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CHAPTER 7
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Objectives
After studying the material in Chapter Six of Looking Out/Looking In, you should understand:
1. Explain the defining characteristics of nonverbal communication.
2. List and offer examples of each type of nonverbal message introduced in this chapter.
3. In a given situation, recognize your own nonverbal behavior and its relational significance.
4. Monitor and manage your nonverbal cues in ways that achieve your goals.
5. Share appropriately your interpretation of another’s nonverbal behavior with that person.
Notes on Class and Student Activities
1 . Self-Monitoring Nonverbal Behaviors” (7.3 in Student Activities Manual) or “Pause & Reflect: Body
Language” (MindTap Ch 7: Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication)
Objectives
To have students identify their own habitual nonverbal behaviors.
To assist students in monitoring the impact their habitual nonverbal behaviors have on their
communication with others.
To assist students in monitoring and managing their nonverbal cues in ways that achieve their
goals.
Options
After individually completing the activity, it is suggested that the discussion be done in pairs, but it also
can be done in larger groups.
Discussion Questions
1. How easy or difficult was the observation portion? Explain.
2. How easy or difficult was the interpretation portion? Explain.
3. How easy or difficult was it to keep the observation of behavior and the interpretation of it separate?
4. What was your level of accuracy in correctly interpreting your partner’s behaviors?
5. Why is the ability to separate the actual behavior from your interpretation of it important? Speculate
about future situations in which this ability could come in handy for you.
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2. Nonverbal Travels
Objective
To have students describe and reflect on cultural variations in nonverbal behaviors students have
encountered.
Students can use their own experiences in this activity. However, in one variation students could prepare for this
class discussion by interviewing several people who have spent time living in a different country. They can ask
the interviewees what they observed and learned about differences in all areas of nonverbal communication
discussed in the textbook. They can also ask each person to give examples of nonverbal misunderstandings she
or he has experienced.
Instructions
1. In order to make use of student experiences and backgrounds conduct a discussion on nonverbal
differences across cultures (and co-cultures).
2. Put columns on the board of the different types of nonverbal communication (e.g., proxemics,
chronemics, facial expressions, gestures) and encourage students to describe the variations they
have encountered in their travels (or perhaps in their culture of origin). Be careful not to generalize
one student’s experience to all situations.
3. Compare and contrast these experiences to the descriptions in the text, and conduct a discussion
about the importance of adjusting to nonverbal differences.
Discussion Questions
1. Which categories have the most variations?
2. Give examples of cultural misunderstandings that could occur because of these cultural variations.
3. How does understanding cultural difference relate to tolerance?
4. Why is it important to recognize that differences exist in nonverbal rules of different cultures?
5. When and why is it appropriate to adapt our nonverbal behavior when interacting with members of
other cultures or subcultures?
3. The Rules of Touch (MindTap Ch 7: Types of Nonverbal Communication – Pause and Reflect)
Objective
To help students develop an awareness of how appropriate touch is governed by cultural and social
rules.
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This exercise can trigger strong feelings from students about their own instances of both appropriate and
inappropriate touch. Suggest to students that they use the language skills (e.g., “I” language) from Chapter 6 to
voice their pleasure or displeasure to others in such situations.
Instructions
Prior to class, direct students to complete “The Rule of Touch” activity online. In a class discussion, review
the questions below:
Discussion Questions
1. How and why do the rules change due to gender?
2. What do you know about the rules and norms of touch in other cultures?
3. Give examples of misunderstandings that could occur as a result of cultural differences in touching
behavior. Suggest ways to prevent, manage, or remedy such misunderstandings.
4. Distance Makes a Difference (MindTap Ch 7: Types of Nonverbal Communication – Pause and Reflect)
Objective
To let students experience the differences distance can make when relating to other people.
Often the room is not large enough to give the partners enough room so that they are not distracted by those
lined up beside them. If this is the case, do the exercise in several groups so that there is at least an arm’s length
separating everyone.
