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Copyright ©2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
Chapter 7: Nonverbal Communication Skills
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
7.1 Explain why nonverbal communication is an important area of study.
7.2 Identify and describe eight nonverbal communication codes.
7.3 Enhance your skill in interpreting nonverbal messages.
7.4 Enhance your skill in expressing nonverbal messages.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The chapter introduction defines nonverbal communication as behavior other than written or
spoken language that creates meaning for someone.
I. Identifying the Importance of Nonverbal Communication
Learning Objective 7.1: Explain why nonverbal communication is an important area of
study.
A. Nonverbal Messages Are the Primary Way We Communicate Our Feelings and Attitudes
1. Nonverbal messages are the primary source of relationship cues.
2. As little as 7 percent of the emotional meaning of a message is communicated
verbally, with 93 percent of the emotional meaning communicated nonverbally.
3. The most significant indicator of emotional communication is the face; it channels as
much as 55 percent of our meaning.
B. Nonverbal Messages Are Usually More Believable Than Verbal Messages
1. Nonverbal messages are more difficult to fake.
2. Social psychologists Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen have identified the face, hands,
and feet as key sources of nonverbal cues.
3. Lie detectors (polygraphs) rely on unconscious nonverbal clues.
C. Nonverbal Messages Work with Verbal Messages to Create Meaning
1. Nonverbal cues help us manage verbal messages.
a. Nonverbal cues can substitute for verbal messages, as well as repeat, contradict,
or regulate what we say.
b. We also use nonverbal cues to regulate our participation in verbal exchanges.
2. Nonverbal cues bolster the emotional meaning of verbal messages.
a. Spoken cues accent and complement verbal messages to increase and decrease the
emotional impact of what we say.
b. Simultaneous and complementary verbal and nonverbal messages can also help to
color the emotion we express or the attitude we convey.
D. Nonverbal Messages Help People Respond and Adapt to Others
1. Interaction adaptation theory suggests that a predictor of how you interact with
others verbally and nonverbally is your tendency to adapt to what others are doing.
2. Sometimes we relate by mirroring the posture or behavior of others, which is
explained by interactional synchrony, the mirroring of each other’s nonverbal
behavior by communication partners.
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E. Nonverbal Messages Play a Major Role in Interpersonal Relationships
1. Psychologist Raymond Birdwhistell suggests that as much as 65 percent of the social
or relational meaning in messages is based on nonverbal communication.
2. People begin making judgments about strangers just a fraction of a second after
meeting them based on nonverbal information.
a. Within the first four minutes, you draw conclusions about others.
b. You may decide whether a date is going to be pleasant or dull within the first 30
seconds of meeting your partner.
3. Nonverbal messages of support are important when providing comforting messages to
others during times of stress and anxiety.
4. Nonverbal cues are important not only when we initiate relationships, but also as we
maintain and develop mature relationships with others.
5. Long-married couples spend less time verbalizing feelings and emotions; they learn
to interpret each other’s subtle nonverbal cues.
6. Nonverbal behaviors signal turning points in relationships; turning points are
specific events or interactions associated with positive or negative change in
relationships.
II. Understanding Nonverbal Communication Codes
Learning Objective 7.2: Identify and describe eight nonverbal communication codes.
A. Body Movement and Posture
1. Kinesics is the study of human movement and gesture.
2. One paradigm identifies four stages of “quasi-courtship behavior.”
a. In stage one, courtship readiness, you may suck in your stomach, tense your
muscles, and stand up straight.
b. The second stage includes preening behaviors: you manipulate your appearance
by combing your hair, applying makeup, straightening your tie, pulling up your
socks, and double-checking your appearance in the mirror.
c. In stage three, you demonstrate positional cues, using your posture and body
orientation to be seen and noticed by others.
d. In the fourth stage, appeals to invitation, you use close proximity, exposed skin,
open body positions, and eye contact to signal your availability and interest.
3. Another team of researchers focused on nonverbal behaviors that make us label a
person warm and friendly or cold and distant.
a. “Warm” people face their communication partners directly, smile more, make
more direct eye contact, fidget less, and generally make fewer unnecessary hand
movements.
b. “Cold” people make less eye contact, smile less, fidget more, and turn away from
their partners.
4. Posture and body orientations reveal important information.
5. Albert Mehrabian (1972) found that nonverbal cues of open body and arm position, a
forward lean, and a more relaxed posture communicate liking.
