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Chapter 4: Nonverbal Communication
Chapter Objectives and Integrator Guide
After reading and thinking about this chapter, students should be able to meet the
following objectives.
Objectives
1. Define nonverbal communication.
Key term: nonverbal communication.
2. Describe how verbal and nonverbal communication codes work in conjunction.
Key terms: repeating, emphasizing, complementing, contradicting, substituting,
regulating
3. Identify two problems people have in interpreting nonverbal codes.
4. Define and identify nonverbal codes.
Key term: nonverbal codes
5. Recognize the types of bodily movement in nonverbal communication.
Key terms: kinesics, emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators, adaptors
6. Describe the role of physical attraction in communication.
7. State the factors that determine the amount of personal space you use.
Key terms: proxemics, chronemics, tactile communication, paralinguistic features, vocal
cues, pitch, rate, inflection, volume, quality, nonword sounds, pronunciation, articulation,
enunciation, silence
8. Understand how objects are used in nonverbal communication.
Key Terms: objectics, artifacts
9. Utilize strategies for improving your nonverbal communication.
Activities
Activity 4.1 Nonverbal Rules
Objectives
Procedure
Divide the students into groups of three or four. Instruct the students to write at least three
rules for nonverbal behavior for each of the nonverbal areas discussed in the text: artifact
cues, vocal cues, kinesics, space, and touch. The groups should then share their lists with the
class. It may be helpful to offer several examples of nonverbal rules to the class, such as:
1. When entering an elevator with other people, move to the farthest corner.
2. When talking in a room with other people, lower your voice.
3. Do not speak loudly in church.
4. Wear black or dark colors at funerals; white or bright colors at weddings.
5. Raise your hand for permission to speak in class.
Class Discussion
After the groups have shared their lists, have the students relate the rules to the principles of
nonverbal communication. For example, we move to the corners of the elevator because we
wish to maintain a social distance from strangers. The discussion should also examine the
hamper communication. These concepts can also be used to explain why delivery affects a
speaker’s credibility, the formation of and reaction to stereotypes, and the formation of
norms in group discussion.
Activity 4.2 Violating Nonverbal Rules
Objectives
where there are other students (for example, the student union, library, central campus, and
dormitories) and violate some of the nonverbal rules. At least one person in the group should
act as an observer while the other group members attempt to break the nonverbal rules. The
students should behave this way in the presence of several other persons. Caution the
students to exercise good judgments so that they do not overly antagonize or violate any
Class Discussion
As the groups share their experiences and observations, discuss the reasons for other
people’s reactions to their behavior. It may be helpful to consider each area of nonverbal
behavior separately and to discuss all of the experiments in that area. The discussion should
relate the concepts and principles of nonverbal communication to the causes and effects of
the observed reactions. The students should also identify their personal feelings and behavior
as they attempted to break the rules. Normally, the students disclose that they felt as
uncomfortable breaking the nonverbal rules as did the persons who were the subjects of the
experiment.
Applications
This activity illustrates the impact of nonverbal behavior on our relationships with others.
The students should realize that people react differently to the same nonverbal behavior.
Activity 4.3 Nonverbal Entanglements
Objectives
Students should be able to describe the feelings, emotions, and behavior that result from
described for each area.
Space
As you discuss personal space, walk around the room, and stand as close as possible
to the students. You may even kneel beside one or two students to illustrate the
meaning of vertical space. Then divide the students into groups of three or four.
Movement
In groups of four, the students should play emotional charades. Pass out notecards or
pieces of paper with names of emotions printed on them. A sample list of emotions
might include the following:
disgust depression boredom sadness
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convey the emotion nonverbally. As a variation, have the students convey the
emotion only by facial expression or only by posture and gesture. The students should
pay attention to which nonverbal cues convey each emotion most clearly.
Touch
Have the students in groups of two sit or stand close to each other. They should
discuss any topic they choose for five minutes, during which time they should touch
each other at least twice. (You might leave the room during this activity so that the
students don’t feel like they’re performing for you.) After five minutes, find out how
many students touched another person, where they touched, how often they touched,
and most important, how they felt about touching and being touched.
