Chapter 4
Nonverbal Communication
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CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
• Identify the functions of nonverbal communication.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
• The opening section of the chapter gives us a glimpse of how Daniel Day-Lewis, three-time
Oscar winner, immerses himself in his movie roles. Day-Lewis trains for his roles by essentially
becoming the characters. His messages are further conveyed to audience members through his
skilled use of nonverbal communication behaviors.
• Nonverbal communication refers to any type of communication except for the words
themselves. Although researchers argue about the exact percentage, most agree that at least two-
thirds of messages are communicated nonverbally. The chapter provides an overview of the
types and functions of nonverbal communication, along with tips on how to become a better
communicator by incorporating nonverbal communication in exchanges.
INFLUENCES ON NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• Culture
The term culture is often used to describe racial and ethnic groups, but it can include
different religious and regional groups as well.
Although some nonverbal behaviors are cross-cultural (meaning that they exist in more
than one culture), others are specific to particular cultural groups.
• Gender
FUNCTIONS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• Supplementing
Nonverbal communication supplements verbal communication, meaning that it adds to
or enhances the words that you speak or write.
Nonverbal messages can regulate verbal behaviors by indicating a person’s desire to
continue or stop a conversation.
• Substituting
Nonverbal communication can substitute for verbal communication.
• During these times, there are no verbal messages, just nonverbal messages.
• Accenting
Nonverbal communication can accent verbal communication.
• Accenting is different than supplementing because accenting highlights one
TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• Kinesics
Kinesics is the study of body language and includes hand movements, body shape, and
even how you walk.
• Facial Expressions
Facial expressions are one type of nonverbal communication that people notice
immediately.
• The face has forty-three muscles, so it has the capacity to portray a large number
of expressions.
• Oculesics
Oculesics is the study of eye contact.
• In the United States, direct eye contact is usually appropriate.
• A person who lacks eye contact is seen as shy or even untrustworthy.
• Haptics
Haptics is the study of touch.
• Researchers have found that among heterosexual couples, men initiate touch
more during courtship, but women initiate touch more during marriage.
• Touch has the power to heal but also the power to hurt.
• Touch also shows the type of relationship we have with each other.
• Proxemics
Nonverbal behavior scholar Edward T. Hall coined the term proxemics and described four
interpersonal levels of distance that are used in the United States:
• Intimate (0 inches to 8 inches)
• Physical Appearance
Physical appearance is a form of nonverbal communication where harsh judgments
are made.
• Physical appearance includes colors and styles of clothing, hairstyles, and the
artifacts (like tattoos and piercings) that we use to decorate our bodies to help
define ourselves.
• Paralanguage
Paralanguage refers to the tone, pitch, accent, and volume of your voice.
Paralanguage does not include the what of the message (like verbal communication).
Instead, it’s how the words are said.
• Smell (Olfactics)
Olfactics is the study of smell.
• Smell has the ability to attract or disgust and influences our assumptions about
others’ personalities.
• In the United States, men and women take great care with their personal hygiene
in an effort to display confidence and likeability.
• Chronemics
Chronemics is the study of time.
• Monochronic means doing one task at a time.
• Monochronic cultures have a high concern for time.
TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT ON NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• The most common forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) are e-mail and texting.
• People who use CMC expect fast responses.
• Before emojis became popular, people used the symbols on their keyboards to create additional
meanings.
GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNICATING NONVERBAL MESSAGES EFFECTIVELY
• Avoid interpreting another person’s nonverbal messages through your own lens.
• Be careful in expressing your own nonverbal messages.
• Do not use nonverbal communication to harm or malign.
• If you don’t understand a nonverbal message, ask the sender to explain.
• When preparing to communicate publicly with an audience, spend as much time practicing your
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LIST OF KEY TERMS
nonverbal communication
cross-cultural
computer-mediated communication
supplement
repeat
contradict
regulate
substitute
accent
kinesics
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CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why do you think that individuals who spend time together begin to exhibit similar mannerisms?
Think about the people that you spend a lot of time with. Have you picked up any of their
mannerisms or vice versa, and what are they?
• Although individuals have their own identities, mannerisms can be mimicked. Students may
2. How quickly are judgments made based on appearance? What message is an interviewee sending
by showing up late to an interview (in a professional work environment) with disheveled hair, a
wrinkled shirt, and holey shoes? How should a person “look the part” in an interview setting? Is it
also important to “look the part” in a social media environment? Why or why not?
