Communications and Media - Communication



Communications and Media - Communication

Journal 4: Nonverbal Communication is Very Important, but Easily Misunderstood

Introduction

In the complex world of sending and receiving messages, nonverbal communication plays an essential part in getting the message across. Nonverbal communication is how one expresses him or herself without the help of linguistic means. Hence, nonverbal communication is mostly about actions and other abstract factors that influence communication.

As students right now and professionals later in life, you will need nonverbal skills to be successful and to persuade and charm others. Studies have proven that the right understanding and use of nonverbal communication can help in building better personal and formal relationships (Segal et. al., 2013).

However, first you must be aware that you cannot possibly avoid giving off nonverbal cues. No matter what we do, we are always sending communication signals to other people.

Discussion

Although nonverbal communication is important, not everyone intends to send nonverbal messages. Sometimes people stammer, frown or blush unintentionally making others believe that they are nervous, excited or angry even though they are not. Hence, misunderstanding is a big part of nonverbal communication too. The level of ambiguity in nonverbal is high because everybody interprets messages on their own. This is may be a negative element for nonverbal communication, but in my opinion, the benefits weigh much more.

Keep in mind that words and actions go hand in hand. What this means is that nonverbal communication can help words in a variety of ways. This includes repetition, substitution, regulation, contradiction, or accenting and complementing verbal behaviors.

When it comes to the types of nonverbal communication, there are a lot of factors that make up the process. Starting off with your body language, the position in which you stand gives signals of whether you are shutting off someone or including them in your space. Similarly, the posture of a person is an indication of what he/she thinks about him/herself and others. Whether people are relaxed or tensed, high or low class, all can be figured out by their posture.

The movement of arms and hands, i.e. gestures, are so basic to communication that they existed even before words did. If someone asks you where the bathroom is, you would probably tell them to take the first right and point in that direction. This accompanying gesture is an illustrator and is the most commonly used. On the other hand, when you nod your head, it means you are saying yes. These kinds of gestures that do not need verbal help are emblems. Regardless to add, emblems have different meanings in different cultures. Moreover, the unintentional gestures that you display while communicating, like smoking or scratching are adaptors. Two more kinds of gestures are regulators and affect displays, where regulators support interaction while affect displays reflect the intensity of an emotion.

You have probably experienced the impact of eye movements on a communication in your daily life. If someone is staring or looking away while talking to you, you can easily figure out whether that person is ...