Brooks 1

Sydney Brooks
Speech 104- Introduction to Interpersonal Communications
Carlton Kelley
April 21, 2014
Forms of Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication has been used from the moment that humans first
inhabited the earth. Even before languages were created for communication, the most
primal humanoids used nonverbal communication. Today, nonverbal messages can
either cause a conversation to become successful or a total disaster depending on how
one conveys them. Because of this, it is imperative for every human to understand and
have the ability to use nonverbal communication. Body gestures, appearance, facial
movements, eye communication, touch, paralanguage, relative space, artifacts, and
chronemics are all ways that we can nonverbally communicate with others.
Body gestures, or kinesthetics are the most obvious type of nonverbal
communication. The gestures that we make with our bodies can be broken up into five
classes; the first being emblems. Emblems are movements of the body that are used to
send someone a message without speaking. The same motion can vary in meaning
from country to country. Illustrators are another form of body gestures. They go hand
and hand with verbal messages. Illustrators reinforce something that one says to help
the other person understand what they are talking about. For example, when describing
the size of a fish that one saw, they would hold their hands out to show the other person
precisely how big it was. Another example of an illustrator is pointing or nodding in the
direction that one is referring to. These body movements are more widely understood.

Brooks 2
The third type of body gesture is an affect display. Affect displays are facial expressions
that lead others to believe that a person is feeling a certain way. For example, when one
has a frown on their face, others may believe that they are angry, upset, or in pain,
when one has a smile on their face, others assume that they are happy or excited.
Regulators are important parts of communication also. They can help smooth or control
conversations. Nodding or shaking ones head, leaning forward, and leaning away are
examples of regulators. Adaptors are body movements that are not purposely made.
They can include movements that satisfy a personal need such as scratching an itch,
playing with hair, crossing ones arms, or adapters that involve other objects. These
include clicking a pen, tapping on the table, or ripping a piece of paper apart.
Body appearance is another important type of nonverbal communication. Just
from seeing someones appearance, people judge them. They make assessments that
dictate whether or not they want to spend time with them. For example, people that are
more physically attractive have a better chance of getting a job, attracting a significant
other, and getting better grades.
The way that one communicates with their face also determines how well they
communicate overall. Everyday, we use our faces to show happiness, sadness, anger,
interest, and much more. This communicates to others how they or our surroundings
are affecting us. People who smile are often considered more pleasant and people who
are sad or frowning are often perceived as bothersome. Using facial communication,
one can intensify (or increase), deintensify (or decrease), neutralize (have no effect on),
mask (cover up), or simulate (fake) emotions that go with what they are saying. Different
cultures have different rules regarding facial communication. For example, it is not

Brooks 3
acceptable for women in Japan or China to smile openly, so they may use fans to cover
their smiles.
Occulesis, or eye messages are often used along with facial communication. We
use our eyes to gain and maintain another persons focus and also to communicate how
interested we are in them. For example, if ones eyes are narrow, others may think they
are angry. When people talk to one another and make eye contact they can often see
how well the other person understands what they are saying. In order for many
conversations to flow easily, both speakers must be able to maintain eye contact so
they will both know when it is their turn to speak. Frequency of eye contact can also
reveal what kind of a relationship two people share. The physical appearance of the
eyes can cause someone to make a better or worse impression depending on pupil
dilation. Women with larger pupils are almost always considered more attractive than
those with smaller ones.
Haptics, or touch is another type of nonverbal communication. Touch can
symbolize so many different things such as: positive emotions, playfulness,
control(pushing someone out of the way), greetings(a hug or kiss), and to get a task
done(such as helping someone stand up from the ground). People avoid touching or
being touched for different reasons. Sometimes it is because they are shy or nervous,
sometimes in an attempt to hide something, and sometimes just because they are
growing older and have been touched less by others.
Paralanguage is expressed when one speaks but is nonverbal. It is how, not
what one says. Paralanguage is the volume, pitch, and tone of ones speaking along
with the places in a sentence a person stresses the importance of a word. It is also very

Brooks 4
important in persuasive speaking. One who uses paralanguage correctly and to their
advantage can be perceived as likeable and therefore more persuasive.
When one is silent, they are still communicating. If someone asks a question and
they do not receive an answer, they can infer many things from the other persons
silence. Silence can be used when one is thinking about how to best respond to
another. It can also be used to hurt other people(the silent treatment). Some people are
silent when they are feeling shy. Others use it when they are mentally unwell and need
time to cool off and think before they react. Silence can be used in speech or
conversation to give someone time to think about what one has just said and best get
ones point across.
Proxemic distances are an important part of everyday nonverbal communication.
They let others know what kind of relationship others share. There are four proxemic
distances: intimate, personal, social, and public. In an intimate distance, people range
from touching intimately to about a foot and a half apart where they may still shake
hands. Personal distance ranges from a foot and a half to about four feet where they will
not touch the other person. Social distances go from four to twelve feet. These
distances are common in business meetings and involve continued eye contact. At a
public distance, people are twelve to about twenty five feet away from one another. This
distance is often used by performers and those speaking on a stage for an audience.
Most people have spaces that they call their own, such as an office, a table that they
always sit at, or a park. Sometimes they mark their territories with markers(central-
ones other items being in that place, boundary-separating, or ear-such as a
nameplate).

Brooks 5
Artifactual communication is using man-made objects to communicate different
things. For example, wearing jewelry or perfume to make an impression on others. The
way and colors one uses to decorate their spaces lets others know more about ones
personality. The clothes a person wears are an example of how artifactual
communication affects first impressions and how people see each other. How one
dresses can show how serious or dedicated one is. Olfactory communication is
communication by smells. Some smells are relaxing, while others are a cause for alarm.
Smells can attract or defer a potential mate, help one to taste food, help one remember
a situation, and help one recognize a person or object.
Chronemics, or temporal communication is how one uses and organizes time.
People may be oriented in the future(more concerned with future endeavors) or more
oriented in the present, living for today. A person who is future oriented would do work
today to see the benefits later, where a person with an orientation in the present would
not plan ahead. Sometimes the way people talk about time is ambiguous(informal time).
For example, using the words soon, right away, never, forever, late, or early, may seem
unclear to many. Using formal time, minutes, hours, days, or years is preferred by
many. Some people are monochronemic while others are polychronemic, meaning
some can only do one thing at a time when others can do many things at the same time.
Overall, nonverbal communication is just as important, if not more than verbal
communication. It is amazing how many things factor in to a simple two person
introduction. Since all humans communicate with partial communication, we must
always remember to use our verbal and nonverbal communication to its fullest and try
our hardest to take the time to understand others.


Brooks 6