Objects
Decide, as a class, how to dress for the next class meeting. The style of clothing must
be different from what the students usually wear to class. They may decide to look
grubby, casual, dressy, or formal. Do not define the terms or say what specific clothes
are to be worn. The students should simply decide on the type of clothing. At the next
meeting, notice how the students interpreted their decision, and have them discuss the
effect of their clothes on the atmosphere of the classroom and on their behavior.
Vocal Cues
Using a nonsense poem (for example, “Jabberwocky,” by Louis Carroll) or a list of
unrelated words (dog, run, hunter, mother, find, baseball, dumb, angry, mangle, rich),
illustrate the influence of vocal cues on understanding. Have the students read the
poem or words with different inflection, pitch, rate, volume, and so forth to convey
different meanings. For example, have the students read “Jabberwocky” as if it were a
eulogy, a campaign speech, a love poem, a sermon, or a horror story. The students
should be able to identify the intended emotional impact of the poem by the way it
was read, and they should be able to identify the vocal cues that conveyed that
emotion.
Class Discussion
After each of these 5- to 10-minute activities, the students should be able to identify specific
nonverbal behavior and discuss how it affects meaning. The discussion should focus on the
students’ personal reactions to the nonverbal behavior involved and on the differences in
their interpretation of it. They should also try to point out what factors in the environment
and the culture and how the persons involved affect the understanding and sharing of
nonverbal communication.
Applications
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own nonverbal behavior. This activity establishes a foundation from which to examine
delivery and relates well to the study of self and self-disclosure.
Activity 4.4 Nonverbal Observations
Objectives
Students should be able to recognize the nonverbal behavior that they exhibit in the
classroom; to observe another person’s specific nonverbal behavior; and to explain the
relationship between descriptive and subjective interpretations of nonverbal behavior.
Procedure
Write the name of each student on a separate slip of paper and put all of the names into a
box. Have each student draw a name. If a student draws his or her own name, allow the
student to draw again. The students are to observe the person whose name they have drawn
for one class period. The students should make notes of their observations to see if consistent
behavior is exhibited. Encourage students to write specific, concrete behaviors, not general
mood states, such as, “He seems happy.” At the next class period, the students should share
their observations with the persons they have been observing.
Class Discussion
After the students have shared their observations with each other, they should discuss their
reactions to the exercise. The initial discussion should focus on the accuracy of the
observations. The students should examine the observations made of them in terms of their
knowledge of their own behavior. Specifically, were you aware that you were behaving in the
way another observed? How did your behavior compare with the observations you made of
your classmates? The students should also discuss whether the observations were descriptive
or inferential. How often was the behavior described evaluatively, as correct or appropriate,
for example?
Another topic that should be considered is the students’ reaction to being observed. They
should decide if the exercise differs from real-life communication. Students usually conclude
that we are constantly being observed and that others continually base judgments of us on our
nonverbal behavior. The only difference between this exercise and the way the students
usually communicate is that this activity causes them to focus on the behavior of others and
thus to become more conscious of their own behavior.
Applications
This activity focuses on unconscious nonverbal communication. Ideally, the discussion
should enable students to recognize their own nonverbal behavior from subjective and
evaluative inferences. This activity also relates to the value of empathy and active listening
and critical listening. After completing this exercise, the students should be aware that they
can show other people, nonverbally, that they are empathic and attentive listeners.
Nonverbal behavior in the delivery of a speech is also interpreted by others. A speaker must
be aware that nonverbal behavior influences the message.
Activity 4.5 “Reading” Nonverbal Cues
Objectives
Students should be able to interpret nonverbal cues; to identify differences in how others
interpret the same cues; and to discuss the similarities and differences.
Procedure
Show students pictures that depict differing emotions. Have each student write down what he
or she believes the person in the picture is feeling and how they felt when they saw the
pictures. About ten pictures should be used. After the students have recorded their responses,
discuss student reactions.
