Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication

People in the workplace can convey a great deal of information without even speaking; this is called nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication can convey just as much as written and verbal communication, and human beings read and react to these nonverbal signals in the workplace. Body language is nonverbal communication that involves body movement and gestures. The catalogue of these movements, together with attempts at defining their meaning, is called kinesics. Each culture is believed to possess a separate “language” of kinesics. This branch of study is used in matters of negotiation and interrogation, where reading nonverbal cues is of great importance.
There are hundreds of thousands of possible signs that can be communicated through body movements and gestures. In addition to those movements and gestures, the nonverbal cues given through facial expressions and eye contact, personal space, and touch also influence individual interactions in the workplace. While this body language is generally well understood in each culture, there are major cultural differences in nonverbal communication.

Albert Mehrabian, in his 2007 book Nonverbal Communication, focuses on the five categories of nonverbal communication widely used by sociologists. These definitions are used to inspect and learn from movements in social interactions. A movement may belong to more than one of these categories.

The first category is emblem. These are movements so common that there are specific words used to designate them, such as the English “handshake” or “smile.” Emblems often carry inherent meaning and are easy to understand to someone who has experience with them. Gestures, or movements of the head, hands, arms, and legs, can be used to convey specific messages that have linguistic translations. For example, a person might wave his or her hand rather than saying “hello,” or nod his or her head in agreement, which means “yes” or “okay.” These gestures can be very useful in the workplace because they are a quick way to convey thoughts and feelings without needing to speak or write. Additionally, many such gestures are generally widely understood, although they may carry different meanings in other cultures.

The second category is illustrator movements. Illustrators accompany words in natural manners and are used to add meaning to verbal communication. An illustrator may be a particular nod to emphasize a phrase, or a wave of a hand to show an idea. In addition to the gestures that people use that have a particular meaning, people also use gestures that do not have specific, generally understood meanings. These gestures are the illustrators that add meaning to a verbal message. For instance, when giving a presentation, a person might use hand gestures to emphasize a point. Many people use gestures while speaking to others to accompany their words, and while these body movements may not have a meaning that can be pinpointed, they serve to embellish a person's words.

The third category affect display is actions that are paired with emotions, such as the facial movements that indicate disgust or amusement. These body movements may indicate whether a person is open and receptive, angry, distracted, or a number of other emotions. Many affect displays are commonly interpreted; for instance, individuals who sit in a slumped position and frown are believed to be disinterested or unhappy. Those who sit upright, smile, and have raised eyebrows, are seen as interested and happy. While these affect displays are often appropriately interpreted, they may not be related to the interaction with another person, and thus may be misread. For instance, if a person has a terrible headache, he may squint, look down, and grimace during a conversation, indicating to the speaker that he disagrees with her, even if he is receptive to and in agreement with the speaker.

Regulator movements are the fourth category. These actions are seen in social interaction, and they are especially important in business and sales situations. Regulator actions are made by the listener to help the speaker improve communication. A listener may nod and move in an interested manner, urging the speaker to continue or give looks of confusion, urging the speaker

to explain or repeat. Certain regulator movements can also communicate the listener's desire to end the discussion or embark on a new explanation.

The last category is adaptor. Adaptor actions are often unconscious movements made for reasons of comfort or clarity. This includes shifting positions in a chair or scratching an itch. Although these movements have less immediate meaning to the verbal communication, adaptors can still reveal attitudes and feelings that contribute to a mental state. Other examples of adaptors are adjusting one's clothes, biting one's nails, or fidgeting and toying with an object. Adaptors may indicate to others that a person is upset or nervous, and behavior such as this during a job interview or a meeting with a coworker may be interpreted very negatively. A person who engages in such behavior may be seen as preoccupied, anxious, or even as dishonest. As with affect displays, such body language may not convey true feelings; a person who fidgets and bites her nails may be exhibiting such behaviors for innocent reasons. Thus, while such behaviors are often interpreted correctly as presenting anxiety, they do not necessarily indicate that a person is in any way dishonest.