• We often get a second chance to make a favorable an impression on someone, and that
impression can go from favorable to unfavorable or vice versa. However, you only get one
3. While messaging someone, have you ever sent an emoji that did not represent your true feelings?
If the message had been part of a face-to-face conversation, would you have been able to hide your
feelings? How do the two forms of communication (face-to-face and texting) differ?
• It is easier to hide behind our true feelings with emojis. Emojis are controlled emotions. The
text authors note that we have forty-three muscles in our faces and generally make
4. How does a monochronic culture differ from a polychronic culture? Which culture does the
United States embrace? In American culture, what message is your friend conveying by running late
to dinner, or what message is a coworker conveying if he or she is late to work?
5. When have your nonverbal behaviors contradicted your own verbal messages? When there is a
contradiction, are you more inclined to follow verbal or nonverbal messages?
• Nonverbal behaviors contradict our verbal messages in instances where we don’t want
another individual to know how we are really feeling. For example, sometimes we don’t want
Apply Your Skills
APPLY YOUR SKILLS FROM CHAPTER 4
1. Look at the “Apply Your Skills” activity on page 129 in the text. After students complete the
activity, have them answer the following questions, either in a small group, in a class discussion, or
in writing:
• The acronym btw means “by the way.” Do you find that emojis are becoming shorthand for
sentences? What emojis do you combine to make short sentences, if any?
MORE “APPLY YOUR SKILLS” IDEAS
1. Review the illustration “Influence on Nonverbal Communication: Culture” on page 105 in the
text. Where are the two women? Why are they wearing different colors of clothing? Identify three
reasons that it is important to understand the cultures of others when communicating.
2. Review the illustration “Traditionally ‘Gendered’ …” on page 107 in the text. What does it mean
Personal Writing Assignments
1. Have students think of a scenario where they would spend a night on the town with a significant
other. Have them comment on where they would go, what clothing they would wear, and their
reasons for these choices. What messages are being conveyed through personal appearance, use of
proxemics, use of kinesics, and use of haptics in that situation? Conversely, how might the use of
these nonverbals change if they were spending time around someone they didn’t care to impress?
2. Have students discuss a communication encounter with one of their friends. Have them think
about the nonverbal behaviors that they displayed during this encounter. In many cases,
3. Have students write a reflection of how they believe a person’s status and authority influence their
use of space (proxemics). (Examples: Think of where your instructors sit compared to where you sit
Classroom Activities
1. Have students use 20 minutes of class time to record an observation. Have them select a dyad or
small group to observe nonverbal communication behaviors in a public setting (on campus) from
afar. Have students select two of the following types of nonverbal behaviors (personal appearance,
proxemics, haptics, chronemics, and kinesics) and record notes of the communication exchanges
2. Using only nonverbals, have students line up according to their birth month and date, starting
with January. (If classroom space is limited, the line might not be straight.) After students believe
they have it figured the correct order, ask them to say their birthdays aloud in turn, starting from the
earliest. Did they get the order perfect? What nonverbals seemed to be most effective in completing
this task?
3. Students will need a pad of paper for this exercise. Have them walk around campus during a busy
time (perhaps the lunch hour) and attempt to make eye contact and smile as they walk past other
4. Students will need to bring five notecards to class. Have them write an emotion on each notecard.
Then as them to partner with someone in class and swap notecards without looking at the words on
the cards. Have students take turns putting the notecard (word facing out) on their foreheads while
their partner makes the facial express according to the emotion shown. The person holding the
Additional Media Resources and Activities
1. Have students search the web for the story behind SignAloud translating gloves. Two students at
the University of Washington, Navid Azodi and Thomas Pryor, invented SignAloud, which are
gloves that translate sign language into text and speech. How do the SignAloud gloves help change
the ways that members of the deaf and mute communities interact with hearing people? How is this
invention advantageous to those who are not deaf or mute?
2. Have students watch the TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) Talk by Amy Cuddy
3. Have students find the foot scene (“Hammertime Feet”) in the movie Boomerang (Paramount
Pictures, 1992). Have them watch the three-minute scene without sound. Based on the personal
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HANDOUTS AND READY–TO–PRINT ACTIVITIES
Branding Yourself Online: Create a LinkedIn Account
Prior to scheduling an interview with you or making a job offer, potential employers
might visit your social media accounts. Both your face-to-face presence and your
online presence communicate an impression about you. Creating a LinkedIn account
helps you to brand yourself favorably for potential employers and colleagues.
• Create a basic profile for free at Linkedin.com.
• Add a professional headshot of yourself (not a group photo). A white
background works well. Do not upload a grainy picture.
• Add your education, and select a suitable field from the list of options.