Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Overview - Nonverbal communication is a part of the process of interpersonal communication that sends messages without using words or phrases. It uses body posture, facial expressions, hand and arm gestures, posture, and even eye contact. For humans it also uses objects that we use culturally: clothing, jewelry, hairstyles and combinations of ways we present ourselves (e.g. using certain jewelry to communicate affluence, or a particular style of glasses to show “hipness,” etc.). With speech, we can use rhythm, tone, timbre, style, or emotion to emphasize a message as well. Much of the study of nonverbal communication though is categorized into three major templates: the particular environment, the physical characteristics of the communicators, and the behaviors of those communicators as they interact (Knapp and Hall 2007, 7). In fact, the first scholarly study of nonverbal communication was done in 1872 by Charles Darwin, who argued that animals, too, show emotion and communication in their facial expressions (Darwin 2009). Nonverbal communication is also culturally based – expressions taught in childhood in one culture could be offensive in another, or the opposite. It is thus an area of study that focuses on numerous disciplines: sociology, anthropology, psychology, communications, art, music, criminology, etc. As part of the human communication paradgim, nonverbal comunication often defines the communication process by providing a basic template for message. It can also regulate regular verbal communication and provide clues and emphasis – signals that the listner understands almost implicitly. By the same token, the person communicating looks for signals from the audience – whether they are bored, interested, antagonistic, or sympathetic (Verckens 2003).
Relationship Between Verbal and Nonverbal Communication – Social psychologist Paul Ekman is a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relationship to expressions and
Overview - Nonverbal communication is a part of the process of interpersonal communication that sends messages without using words or phrases. It uses body posture, facial expressions, hand and arm gestures, posture, and even eye contact. For humans it also uses objects that we use culturally: clothing, jewelry, hairstyles and combinations of ways we present ourselves (e.g. using certain jewelry to communicate affluence, or a particular style of glasses to show “hipness,” etc.). With speech, we can use rhythm, tone, timbre, style, or emotion to emphasize a message as well. Much of the study of nonverbal communication though is categorized into three major templates: the particular environment, the physical characteristics of the communicators, and the behaviors of those communicators as they interact (Knapp and Hall 2007, 7). In fact, the first scholarly study of nonverbal communication was done in 1872 by Charles Darwin, who argued that animals, too, show emotion and communication in their facial expressions (Darwin 2009). Nonverbal communication is also culturally based – expressions taught in childhood in one culture could be offensive in another, or the opposite. It is thus an area of study that focuses on numerous disciplines: sociology, anthropology, psychology, communications, art, music, criminology, etc. As part of the human communication paradgim, nonverbal comunication often defines the communication process by providing a basic template for message. It can also regulate regular verbal communication and provide clues and emphasis – signals that the listner understands almost implicitly. By the same token, the person communicating looks for signals from the audience – whether they are bored, interested, antagonistic, or sympathetic (Verckens 2003).
Relationship Between Verbal and Nonverbal Communication – Social psychologist Paul Ekman is a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relationship to expressions and
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