceneededwhenhavingacasualconversationwithanotherpersonusuallyvariesbetween18inchestofourfeet.On
theotherhand,thepersonaldistanceneededwhenspeakingtoacrowdofpeopleisaround10to12feet.
6. Eye Gaze
Theeyesplayanimportantroleinnonverbalcommunicationandsuchthingsaslooking,staringandblinkingareimportant
nonverbalbehaviors.Whenpeopleencounterpeopleorthingsthattheylike,therateofblinkingincreasesandpupilsdilate.
Lookingatanotherpersoncanindicatearangeofemotionsincludinghostility,interest,andattraction.
Peoplealsoutilizeeyegazeameanstodetermineifsomeoneisbeinghonest.Normal,steadyeyecontactisoftentakenasasign
thatapersonistellingthetruthandistrustworthy.Shiftyeyesandaninabilitytomaintaineyecontact,ontheotherhand,is
frequentlyseenasanindicatorthatsomeoneislyingorbeingdeceptive.
7. HapticsCommunicatingthroughtouchisanotherimportantnonverbalbehavior.Therehasbeenasubstantialamountof
researchontheimportanceoftouchininfancyandearlychildhood.HarryHarlow'sclassicmonkeystudydemonstratedhow
deprivedtouchandcontactimpedesdevelopment.Babymonkeysraisedbywiremothersexperiencedpermanentdeficitsin
behaviorandsocialinteraction.Touchcanbeusedtocommunicateaffection,familiarity,sympathy,andotheremotions.

InherbookInterpersonalCommunication:EverydayEncounters,authorJuliaWoodwritesthattouchisalsooftenusedasaway
tocommunicatebothstatusandpower.Researchershavefoundthathighstatusindividualstendtoinvadeotherpeople'spersonal
spacewithgreaterfrequencyandintensitythanlowerstatusindividuals.Sexdifferencesalsoplayaroleinhowpeopleutilize
touchtocommunicatemeaning.Womentendtousetouchtoconveycare,concern,andnurturance.Men,ontheotherhand,are
morelikelytousetouchtoassertpowerorcontroloverothers.
8. Appearance
Ourchoiceofcolor,clothing,hairstyles,andotherfactorsaffectingappearancearealsoconsideredameansofnonverbal
communication.Researchoncolorpsychologyhasdemonstratedthatdifferentcolorscanevokedifferentmoods.Appearancecan
alsoalterphysiologicalreactions,judgments,andinterpretations.Justthinkofallthesubtlejudgmentsyouquicklymakeabout
someonebasedonhisorherappearance.Thesefirstimpressionsareimportant,whichiswhyexpertssuggestthatjobseekers
dressappropriatelyforinterviewswithpotentialemployers.
Researchershavefoundthatappearancecanplayaroleinhowpeopleareperceivedandevenhowmuchtheyearn.One1996
studyfoundthatattorneyswhowereratedasmoreattractivethantheirpeersearnednearly15percentmorethanthoserankedas
lessattractive.Cultureisanimportantinfluenceonhowappearancesarejudged.WhilethinnesstendstobevaluedinWestern
cultures,someAfricanculturesrelatefullfiguredbodiestobetterhealth,wealth,andsocialstatus.
9. Artifacts
Objectsandimagesarealsotoolsthatcanbeusedtocommunicatenonverbally.Onanonlineforum,forexample,youmight
selectanavatartorepresentyouridentityonlineandtocommunicateinformationaboutwhoyouareandthethingsyoulike.
Peopleoftenspendagreatdealoftimedevelopingaparticularimageandsurroundingthemselveswithobjectsdesignedto
conveyinformationaboutthethingsthatareimportanttothem.Uniforms,forexample,canbeusedtotransmitatremendous
amountofinformationaboutaperson.Asoldierwilldonfatigues,apoliceofferswillwearauniform,andadoctorwillweara
whitelabcoat.Atamereglance,theseoutfitstellpeoplewhatapersondoesforaliving.
Final Thoughts
Nonverbalcommunicationplaysanimportantroleinhowweconveymeaningandinformationtoothers,aswellashowwe
interprettheactionsofthosearoundus.Theimportantthingtorememberwhenlookingatsuchnonverbalbehaviorsisto
considertheactionsingroups.Whatapersonactuallysaysalongwithhisorherexpressions,appearance,andtoneofvoice
mighttellyouagreatdealaboutwhatthatpersonisreallytryingtosay.

References

Darwin,C.(1872).TheExpressionoftheEmotionsinManandAnimals,3rdedition.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.