Comparison Essay
Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication
Communication is a very important component of human life. Human beings build relationships around communication. The quality of the relationships between two people is normally determined by how they communicate to each other. Communication is defined as the process of encoding and decoding messages, which enable human being to share knowledge, skills, ideas, and attitudes. Although communication has also been identified with speech, it is made up of two dimensions, which are the verbal and nonverbal dimensions. Verbal communication can be defined as the act of expressing messages, feelings and ideas by using words or the mouth. Nonverbal communication involves communication that does not involve words. It includes behavior such as touching, tone of voice, facial expressions, spatial distance, posture, and dress.
Historically, these two forms of communication have been studied separately. However, contrary to common belief among some scholars that verbal and nonverbal communication are separate entities, these two dimensions of communication are interrelated and it is very hard for them to exist separately. This is because the nonverbal form of communication normally gives meaning and weigh to the verbal communication. For instance, the facial expression one presents while delivering a verbal message would determine the seriousness and gravity of the issue being communicated. The bodily expressions can also determine whether the speaker means what he/she says or not. For instance, if a person communicates some sad news while smiling, one can readily deduce that he/she is lying and the news is not true. On the contrary, if a person says that he/she is fine while wearing a sad expression, this will create an impression that he/she is hiding something and that not all is well.
Like in any other situation, communication is also very important in a classroom situation. This is because effective communication is required for a
Communication is a very important component of human life. Human beings build relationships around communication. The quality of the relationships between two people is normally determined by how they communicate to each other. Communication is defined as the process of encoding and decoding messages, which enable human being to share knowledge, skills, ideas, and attitudes. Although communication has also been identified with speech, it is made up of two dimensions, which are the verbal and nonverbal dimensions. Verbal communication can be defined as the act of expressing messages, feelings and ideas by using words or the mouth. Nonverbal communication involves communication that does not involve words. It includes behavior such as touching, tone of voice, facial expressions, spatial distance, posture, and dress.
Historically, these two forms of communication have been studied separately. However, contrary to common belief among some scholars that verbal and nonverbal communication are separate entities, these two dimensions of communication are interrelated and it is very hard for them to exist separately. This is because the nonverbal form of communication normally gives meaning and weigh to the verbal communication. For instance, the facial expression one presents while delivering a verbal message would determine the seriousness and gravity of the issue being communicated. The bodily expressions can also determine whether the speaker means what he/she says or not. For instance, if a person communicates some sad news while smiling, one can readily deduce that he/she is lying and the news is not true. On the contrary, if a person says that he/she is fine while wearing a sad expression, this will create an impression that he/she is hiding something and that not all is well.
Like in any other situation, communication is also very important in a classroom situation. This is because effective communication is required for a
Cited: Esposito, Anna. Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and Enactment: The Processing Issues. Berlin: Springer, 2011. Print