Week
8 - Nonverbal communication: understanding yourself and others
Much research has shown that nonverbal communication can
convey a stronger message. Nonverbal
communication such as our facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture,
and tone of voice is that which speak the loudest. For me personally, nonverbal communication can
be intentional such as smiling when receiving a compliment or unintentional
such as blushing when receiving a compliment.
When we interact with others we
are constantly giving and receiving nonverbal signals. We are sending strong messages out to others
through all of our nonverbal behaviours. How loud or softly we speak, the way we sit,
how close we stand to others, our facial and body gestures, the intensity and
the amount of eye contact we make, are all communicating strong messages, whether they be positive or negative. Further, often a person may say one thing and
the nonverbal signals are saying something completely the opposite.
Many nonverbal behaviours are
universal and certain expressions have the same meaning around the globe such
as a smile or laughter being a signal of positive emotions (Adler & Rodman
2003, p.157). However Eunson (2005,
p.235) does not agree with this and states that smiling or laughing can signify
tension or unhappiness in some cultures given the situation. I can identify with this as I remember when
my sister and I were 11 and 10 years old, after returning home from netball my
mother told us that our grandmother had just passed away. I stood frozen and my sister let out a
giggle. I remember at the time thinking,
how can anyone laugh over the death of someone.
It was only until I was older that I realised that this was the way in which
she could cope with the sad news.
The meaning of certain gestures
varies amongst cultures. For example, in
Australia it is shown as being a positive if we show our thumb upward (or two
thumbs up) to somebody because it means “great” or “like” on Facebook
etcetera. But in other cultures it can
be seen as a rude insult.
Eye contact in most cultures is
considered to be a very important type of nonverbal communication and in fact
we are taught to “look people in the eye.”
You can communicate many things to someone by the way you look at them
such as interest, honesty and affection. However, in cultures such as Asian, Middle
Eastern and Native American, eye contact is considered to be quite
disrespectful or rude (Vermont Department of Health, n.d.).
Touch
and space are also ways in which we communicate and some forms of greetings
could be an indicator about our attitudes towards personal space. For example
in Japan it is usual to bend towards each other, which is without body contact
and in Australia it is usual to give a handshake. While in the Netherlands it is usual to give
kisses (three) on the cheeks, a rather close way of greeting that could make
people feel quite uncomfortable.
Kossen,
Kiernan and Lawrence (2013, p.256) state ‘nonverbal communication can be an unreliable
form of communication’ due to it being interpreted differently by different
observers. However, as Eunson
(2005, p.232) suggests, ‘nonverbal communication can be a very powerful tool in
understanding ourselves and others.’
To conclude, people can
interpret nonverbal communication differently and while some signals may be
easier to decode than others there are still differences in people’s
personalities and culture. Being aware
of the nonverbal cues and signals that we send and receive should improve our
ability to communicate more effectively.
Finally, we can also see the funny side of our nonverbal cues: Click the link below to view the importance of nonverbal cues as told by “Friends”
References:
Adler, RB & Rodman, G 2003,
Understanding human communication, 8th edn, Oxford University
Press, New York
Eunson, B 2005, Communicating in the 21st
century, 1st edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Milton
Klawans, K 2013, ‘The importance of nonverbal cues as told by
“Friends”’, viewed 17 December 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvEci5Bjgd4
Kossen,
C & Kiernan, EF & Lawrence, JE 2013, Communicating for success, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest.
Vermont Department of Health n.d. ‘Cultural Differences in non-verbal communication’, viewed 17 December 2014, http://healthvermont.gov/family/toolkit/