When listening to others, individuals often convey messages nonverbally. Therefore, care should be taken to avoid the following: • Sitting or leaning back is a body movement that may convey disinterest in a speaker's words or disagreement with the speaker. Additionally, resting one's chin on his or her hand may convey boredom. Conversely, leaning forward slightly, raising eyebrows, and making eye contact indicates that one is receptive to the speaker. • Crossed arms often connote a defensive posture, which can indicate that a person is unhappy with the speaker, feels threatened by the speaker, or does not want to listen to the speaker. • Adaptors, such as fidgeting or playing with objects, may indicate that one is nervous around the speaker or disinterested in the speaker's message.

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EYE CONTACT
Although facial expressions and eye contact are not kinesics and therefore technically not body language, they are types of nonverbal communication that can have an effect on business relations. Researchers have found that people can identify with great accuracy seven separate human emotions, even after seeing only facial and eye expressions: sadness, happiness, anger, fear, surprise, contempt, and interest. Therefore, without speaking a word, a facial expression can convey a great deal of information to others. Similarly, eye contact or lack of eye contact can also indicate a person's attitudes and emotions.

Research indicates that people use four different facial management techniques to control our facial expressions. First, people intensify their facial expressions, or exaggerate them, in order to show strong emotion. For example, a saleswoman who just made a major sale might intensify her positive expression by smiling more broadly and raising her eyebrows. Second, people may de-intensify their facial expressions when they control or subdue them. For instance, an employee who just found out that he got a raise might smile less or look less happy after finding out that his coworker did not get a raise. Third, a person neutralizes their expressions when they avoid showing any facial expression. A person might not show any emotion when being reprimanded in the workplace or when attempting to negotiate with another businessperson. Finally, humans mask their facial expressions. This occurs when a person hides his or her true emotions and conveys different emotions. For example, an employee might express enthusiasm to a manager who gives him an undesirable task in order to curry favor with that manager. Or, a customer service representative might express concern and caring in her facial expression, when in actuality she is annoyed by the customer. Each of these facial management techniques makes it possible for people to interact with one another in socially acceptable ways.

Making and maintaining eye contact can have positive outcomes in the workplace. Eye contact can be used to indicate receptiveness to what another person is saying.

Additionally, eye contact may indicate the desire to communicate with a person. Finally, eye contact can be used to express respect for a person by maintaining a longer gaze. Interestingly, refraining from making eye contact, such as looking down or away, may indicate a level of respect for someone of higher status. A lack of eye contact, or an unwillingness to maintain that eye contact may indicate discomfort with a situation, a disinterest in the other person's words, or a dislike of the person. However, the degree to which a person does or does not make eye contact may be dependent on their own level of shyness or extraversion and cannot always be interpreted as a reaction to a particular person or situation.

Certain business positions involve a large amount of nonverbal communication connected to the face and the eyes. Positions where interaction with people is common, such as bank tellers, profit by practicing better nonverbal communication. Marketing and auditing positions also go hand-in-hand with proper facial gestures. Smiles and eye contact can be used to relieve tension in normally serious business situations. Use a digital camera or recorder to self-record your facial movements and improve them, learning proper smiles and stopping stress signals.

PERSONAL SPACE
Researchers use the term proxemic to describe the way that a person uses space in communication. Individuals have a personal space that is like an invisible bubble surrounding them. This bubble becomes larger or smaller, depending on the person with whom we interact. We are comfortable standing or sitting closer to someone we like and more comfortable with someone we dislike or do not know well standing or sitting at a distance. However, the amount of personal space that a person desires depends on many characteristics, including gender and age.
The personal space that a person prefers also depends on the situation. When interacting with friends, relatives, or conducting casual business, most people prefer a distance of one and a half to four feet. When conducting formal or impersonal business, most individuals prefer a personal space of 4 to 8 feet. Therefore, a person is likely to be more comfortable standing closely to a trusted coworker than to a new customer.

Although there are broad norms for a comfortable personal space, it is not uncommon for a person to feel that his or her personal space has been violated when another person sits or stands too closely. When personal space is violated, there are several reactions that people might have.