Discussion Questions
1. How did personal space needs differ in this exercise?
2. At what point did you experience discomfort? To what degree, and why?
3. What do distance needs say about the nature of different relationships?
5. Relational Messages in Nonverbal Communication
Objective
To illustrate to students how nonverbal behavior conveys relational messages such as immediacy and
respect.
Instructions
1. Choose three volunteers who are willing to come to the front of the room and give directions to
separate locations across town.
2. Ask the volunteers to step into the hallway while you “give the class some hints about nonverbal
behavior.”
3. While the volunteers are outside of the classroom, tell students how to behave nonverbally as each
volunteer gives directions. For the first volunteer, students should communicate that they don’t care
and are not paying attention through their nonverbal behavior (e.g., play with cell phone, flip
through book, sleep, stare at ceiling, shift restlessly, whisper with a classmate). For the second
volunteer, have half of the room behave as though they were not paying attention and half of the
room behave as though they are really interested and are paying attention diligently. For the third
volunteer, students should all behave respectfully, giving their full nonverbal attention to the
volunteer.
4. Bring in each volunteer one at a time to give directions at the front of the room and then sit down.
Indicate to them when they finish that you’ll debrief them in a minute.
5. After all three volunteers have sat down thank them for participating, and give special thanks to the
first volunteer who suffered through the disrespect of their classmates not paying attention. Assure
them that it was for a good reason.
6. Ask each volunteer what they noticed about their classmates while they were giving directions. Ask
each volunteer how they felt. Ask what messages were being communicated to them through the
class members’ nonverbals. Point out any observations you made (i.e. often the second volunteer
tends to unconsciously shift his or her body and eye contact to the side of the room that is paying
attention).
Discussion Questions
1. What are some other ways in which we convey relational messages through our nonverbals?
2. Have you ever been or would you ever want to be in a situation similar to the first volunteer’s
experience? How about the third? Explain.
3. Give some examples of other situations in which it might be important to be aware and convey
nonverbally that we are paying attention or that we respect the speaker.
4. Which directions do you most remember? Often, it’s the last one.
Try to choose a student who you think might be a good sport or emotionally strong to be the first volunteer. Also,
try to choose volunteers who you think might have good observation skills (so that they pick up on the messages
the class is sending). Also, this activity can be a good segue into the listening chapter. Discuss why paying
attention nonverbally can improve listening. Discuss when and why it’s important to convey good listening skills
nonverbally.
6. Nonverbal Communication in Job Interviews (
MindTap Ch 7: Types of Nonverbal Communication –
On the Job
)
Discussion Questions
1. What are some of the nonverbal characteristics that employers expect during a job interview?
2. How do you express emotions authentically to a person you do not yet know?
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3. How do unauthentic emotional expressions impact the interviewing process?
7. The Eyes Have It (
MindTap Ch 7: Types of Nonverbal Communication –
Reading Feature)
Instructions:
Prior to class, direct students to complete the questions associated with the reading feature “The Eyes Have
It” activity online. In a class discussion, review those questions, as below:
1. Based on your experience observing the degree of eye contact others use when they engage with you.,
what is the optimal level of eye contact in varying types of relationships and contexts?
2. What did you learn about your level of eye contact in important personal relationships? How might
adjusting this level change the nature of your interactions?
8. Emoticons Serve Many Functions (MindTap Ch 7: Nonverbal Communication Occurs in Mediated
Messages)
Objective
To investigate the many nonverbal functions of emoticons.
Instructions
1. Drawing and expanding on the examples from the text, share a comprehensive list of emoticons
with the class.
2. Ask students to discuss ways in which emoticons can serve different functions (e.g., repeating,
complementing, substituting, etc.).
Discussion Questions
1. Which emoticons work best for which functions? Explain.
2. In what ways do emoticons function most often? Least often? Explain.
3. How can we use emoticons to increase communication competence? Explain.
8. AMBIGUITY, CONTRADICTION, AND CONGRUENCE (
7.4 in
Student Activities Manual)
OBJECTIVES
To recognize nonverbal behaviors and their relational significance in a given situation.