6. When you are attempting to persuade someone, you typically have more eye contact
and a more face-to-face body orientation; you are more likely to lean forward and
closer to others.
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7. There are five categories of nonverbal communication: emblems, illustrators, affect
displays, regulators, and adaptors.
8. Emblems
a. Emblems are nonverbal cues that have a specific, generally understood meaning
in a given culture and may substitute for a word or phrase.
9. Illustrators
a. Illustrators are nonverbal behaviors that accompany a verbal message and either
contradict, accent, or complement it.
10. Affect Displays
a. Affect displays are nonverbal behaviors that communicate emotion.
11. Regulators
a. Regulators are nonverbal messages that help to control the interaction or flow of
communication between people.
12. Adaptors
a. Adaptors are nonverbal behaviors that satisfy a personal need and help a person
to adapt to the immediate situation.
B. Eye Contact
1. Eye contact serves at least four functions in interpersonal interactions.
a. It serves a cognitive function because it gives you information about another
person’s thought processes.
b. People use eye contact to monitor the behavior of others.
c. Eye contact is one of the most powerful regulatory functions used to signal when
you want to talk and when you do not.
d. The area around your eyes serves an expressive function.
2. Research has suggested there are times when you are more and less likely to have eye
contact with someone.
3. Research further suggests that we spend the majority of our time looking at other
facial features rather than establishing and holding a direct gaze.
C. Facial Expression
1. To interpret our partner’s facial expressions accurately, we need to put our other-
orientation skills to work, focusing on what the other person may be thinking or
feeling.
2. According to one research team, your face is capable of producing more than 250,000
different expressions.
3. All of our expressions can be grouped under six primary emotional categories:
surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness, and sadness.
4. Researchers have found that interpretation is still difficult, for a variety of reasons.
a. Although our faces provide a great deal of information about emotions, we have
learned how to control our facial expressions.
b. In addition, our facial expressions seem to be contagious.
c. Smiling is cross-cultural.
d. There may be a universal basis for interpreting facial expressions.
e. Complex facial expressions are easier to interpret.
f. It is likely you can spot a phony smile.
g. Most people have difficulty detecting microexpressions, which are fleeting facial
expressions that may last only .05 of a second.
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D. Vocal Cues
1. Vocal cues communicate emotions and help us manage conversations. Even the lack
of vocal cues communicates information.
2. We are able to make a variety of inferences about other people based on the pitch,
rate, volume and quality of their voices and their skill in pronouncing words and
articulating sounds.
3. Our Vocal Cues Communicate Emotions
a. Your voice is your primary tool for communicating information about the nature
of a relationship between yourself and others.
b. Expressions of joy and anger are obvious vocal expressions.
c. Shame and love are the most difficult to identify based on vocal cues alone.
d. We are also likely to confuse fear with nervousness, love with sadness, and pride
with satisfaction.
e. Laughter reflects your emotional state and has a strong impact on the emotions of
others.
E. Our Vocal Cues Provide Clues about Our Relationships
1. Vocal cues communicate your level of intimacy with others.
2. Our voices also provide information about our self-confidence and our knowledge of
the subject matter in our messages.
3. Most people would conclude that a speaker who mumbles, speaks slowly,
consistently mispronounces words, and uses “uhs” and “ums” is less credible and
persuasive than one who speaks clearly, rapidly, and fluently.
4. Speakers with moderate to slightly faster speaking rates are thought to be “socially
attractive” than speakers who have a slow rate of speech.
5. Vocal Cues Help Us Manage Conversations
a. Backchannel cues are the nonverbal cues, typically vocal cues, that signal your
wish to begin or end speaking.
b. These are particularly useful in telephone conversations when we have no other
nonverbal cues to signal when we want to get off the phone.
6. Our Use of Silence Speaks Volumes
a. Silence communicates not only when we are interacting with someone in a face-
to-face situation, but also when we are sending an e-mail message.
b. Sidney Baker’s theory of silence suggests that the more at ease we are when we
share a silence with a close friend, the more comfortable we are with just being
together and enjoying each other’s companionship.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Communication and Emotion: How to Accurately Interpret the Nonverbal Expression of
Emotions
This feature presents research conclusions about facial expression, vocal cues, and general
principles of interpreting emotions. Use these research findings as a starting point for a class
discussion on strategies to more accurately interpret the nonverbal expression of emotions.
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F. Space
1. Proxemics is the study of how close or far away from people and objects people
position themselves.
