BCOM/275 Demonstrative Communication Paper

Demonstrative Communication
BCOM/275
July 29, 2013

Demonstrative Communication
The Oxford Dictionary defines communication as the “imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing or using some other medium” (Oxford Dictionaries). There are four main types of communication; Verbal communication (spoken), nonverbal communication, written communication and visual communication. Demonstrative communication goes a little more in depth. It includes nonverbal and unwritten communication.
Verbal Communication is one that people recognize the most in their day to day lives. Simply defined verbal communication is communication though words. Verbal communication can be done face-to-face, over a phone call, a radio broadcast, through the television, or as a public speech. Nonverbal communication is any type of communication exchanged without using words. The Business Dictionary defines nonverbal communication as “behavior and elements of speech aside from the words themselves that transmit meaning. Non-verbal communication
includes pitch, speed, tone and volume of voice, gestures and facial expressions, body posture, stance, and proximity to the listener, eye movements and contact, and dress and appearance” (Business Dictionary, 2013).
Written communication is described as “communication by means or written symbols” (The Free Dictionary, 2013).
Written communication includes memos, emails, letters, facebook status and twitter updates. Visual communication is any kind of communication that uses a visual aid to convey a message. The visual aid is primarily presented as a two dimensional image such as a billboard, photograph, or video that is typically intended to inform or entertain the receiver.
As stated before, demonstrative communication involves nonverbal and unwritten communication. Nonverbal communication makes up two-thirds of all communication. (Stubbs & Hogan, 2003). Facial expressions, body language or posture, physical distance, eye contact, gestures and touch are all nonverbal cues that we notice visually. Speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume and speaking style…” (Wikipedia,
2013)
There are two types of facial expressions, ones that are voluntary and we express knowingly. The second type is emotional and is often expressed unconsciously. Say someone tries a dish a friend made and found it disgusting and gets a sour look on their face for an instant before saying that it was pretty good and smiling. That first expression of sour is the true unconscious expression while what followed was the voluntary expression of support for the friends cooking. Body language and posture can say the same things nonverbally. A person who keeps walks tall and a head help up high can be seen as confident, but at the same time seem arrogant. Someone with their head down and arms crossed can seems unfriendly or anxious. If you are giving a speech to a class and you see a student sitting up strait with his/her body pointed towards you it would appear that that person is being attentive and listening to you. While another student who is slouched in his/her chair and looking around would appear not to be paying as much attention.
In American culture eye contact is a very important form of nonverbal commutation. It almost goes hand and hand with body language. When a person’s pupils dilate and they frequently gaze it’s a sign that they’ve encountered something they like. Longer eye contact between two people can symbolize intimacy. The widening of the eye area can be seen as a positive response while squinting eyes can be seen as a negative emotion. Hogan states “when someone is being deceptive their eyes tend to blink a lot more. Eyes act as leading indicator of truth or deception” (Stubbs & Hogan, 2003).
Positive or negative messages can be nonverbally communicated by pitch and rate as well. Someone talking casually and at an average rate would come off as calm and relaxed, while someone shouting and speaking urgently will come off as stressed and tense. “Consider the powerful effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of a sentence. When said in a strong tone of voice, listeners might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone of voice might convey disapproval and lack of interest.” (Cherry)
Fox had a television show that ran from 2009-2011 called “Lie to Me”. (IMDB) In the show the main character, Dr. Cal Lightman would be hired by various organizations to do investigations into a problem they had. Dr. Lightman would only pay attention to unconscious, or emotional, cues to determine if the person he was investigating was telling the truth or lying. Based off these emotional cues he would either pursue deeper into the questioning or move on to the next suspect. For him it wasn’t really what the person was saying but how they said it. Paying attention and listening to the nonverbal and emotional cues helped him receive the true message being sent and helped him understand how to correctly respond.

Works Cited
Business Dictionary. (2013, July). Retrieved July 2013, from www.businessdictionary.com/definition/non-verbal-communication.html
Cherry, K. (n.d.). About.com Psychology. Retrieved from About.com: psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/a/nonverbaltypes.htm
IMDB. (n.d.). Retrieved from International Movie Database: www.imdb.com/title/tt1235099/
Oxford Dictionaries. (2013, July). Retrieved from oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/communication?q=communication
Stubbs, R., & Hogan, K. (2003). Can 't get Through 8 Barriers to Communication. Grenta, LA: Pelican Publishing Company.
The Free Dictionary. (2013, July). Retrieved from www.thefreedictionary.com/written+communication
Wikipedia. (2013, July). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonverbal_communication