Nonverbal Communication (Presentation)
Nonverbal Communication (Presentation)
Nonverbal Communication (Presentation)
1) Introduction of Non-Verbal Communication. 2) Types of Non-Verbal Communication. 1. Appearance. 2. Body Language. 3. Silence, Space and Time. 3) Strategies for an Effective Non-Verbal Delivery. A. Postures. B. Gestures. C. Movement. D.Appearance. E. Facial Expression.
Non-Verbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly Visual) cues between people. It is also seen as the nonlinguistic transmission of information through visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic channels. Nonverbal communication encompasses much more, such as use of voice (paralanguage), gaze, touch, distance, time, and physical environments or appearance. Messages sent through haptics, or gestures, facial expressions and touch, or body language and posture, physical distance; and eye contact, are all types of nonverbal communication. Even speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation, and stress etc. Written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the physical layout of a page. However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-toface interaction, where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction. Nonverbal communication involves the processes of encoding and decoding. Encoding is the act of generating the information such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures. Decoding is the interpretation of information from received sensations from previous experiences. We use 38% verbal communication, 7% written communication and 55% nonverbal communication.
1. Appearance:
Appearance means nonverbal impressions that affect receivers attitudes toward the verbal message even before they read or hear them. There are following two types include in appearance: Appearance of Written Message. Appearance of Oral Message.
2. Body Language
Body language is also part of non-verbal communication. Body language includes facial expressions, gestures, posture and movement, smell and touch, and sounds.
Facial expressions
The eyes and face are especially helpful means of communicating nonverbally. These can reveal hidden emotions, including anger, confusion, enthusiasm, fear, joy, surprise, uncertainty, and others. Direct eye contact is considered desirable when two people converse. The people whose eyes droop or shift away from the listener is thought to be either shy or dishonest and untrustworthy.
Postures
There are many different types of body positioning to portray certain postures, including slouching, towering, legs spread, jaw thrust, shoulders forward, and arm crossing. The posture or bodily stance exhibited by individuals communicates a variety of messages whether good or bad. Posture can be used to determine participant's degree of attention or involvement. When you stand straight and balance your weight on both feet, you give the impression of complete control, of poise. Your outward appearance mirrors your inner mood. Conversely, when draped over podium with your shoulders sagging, you give the felling of depression, of lack of control.
Time
Waiting when an important request is ignored causes problems and attitude changes. In the preceding example, after the long silence, should you ask again? Time is important in many ways. How do you feel when you are dept waiting two hours after the scheduled time for an interview? Concepts of time, however, vary across cultures and even in the United States. Americans, and Germans, for example, are quite punctual. Middle Eastern business people think little of arriving after an agreed upon time, not out of discourtesy but rather a feeling that the task will be accomplished regardless of time. If you arrived on time for a meeting in Portugal, your host might wonder why you came so early.
Space
If you step into an empty elevator, where do you stand? If the elevator then fills up with people, where do you move? The need for personal space decreases as the number of people increases. In the United States, the need for personal space in a two person conversation is about 18 inches. The need for space is less in many Middle Eastern countries and more in most Scandinavian countries. Consider the common dance of the diplomats in which an American and a Saudi Arabian fall into conversation. The Saudi takes step forward, the American edges backward the Saudi advances, the American retreats. By the end of the conversation, the American feels bullied, and the Saudi feels insulted.
A. Postures
There are many different types of body positioning to portray certain postures, including slouching, towering, legs spread, jaw thrust, shoulders forward, and arm crossing. The posture or bodily stance exhibited by individuals communicates a variety of messages whether good or bad. When you stand straight and balance your weight on both feet, you give the impression of complete control, of poise. Your outward appearance mirrors yours inner mood. Conversely, when draped over a podium with your shoulders sagging, you give the feeling of depression, of lack of control. However, a casual posture may also be adapted to the audience. When speaking to business conference of say 10 peoples you might sit on the edge of a table or even address them from chair. Certainly a formal talk to 200 peoples would demand more formality in posture.
B. Gestures
Any movement of hands, arms, head, shoulders are termed gestures. At a more micro level there is an entire science of body movements called kinesics, of which gestures are apart. Emblems: Behavior that has direct verbal counterpart such as the thumb up-ward for hitchhiking, the arm wave for hello or goodbye. Illustrators: Here belong the gestures, usually the arm used to describe a circle, or the finger pointing to emphasize a point. Affect Displays: Speakers may use any of the primary emotional states usually via facial expression, in which include happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt, and interest etc. Regulators: Speakers use body movements of their audience to search out response t their message. Thus listeners may nod their heads, maintain eye contact, shift their postures, incline their heads to hear better.
Adapters: These are often the unintentional movements to a physical or psychological state: scratching a nose, twisting pencil, smoothing ones hair. To Emphasize: For example, the clenched fist emphasizes a point by either hitting the palm of the hand or shaking it upright before an audience. To Point: The index finger calls attention, indicating either location or directions. To Reject: A sample phrase accompanying this gesture would be I cant believe the actions of our competitors. Here the hand may go to the side in an act of rejection. To Describe: Clearly, though your hands cannot give the precise picture of the idea or thing you are speaking about, even an approximation of size is worthwhile. Vary Gestures: Using the same action repetitiously is boring to the audience and suggests lack of creativity on your part.
C. Movement
Taking a few steps during a presentation helps hold attention, as does any moving object. There are times, however, when a lectern precludes extensive movement other than short steps to its side. Yet move if possible for the following reasons: Move t Hold Attention: At large sessions, lecterns restrict your movement. In business meetings the audience may be smaller, thus permitting you to stand behind a desk or table. Move more often from side to side rather than back and forth. But do not move continuously, like a caged lion! Move to Get Rid of Nervousness: A way of decreasing stage fright is to move about, especially in the beginning of your talk. Even the manner in which you approach the lectern tells something about you nonverbally. Are you slow and plodding, or do you move with assurance, determination, enthusiasm? The latter approach gives a confident feeling while decreasing some of your initial nervousness. Move to Suggest Transitions: Cues for transitions in writing include headings, words, and numerical hints such as 1, 2, 3, or a, b, c. In your talk, you visually supplement the oral words of transition by physically moving when making a direction shift. The audience follows you more easily. Move to Increase Emphasis: In writing we use exclamation points following emphatic statements. In speaking a movement toward the audience, accompanied by gesture, can imply you are stressing a point. Emphasis through movement suggests idea importance and holds group attention.
D. Appearance
Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles and other factors affecting appearance are also considered a means of nonverbal communication. Research on color psychology has demonstrated that different colors can evoke different moods. Appearance can also alter physiological reactions, judgments and interpretations. Just think of all the subtle judgments you quickly make about someone based on his or her appearance. These first impressions are important, which is why experts suggest that job seekers dress appropriately for interviews with potential employers.
E. Facial Expression
Facial expression could convey primary gestures. A smile or laugh suggests that your topic interests you. A frown or glare may convey nonverbal impressions that you are worried, angry, or perhaps ill at ease. You must not only feel but show interest in your ideas. Sincerity is important. Facial expression includes eye contact. Speakers who bury their head in their notes or who speak t the screen behind them lose a sense of directness with the audience. Eye contact with your listeners suggests respect and goodwill adding to a favorable impression of you as a speaker.