2. Edward T. Hall (1966) identified four zones that people in Western cultures
unconsciously define for themselves:
a. Intimate space is the zone of personal space most often used for very personal or
intimate interactions, ranging from 0 and 1½ feet from the individual.
b. Personal space is the zone of personal space most often used for conversation,
ranging from 1½ to 4 feet from the individual. Most of our conversations with
family and friends occur in this zone; if someone we do not know well invades
this space on purpose, we may feel uncomfortable.
c. Social space is the zone of personal space most often used for group interactions,
ranging from 4 to 12 feet.
d. Public space is the zone of interaction most often used by public speakers or
anyone speaking to many people, ranging beyond 12 feet from the individual.
3. The specific space that you and others choose depends on several variables:
a. The more you like someone, the closer you will stand.
b. We allow high-status individuals to surround themselves with more space than we
do lower-status people.
c. Large people also usually have more space around them than smaller ones do.
d. All of us tend to stand closer to others in a large room than we do in a small room.
e. Our culture plays a significant role in determining how close to others we work or
stand, as well as the power and status of individuals with whom we interact.
4. People who live in high-contact cultures may initiate touch more than people from
low-contact cultures.
a. High-contact cultures are cultures in which people experience personal
closeness and contact, often from warmer climates.
b. Low-contact cultures are cultures in which people experience less contact and
personal closeness, often from cooler climates.
G. Territory
1. Territoriality is the study of how animals and humans use space and objects to
communicate occupancy or ownership of space.
2. We announce our ownership of space with territorial markers: things that signify
that the area has been claimed.
3. We also use markers to indicate where our space stops and someone else’s starts.
H. Touch
1. We touch to express intimacy.
2. Increased touching usually means an escalation in both conversational and physical
intimacy.
3. We make inferences about who has the most power in a relationship just by who
seems to be the most dominant based on who controls hand-holding cues.
4. Countless studies have shown that intimate touching is vital to our personal
development and well-being.
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5. The amount of touch we need, tolerate, receive, and initiate depends on many factors:
a. The amount and kind of touching you receive in your family is one big influence.
b. Studies show that most of us are more likely to touch people when we are feeling
friendly, happy, or under other specific circumstances:
i. When we ask someone to do something for us
ii. When we share, rather than ask for, information
iii. When we try to persuade someone to do something
iv. When we are talking about intimate topics
v. When we are in social settings that we choose rather than in professional
settings that are part of our job
vi. When we are thrilled and excited to share good news
vii. When we listen to a troubled or worried friend
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Relating to Diverse Others: Cultural and Gender Differences in Interpreting Nonverbal
Messages
This feature presents research on gender and cultural differences regarding gestures, eye contact,
facial expression, space, and touch. Hold a class discussion in which students talk about
instances when they have experienced or noticed cultural and gender differences.
I. Appearance
1. American culture places a high value on how much we weigh, the style of our hair,
and the clothes we wear.
a. These things are especially important in the early stages of relationship
development.
b. Attractive females have an easier time persuading others than do those who are
perceived as less attractive.
c. In general, Americans think attractive people are more credible, happier, more
popular, more sociable, and even more prosperous than less attractive people.
d. If you believe others think a person is attractive, you will be more likely to
evaluate that person as attractive, too.
2. The shape and size of your body also affects how others perceive you.
a. Heavier and rounder individuals are often perceived to be older, more old-
fashioned, less good-looking, more talkative, and more good-natured than thin
people are.
b. Thin people are perceived to be more ambitious, more suspicious of others, more
uptight and tense, more negative, and less talkative.
c. Muscular and athletically fit people are seen as better looking, taller, and more
adventurous.
3. Your clothes also affect how others perceive you.
a. The clothes you wear are a way of communicating to others how you want to be
treated.
b. There is no single formula for dressing for success.
4. Skin color also influences perception.
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In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
#communicationandtechnology: Saying It Without Saying It Online
Regardless of whether you explicitly express your emotional meaning, you are “saying it” by the
metamessage clues you include in your online text messages. This feature includes research
about emoticons and emojis, underlining and italics, capitalization, message length, response
time, and media choice. With a partner, have students discuss the ways that they communicate
emotions online.
III. Improving Your Skill in Interpreting Nonverbal Messages
Learning Objective 7.3: Enhance your skill in interpreting nonverbal messages.
