Non-Verbal Communication When We Communicate, We Tend

Non-Verbal Communication

When we communicate, we tend to focus on what people are saying and their emotions, while paying very little attention to their body language. We're all aware of some non-verbal cues but "body language is about more than how we move and stand and the signals we give off in any interaction have more influence than the words we say" (Gray, 53). In fact "only 5 per cent of communication involves the words we use and 38 per cent involves speech as a whole. A staggering 55 per cent is attributed to body language" (53).

This would entail that during the majority of the conversations and communications we have with people often take place without us realizing the non-verbal signals that we are giving off in our body language. "Up to 93% of all face-to-face communication is sent through nonverbal means. This implies the room for miscommunication is awfully wide" (Fazzi, 89).

It's important for people to have a basic understanding of these non-verbal cues so that it can aid them in knowing how to respond to people as well as how well they are responding to others. With this in mind, we must also understand that there are cultural differences in body language and some of the basics that we all seem to know (i.e: 'hands on hips' means 'defiant' (Pierce-Rusunen, D.1)) may not cross over into other cultures. "Problems arise when generalizations are made about body language" (D.1) and it is therefore significant to gain "literacy in foreign body languages" because "body language is often culture-specific" (D.1).

Body language essentially includes a variety of facial expressions, posture, eye contact, and other parts of the body. This is coupled with aspects of speech that include "intonation, stress, rate of speech, loudness and accent" (Gray, 53). When we look at visual cues to how some is feeling, or their opinion on the conversation, we should take into consideration hand gestures, facial gestures and eye contact. "Prolonged eye contact does not usually occur unless feelings of hostility, defensiveness or sexual interest are present" (Gray, 53).

People usually traveling on a bus or subway may appear to have a 'blank expression' or disinterest because their personal space is being jeopardized by strangers and "passengers develop the art of ignoring others by gazing poker-faced up or down, keeping still or reading intently" (Gray, 53).

In the case of facial gestures there tend to be six universally recognized expressions which are "happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger and disgust" (Gray, 53). Quite often smiling is often misinterpreted because "many believe that if they smile, they will be taken less seriously and will relinquish control"(Pierce-Rusunen) but rather a sincere smile can often reflect confidence and your trust in the person you are communicating with.

There are, of course, some non-verbal cues that can reflect negatively on someone. Hand gestures are important and even in criminal courts are these taken into account by lawyers. When a witness is taking the oath, lawyers will "beware of a hand tilted back, curled forward, or held up with two fingers together and two apart" (Perin, pg2). Police will also use body language in analyzing videotapes of suspects and in their undercover operations so that they can act the part of drug dealers and prostitutes.

One such 'body language' consultant is Jan Hargrave who has been hired by various institutes to evaluate these non-verbal cues of suspects, and even politicians. One of her favorite examples of how body language can speak volumes when you're not, is that of the testimony of former President Bill Clinton about Monica Lewinsky. "The giveaway that Clinton was lying was he touched his nose about once every four minutes. Fidgeting, touching your nose or eye, tugging on your ear are all indications of untruthfulness, especially if these gestures are done with the left hand" (Perin).

In the workplace, body language can be an essential tool in gauging how your boss responds, how employees communicate between each other and during mediation. The business world could gain favorably if they understood the value of non-verbal cues and how these are accepted around the world, not just in one's own culture, but in the cultures of those that they are doing business with.

Companies could also gain a lot through profiling their customers' body language. For instance, Starbucks used Hargrave to analyze their customers through researching what they did with their drinking straws and how it coincided with their personalities. "The Chewer: likes nourishment in the way of words and emotions" while "The Knot-Tier: determined, precise, intellectual a planner" were only two of the twelve types of personalities, such research gives Starbucks a keen insight on their customers and how they can market towards them - either nationally or in store.

The CIA is keen to use body language in profiling possible terrorists by using a facial recognition system that can read non-verbal cues. Using the science of Kinesics, "the CIA wants to teach computers to watch for detailed facial language clues" (Lortie, 7) Even though the use of such technology could be advantageous, and using a computer to analyze video where "one minute of an interview can take a trained observer an hour, but that a computer might be handle the process in real time" (Lortie) some people feel that this infringes on a person's civil rights and privacy. Beyond this, the human element would be missing and such profiling would "not explicitly include race as an element" (Lortie).