Nonverbal Communication Skill
Although there is no consensus about the exact definition of "nonverbal communication" among experts, it is generally regarded as any communication conveyed through body movements (the "body language") and the intonations and emphasis that are given to words (also called the "paralinguistics"). The term
"nonverbal Communication" may itself be relatively new but its importance has long been realized. Martin Luther, the 16th century protestant reformer, often advised his followers, "not to watch a person's mouth but his fists." (Quoted by Bull, 2001) Charles Darwin discovered commonalities in facial expressions among humans and animals in his 1872 study, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, which is still read with interest among researchers. In the present day, nonverbal communication evokes the interest of a broad spectrum of academic disciplines including psychology, sociology, anthropology, communications, and linguistics, and has a similarly wide scope. Most research in the field of nonverbal communication, however, has focused more on the process rather than the skills aspect of the subject. In this paper about nonverbal communication skills, I shall discuss the following questions:
Why learn about nonverbal communication?
What are the challenges of interpreting nonverbal messages?
Why is it important to understand nonverbal communication code?
How does nonverbal communication help us improve our interpersonal communication skills?
Why Learn About Nonverbal Communication?
Although nonverbal communication is the first thing that a human being learns and practices, before he has learnt to use oral or written communication, its importance is often not fully recognized in human communication. This is despite the findings of a famous study carried out by Professor Albert Mehrabian of UCLA in the 1960s which indicated that people's attitudes and meanings are communicated more through body language and facial expression (55%) and through the way words are spoken -- also called paralinguistics (38%) than by the spoken word (only 7%). Even if the study exaggerates the importance of nonverbal communication somewhat, most experts now agree that it carries great importance in our everyday lives. Who can belittle the importance of a glance, a meaningful stare, a smile, a frown or a provocative body movement, especially if they involve the interaction between people of the opposite sex? Several common phrases in the English language too recognize the importance of non-verbal communication, e.g., "a picture is worth a thousand words" and "actions speak louder than words." Other body-oriented phrases such as "keeping one at arm's length," "giving someone the cold shoulder" or to "grit your teeth" are also indicative of the recognition that body language plays an important role in the communication process. (Trimby, 1988)
Just why we should learn about non-verbal communication should be obvious by now: knowing the principles of nonverbal communication can be extremely useful for us in our everyday lives and help us in communicating effectively with others and to understand people better. Possessing nonverbal skills help us in forging better relations in our personal lives and are instrumental in successful everyday social interaction.
In the business world, learning about the nuances of nonverbal communication is doubly important. For example, managers can better understand the behavior and feelings of their employees by observing their "body language" and non-verbal mannerisms than by simply listening to what they say. (Ibid.) Moreover, managers who are well-aware of the nonverbal communication techniques can use them to effectively communicate with their employees. It is for this reason that students of business communication are often taught to "listen with their eyes as well as their ears" and to refine and hone their ability to "listen" at a deeper level by closely observing the behavior of speakers.
It is a particularly difficult subject to study mainly because of the fact that at least some of the nonverbal communication may be unintentional or occur at a subconscious level. The development of sophisticated recording equipment in recent times, however, has made the study of the discipline easier as it is now possible to observe patterns of meaningful body movements through video and film recordings that are unobservable to the naked eye.
What are the Challenges of Interpreting Nonverbal Messages?
While it is important that we should learn about nonverbal communication, there are formidable challenges that face us in interpreting nonverbal messages accurately.
For example, some people may be sending a positive message "verbally" while their "non-verbal" gesture may be indicating a negative message could be confusing for the receiver who would have to decide whether to believe his ears or his eyes. For example, the boss...
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