A. Nonverbal cues are like tells that give away what we are thinking.
B. Look for Dimensions of Meaning in Nonverbal Messages
1. Mehrabian (1972) found that we synthesize and interpret nonverbal cues along three
primary dimensions: immediacy, arousal, and dominance.
2. Observe Immediacy Cues That Communicate Liking
a. Immediacy cues are behaviors that communicate liking and engender feelings of
pleasure.
b. The principle of immediacy is simple in that we move toward persons and things
we like and avoid or move away from those we dislike.
c. When someone expresses pleasant nonverbal messages, we reciprocate.
d. Immediacy is contagious.
3. Observe Arousal Cues That Communicate Responsiveness
a. The face, voice, and movement are primary indicators of arousal, or feelings of
interest and excitement.
b. If we sense arousal cues, we conclude that another person is responsive to and
interested in us.
c. Forward lean, a flash of the eyebrows, and a nod of the head are other cues that
implicitly communicate arousal.
4. Observe Dominance Cues That Communicate Power
a. Dominance—power, status, position and importance—is communicated through
nonverbal cues, such as a relaxed posture, greater personal space, and protected
personal space.
b. A person of high status tends to have a relaxed body posture when interacting
with a person of lower status.
c. People in leadership positions are more likely to be the ones who initiate a
handshake than are non-leaders.
d. High-status individuals usually have more space around them, have bigger
offices, and have more “barriers” protecting them.
e. Other power cues that communicate feelings of dominance include our use of
furniture, clothing, and locations.
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f. Michael Argyle (1988) summarizes the nonverbal cues that communicate
dominance:
i. Use of space (height, facing a group, more space)
ii. Eye contact (less with lower status, more when talking, more when initially
establishing dominance, more when starting to establish power)
iii. Face (no smile, frown, mature adult features)
iv. Touch (initiating touch)
v. Voice (loud, low pitch, greater pitch range, slow, more interruptions, more
talk, slight hesitation before speaking)
vi. Gesture (pointing at the other or at his or her property)
vii. Posture (standing, hands on hips, expanded chest, more relaxed)
C. Use Effective Strategies for Interpreting Nonverbal Messages
1. Consider Nonverbal Cues in Context
2. Look for Clusters of Nonverbal Cues
a. Corroborating cues can lead you to a more accurate conclusion about the meaning
of a behavior.
b. Consider nonverbal behaviors in conjunction with other nonverbal cues, the
environment, and the person’s verbal message.
3. Consider Past Experiences When Interpreting Nonverbal Cues
a. Familiarity with another person increases our ability to interpret his or her
nonverbal behavior.
b. After knowing someone over a period of time, you begin to increase your
sensitivity to certain glances, silences, and vocal cues that might be overlooked or
misunderstood by others.
4. Compare What You Expect to See with What You Actually Observe
a. Burgoon’s expectancy violation theory explains that we interpret the messages
of others based on how we expect others to behave.
b. When our expectations are violated, we may feel uncomfortable.
5. Be Aware of Your Skill in Interpreting Nonverbal Messages
a. Some people are simply better at interpreting nonverbal cues than others.
b. By reflecting on your skill in accurately interpreting nonverbal cues, you can
decide whether you need to increase your awareness of the unspoken messages of
others.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Improving Your Communication Skills: Practicing Nonverbal Perception Checking
Accurately perceiving others gets to the heart of becoming other-oriented. This feature presents
two photos. Have students individually answer the questions regarding the nonverbal behavior in
the photos.
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6. Check Your Perceptions with Others
a. Perception checking is asking someone whether your interpretation of his or her
nonverbal behavior is accurate.
b. First, observe the person’s nonverbal cues, making a point to note such variables
as amount of eye contact, posture, use of gestures, facial expression, and tone of
voice.
c. Second, try to interpret what the individual is expressing through his or her
nonverbal behavior.
d. Finally, check your perception by asking him or her if it is accurate.
7. Be Aware That Nonverbal Expression of Emotion Is Contagious
a. Emotional contagion theory suggests that emotional expression is contagious;
people can “catch” emotions just by observing each other’s emotional
expressions.
b. Interpersonal interactions with others can affect your nonverbal expression of
emotions.
8. Look for Cues That May Communicate Lying
a. Look for nonverbal clues.
b. Listen to the content of what the person says.
c. Measure such physiological responses as heart rate, breathing, and so on.
d. Ask other people for collaborating information, or do your own detective work.