Class Discussion
Students should identify the particular nonverbal cues that led them to draw the conclusions
that they drew. Discuss how often we misinterpret nonverbal cues or how frequently we
interpret them differently from another person. Elicit suggestions on how we can improve our
nonverbal communication precision with others.
Activity 4.6 Ambiguous Dialogue
Objectives
Students should be able to demonstrate the ability to create meaning through paralinguistic
features; to describe vocal behavior that adds to the meaning of words; and to discuss the
effect of paralinguistic features on the meaning of messages.
Procedure
Divide the students into groups of two.. Provide each student with copies of the following
dialogue and list of situations:
Dialogue
1. “Hello.”
2. “Hello.”
1. “Well...’r”
2. “Well, what?”
1. “How is everything?”
2. “Just about as usual…”
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1. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
2. “But you have; of course, I could say the same to you.”
1. “Are you going to be busy from now until dinner?”
2. “Not exactly; not busy.”
1. “Wouldn’t you like to talk to me for awhile?”
2. “I might. For awhile anyway.”
1. “All right.”
2. “Fine.”‘
Situations
The first person mentioned is No. 1; the second person is No. 2.
A. A spy waiting to meet a contact, where neither is certain that the other is the right
person
B. Two people who are angry at each other
C. People who’ve been talking online and meeting for the first time at a park
D. Two people who recognize each other, but neither is sure who the other is
E. A sick person in the hospital who knows he or she is going to die, and a friend
arrives to cheer the person up
Give each six pairs of students a piece of paper on which is written one of the situations
described. Each pair should take a few minutes to prepare and should then read the dialogue
to the class. The rest of the class should try to guess which situation the pair is enacting.
After each reading, class members should identify the vocal cues on which they based their
decision. If no one can guess the situation, proceed to the next one and assign the un-guessed
situation to a different pair of students. The situations may also be repeated with different
pairs to determine the various ways the dialogue can be delivered and yet convey the same
meaning.
Class Discussion
The students should identify specific rates, inflections, pitches, volumes, pauses, vocal
qualities, and enunciations that conveyed meaning and emotion during the enactments of the
situations. Recording the conversation on a mobile phone can verify the perceptions of the
observers. Students should also discuss the relative importance of each type of vocal cue in
conveying different emotions and ideas.
Applications
This activity illustrates the role of vocal nonverbal behavior in conveying meaning.
Students are given an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to encode and decode meaning
conveyed by paralinguistic features. This activity can also help students to develop vocal
skills for delivery of a public speech and illustrate the ambiguous and personal meaning of
words.
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Activity 4.7 Nonverbal Meeting
Objectives
Students should be able to identify the rules or norms that govern our nonverbal behavior; to
determine that we have more shared meanings for particular nonverbal cues with individuals
with whom we have relationships; and to be able to discuss the role of nonverbal cues in their
interpersonal communication.
Procedure
Ask students to engage in the following three behaviors:
1. Spend thirty minutes with a good friend, spouse, or child without using any written or
2. Spend fifteen minutes with an acquaintance without using any words. Again,
communicate only nonverbal cues.
3. Spend ten minutes with a person you have spoken to before, but restrict your
communication to nonverbal cues.
Class Discussion
Ask students to discuss their reactions and conclusions. You might use the following
questions to guide a discussion: Did you find that communicating nonverbally was easier or
more difficult than you predicted? Did you find it easier to communicate nonverbally with
someone you knew well or with a relative stranger? Why? Do you think the other person
understood the message you were trying to communicate nonverbally? Do you believe that
communications would have been hindered or helped if you could also have used words?
How?
Applications
This activity is designed to make the students aware of the role of nonverbal cues in
communication with others in the interpersonal setting. They should recognize that we have
more shared meanings with people with whom we have been communicating for longer
periods of time. This exercise can be used as an introduction to interpersonal relationships as
well as an introduction to nonverbal communication.