First, they may withdraw by backing up or leaving the room. Second, if anticipating the possibility of a personal space violation, a person may avoid having their space violated by such actions as staying away from meetings, crowds, and parties. Third, people may insulate themselves from intrusion of personal space. A manager who puts her desk in her office in such a way that no one can sit near her is insulating. An employee who takes a seat at the end of a table during a meeting might be doing so to prevent others from sitting near him. Finally, a person may fight to keep his personal space by asking the other person to back up or move away.
In a business setting, it may be helpful to recognize the behaviors that others engage in when their personal space is violated. That is, if one notices that others step back from them when speaking, they may sit at more of a distance, or if they seem physically uncomfortable, they may have a larger personal space, which should be respected.

TOUCH
In the workplace, people may use touch to communicate nonverbally. The functional-professional touch is businesslike and impersonal. The touch that a physician uses when conducting a physical examination is a functional-professional touch. However, touch is not a part of most professions, and thus, this type of touch is not used often in business settings. The social-polite touch, such as a handshake, is much more common. This type of touch is used to recognize other individuals. It is an expected touch in many business settings. Finally, the friendship-warmth touch shows that one values another as a person. A pat on the back or a hug is a friendship-warmth touch. In most workplaces, the social-polite touch is the only necessary touch, and most managers and employees are encouraged to avoid using touch (particularly the friendship-warmth touch) in the workplace. While many people see a hand on a shoulder or a pat on the back as a useful touch to convey encouragement or concern for another's well-being, sexual harassment fears have made many avoid all types of touch beyond handshakes.

PARALANGUAGE
Often considered part of nonverbal communication, paralanguage involves the sounds and pitch of speech during social interaction. Paralanguage affects many business functions, such as meetings, conference calls, and personal evaluations. Constantly speaking in a shrill voice, for instance, is more likely to provoke irritation and annoyance no matter what is said. Pauses in speech, or sounds such as “ah” and “um”, according to Segal and Jaffe, should be monitored and reduced to avoid causing boredom and lapses in attention.

ENVIRONMENT
An important aspect of nonverbal communication is the environment which the subject has control over. Most workers have a workspace that they can change, add items of their own, or organize to their liking. Many managers can decorate their offices and move furniture such as desks and chairs in whatever ways they want. “Non-verbal Communication” in the office environment is seen as divided into personal and non-personal sections. Managers can control communication by controlling the surroundings in which they conduct interviews, meetings, and so forth. This in turn changes the comfort levels of people in the environments.

SILENCE
In addition to using the environment, that silence can be an integral part of many social interactions. The silence between phrases, the silence when waiting for questions, and the silence before responding are all examples of how silence can affect communication. Many people interpret silences as signs of emotional states. Does a silence show hesitance, thoughtfulness, or ignorance? This depends on the situation and the speakers. Silence should be considered in all business communication.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Across the United States, most body language is consistently understood. However, in other nations and cultures, what is considered to be appropriate body language in one place, may be seen as highly inappropriate in others. As noted above, the American sign for “ok” may be seen as vulgar in other nations. Similarly, other types of gestures and body movements may convey unwanted negative meanings. Therefore, care should be taken before using gestures in other countries or with business partners from other parts of the world. Body movements can also be misinterpreted based on culture. Although most people in the world understand the movement of the head up and down to mean “yes” or “I agree,” this is not the case in all countries.
Norms and expectations regarding facial expressions and eye contact also differ across cultures. Because different cultures have different norms for respect, eye contact that is seen as relationship-building and respectful in the United States may be seen as challenging and disrespectful in other cultures.

Personal space and touch are used differently in different nations. Americans tend to prefer larger amounts of personal space than do some Latin Americans, Italians, and Middle-Easterners. Germans, Chinese, and Japanese prefer larger amounts of personal space, similar to what Americans prefer. Thus, when conducting business with people from other cultures, it is important to understand and respect their personal space needs. Americans who do business with those who prefer less personal space may have to fight the urge to step back and therefore avoid insulting a business partner.

However, many instances of nonverbal communication are considered to be nearly universal. These gestures were in time with a story, the main character of which they were to mirror using nonverbal communication to describe emotion. These gestures, filmed, were then shown to American college students, who tried to define the emotions correctly. Overwhelmingly, the college students were able to perceive the emotions of the Pidgin speakers without flaw. Some of the emotions found to be easily understood included anger, enjoyment, sadness, and disgust. This study suggests that certain basic nonverbal communications are shared by most cultures throughout the world.