C. Be Aware of Limitations When Interpreting Nonverbal Messages
1. Nonverbal Messages are Often Ambiguous
a. The meaning of nonverbal messages may be known only to the person displaying
them.
b. That person may not intend the behavior to have any meaning at all.
c. Some people have difficulty expressing their emotions nonverbally.
2. Nonverbal Messages Are Continuous
a. Words are discrete entities that have a beginning and an end.
b. Nonverbal cues occur in a continuous stream that have no set beginning and end,
so they are difficult to categorize and interpret.
3. Nonverbal Cues are Multichanneled
a. Nonverbal messages come from a variety of sources simultaneously.
b. Although you can move among them very rapidly, you can only actually attend to
one nonverbal cue at a time.
4. Nonverbal Interpretation Is Culture-Based
a. Research suggests that there is some underlying cross-cultural basis for
expressing emotion.
b. Yet each culture may develop unique rules for displaying and interpreting these
nonverbal messages.
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IV. Improving Your Skill in Expressing Nonverbal Messages
Learning Objective 7.4: Enhance your skill in expressing nonverbal messages.
A. Be Mindful of Your Nonverbal Behavior
1. Even if you may not be aware of feeling anxious or nervous, your nonverbal
behaviors may send those messages unless you are mindful of what you are doing.
2. Being aware of your nonverbal behavior is the first step in improving your skill in
expressing your feelings to others.
3. If your nonverbal message does not match your verbal message, it is your nonverbal
message that will carry the most weight in influencing the meaning of the message.
B. Observe Others’ Reactions to Your Nonverbal Behavior
1. Be a detective on the lookout for clues about how your nonverbal behavior is creating
meaning for others.
2. Are you doing something to trigger a negative reaction in others?
C. Ask Others About Your Nonverbal Behavior
1. Close friends can offer honest advice about the nonverbal impressions you make on
others.
2. Consider asking whether your actions fit your words and whether the feeling and
overall mood you have is what you are communicating nonverbally.
D. Practice Your Nonverbal Behavior
1. Practice nonverbal social skills you think you need to polish, such as greeting others
or expressing positive and negative emotions.
2. This can increase your awareness of how others see you.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Applying an Other-Orientation to Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal messages are more ambiguous than verbal messages. However, knowing a person’s
normal baseline nonverbal reactions will increase your accuracy in decoding his or her nonverbal
messages. With a partner, have students discuss the difference between decoding a person’s
nonverbal behavior that they are close to (e.g., close friend, family) versus someone with whom
they are less familiar (e.g., classmate, acquaintance).
KEY TERMS
nonverbal communication,
LO 7.1
interaction adaptation
theory, LO 7.1
interactional synchrony,
LO 7.1
turning point, LO 7.1
kinesics, LO 7.2
emblems, LO 7.2
illustrators, LO 7.2
affect displays, LO 7.2
regulators, LO 7.2
adaptors, LO 7.2
backchannel cues, LO 7.2
proxemics, LO 7.2
intimate space, LO 7.2
personal space, LO 7.2
social space, LO 7.2
public space, LO 7.2
high-contact cultures,
LO 7.2
low-contact cultures,
LO 7.2
territoriality, LO 7.2
territorial markers, LO 7.2
tells, LO 7.3
immediacy, LO 7.3
arousal, LO 7.3
dominance, LO 7.3
expectancy violation
theory, LO 7.3
perception checking,
LO 7.3
emotional contagion
theory, LO 7.3
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LECTURE TOPICS
1. In thinking about the nonverbal codes of space and territoriality, how is space used to
nonverbally communicate status and power? Have students give specific examples of ways
that they nonverbally communicate status and power.
2. Why is nonverbal communication so important? Have students give examples of instances
when they realized the importance of nonverbal communication.
3. Explain the differences between how you communicate nonverbally face to face versus on
social media. What types of codes get changed or altered, and why?
GROUP IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
1. What Is Different? Without forewarning students, show up to class with your appearance
drastically changed or altered for the day that you teach nonverbal communication (e.g.,
dress superformal in a suit, wear pajamas, dress in a Halloween costume). Wait for students
to initiate the conversation about what is different. If no one says something, prompt students
with: “What seems to be different?” Then, hold a discussion about the importance of
appearance and what different appearances communicate.