To evaluate the ethical dimension of nonverbal behavior.
Instructions
Prior to class, direct students to complete “Ambiguity, Contradiction and Congruence” (7.4 in Student
Activities Manual). In a class discussion, review the questions below:
Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever found it advantageous to send one message verbally and another one nonverbally?
2. Describe a situation when you found ambiguity clearly was not desirable. How did you make sure that
your verbal and nonverbal behaviors matched?
3. Consider the ethical implications of nonverbal congruence, ambiguity, and contradiction. Does ethics
always require that we behave with congruence? Is it always unethical to intentionally be ambiguous or
contradictory? Can you think of a situation when choosing NOT to behave in an ambiguous or
contradictory manner could be considered unethical?
4. Are there situations in which nonverbal ambiguity or contradiction is unintentional and unavoidable?
Sample Quiz
1. Information about status can be communicated by not only posture, but also by use of space and
management of time.
2. Gestures can be intentional or unintentional.
3. Research reveals that the use of manipulators is always a sign of discomfort.
4. Patterns of eye contact are fairly consistent across cultures.
5. Nonverbal communication plays a less important role in identity management than verbal
communication.
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6. Which if the following is not true of deception detection?
a. We accurately detect deception only slightly more than half the time.
b. We underestimate our abilities to detect others’ lies.
c. We’re not as good at catching lies as we think we are.
d. Wanting to believe people wouldn’t lie to us biases our ability to detect deceit.
e. All of the above are true.
7. Amber wants to make a sale. According to the nonverbal information presented in Chapter 7, to get
compliance from a customer she might try
a. speaking in a rate much faster than her customer’s.
b. lightly touching her customer.
c. avoiding direct eye contact with her customer.
d. keeping her facial expression as neutral as possible.
e. None of these are advisable to gain compliance.
8. Studies of nonverbal communication across cultures reveal that
a. smiles and laughter are a universal signal of positive emotions.
b. sour expressions convey displeasure in some cultures and pleasure in others.
c. a direct gaze is considered appropriate in most cultures.
d. classes usually start and end on time in most cultures.
e. all of the above are true.
9. The many ways the voice communicates—including tone, speed, pitch, number and length of pauses,
volume, etc.—are called
a. paralanguage.
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b. vocalics.
c. noncommunicators.
d. nonvocals.
e. proxemics.
10. When Kenji nods his head up and down rather than saying “Yes,” he is using a nonverbal behavior
known as a(n)
a. facilitator.
b. interlocutor.
c. emblem.
d. nonverbalator.
e. encoder.
INSTRUCTIONS for questions 11–15: Match each description below with the term it best describes.
a. chronemics
b. paralanguage
c. disfluencies
d. proxemics
11. Study of use and structure of time
12. Arriving early for an appointment
13. A strong accent or husky voice
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14. “Uh,” “um,” “er”
15. Standing “at arm’s length”
16. Using at least two of the types of nonverbal communication described in your text, and referring to
your own experience, describe an incident that illustrates how nonverbal behavior can be ambiguous.
How could you or the other person involved have reduced the ambiguity of that situation?
Answer: will vary Type: E Types of Nonverbal Communication
Application
17. Nonverbal communication reveals attitudes about status. Using examples, describe how status might
be communicated through four different types of nonverbal messages.
Answer: will vary Type: E Types of Nonverbal Communication
Synthesis
18. One characteristic of nonverbal communication is that it serves many functions. Explain the functions
of substituting, accenting, and regulating using specific examples for support.
Answer: will vary Type: E Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
Analysis
19. One characteristic of nonverbal communication is that it is primarily relational. Discuss the three
ways this occurs as explained in your text, using specific examples.
Answer: will vary Type: E Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
Analysis
20. Gender has a strong influence on nonverbal communication. Explain the differences between men
and women in this area. Include your personal experiences in your discussion.
Answer: will vary Type: E Influences on Nonverbal Communication Analysis