2. Read the Face. Have students “partner up” and practice, in random order, making their faces
reflect the six primary expressions. While one student is making an expression, the other
student should guess which one is being portrayed and what features make up that
expression. Then hold a class discussion about what particular features nonverbally
communicate different facial expressions. Use the following list as a guide:
• Surprise: Wide-open eyes; raised and wrinkled brow; open mouth
• Fear: Open mouth; tense skin under the eyes; wrinkles in the center of the forehead
• Disgust: Raised or curled upper lip; wrinkled nose; raised cheeks; lowered brow; lowered
upper eyelid
• Anger: Tensed lower eyelid; either pursed lips or open mouth; lowered and wrinkled
brow; staring eyes
• Happiness: Smiling; mouth may be open or closed; raised cheeks; wrinkles around lower
eyelids
• Sadness: Lip may tremble; corners of the lips turn downward; corners of the upper eyelid
may be raised
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12
3. Perception Checking. Ask students to work in pairs to role-play the following scenarios and
practice their perception-checking skills. You may want to demonstrate first before asking
students to begin their interactions.
• You go to see a friend to talk about a problem. As you are telling your story, the friend
continues to stare at the floor rather than making eye contact.
• As you are walking down the quad on campus, a friend goes by and fails to acknowledge
your greeting.
• Someone stares intently at your chest.
• The person you are talking with is standing with their arms crossed.
• You have met a friend at a party. As you are talking, you notice that she continues to look
around the room rather than make eye contact.
• Your roommate comes in from class, puts his books down on the table, and immediately
flops down on the sofa while releasing a big sigh.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
1. Going Against the Norm. Have students develop an experiment in which each violates
normative behavior in the chosen dimension of nonverbal communication. Remember to
remind students not to do anything illegal. For example, students may devise a subtle and
inventive way of invading someone’s space (proxemics). After carrying out the experiment
with an individual or small group of people, have students write the results of the experiment,
in detail, focusing on how the other person(s) coped with this “breach” or made an effort to
maintain social equilibrium. In describing the results, students should give a detailed
description (be very specific) of verbal (if there was any) and nonverbal communication as
well as the subject’s verbal and nonverbal communications.
Finally, have students answer the following questions, after reflecting on the social norm
that they violated: Why does the norm exist? How important is it? How uncomfortable did it
make the person feel? What did the person do to address the breach? Is the norm relatively
universal or is it situational/specific to the relationship? Did the person primarily use verbal
or nonverbal tactics to deal with the situation? What did the person do to save “face”?
2. Observing Nonverbal Communication in Relationships. Have students sit in a public
space (e.g., coffee shop, Union, dorm cafeteria) for 10 to 15 minutes and take written notes
about the nonverbal communication that they observe from other strangers in this
environment. After students take notes, have them write a reflection on the different types of
relationships that they “think” they observed. What was it about others’ nonverbal
communication that made them assume certain relationship statuses?
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13
3. The Nonverbal Cues We Think We Know. Have students come to the next class with a list
of ten rules pertaining to a nonverbal behavior code. In addition, have students write which
nonverbal codes pertain to each rule. Provide students with the following examples to help
them start thinking of nonverbal rules and codes for their own lists:
• “Never raise your hand to ask a question during the last three minutes of class time.”
(Regulators: movement and gestures)
• “If the instructor asks for a volunteer, lower your head and stare at your desk.”
(Regulators: movement, gestures, and posture)
• “If you win first runner-up in a competition, smile and pretend to be happy that someone
else won.” (Affect displays: facial expression)
REVEL WRITING EXERCISES
Journal Writing
7.1 Journal: Nonverbal Cues. Is it appropriate to draw definitive conclusions about another’s
personality and attitudes based only on a reading of his or her nonverbal cues? Support your
answer.
7.2 Journal: False Appearances. Harper really wants to be hired as a salesperson. He hires a
fashion consultant to recommend what he should wear and to determine how he should look
when he interviews for a job. In general, is it ethical to manipulate your appearance to impress
others?
7.3 Journal: Fake It to Make It? Is it ethical for salespeople, politicians, and others who wish
to make a favorable impression to alter their nonverbal messages to get you to like them, vote for
them, or buy their products? Is it really OK to “fake it to make it”? Explain.
7.4 Journal: Nonverbal Strategies. What are some nonverbal strategies you could use during a
job interview to appropriately express your interest in being hired for the position?
Shared Writing: Lying
Working in groups, discuss the types of nonverbal cues that indicate a person may be lying. Are
there cases in which these cues could be misinterpreted? Why or why not?
