Nonverbal Communication Essay Example For Students

Nonverbal Communication Essay Do you think communication is a No-Brainer? Communication is consistently listed as one of the keys to success in business and life, and just as frequently identified by employees as a key missing link to maximum productivity and job satisfaction. We communicate every day verbally and nonverbal to co-workers, to people on the phone, and to our family. Weve been communicating since the day we were born. Actually, we were communicating before we were born, in our mothers womb. What is communication? Communication is the process of constructing meaning together. We live in a world of meaning, and communication is the process of collaboratively constructing these meanings. We hope in this process, that presenting something to other individuals that we are getting our ideas across precisely. We would hope that through this process the receiver would be able to translate our messages into ideas. Unfortunately there are a lot of barriers to this process. I will be discussing four different topics, verbal nonverbal communication, perception, listening, and self-disclosure. Through the presentation of these topics, I will demonstrate several ways in which we can communicate among ourselves more effectively. There are several different components that make up the whole of nonverbal communication. Kinesics is the movement and positioning of the body and how it is interpreted by a receiver. This includes many of the more obvious nonverbal cues such clapping your hands or a thumb up. Oculesics refers to eye contact and eye positioning during communication. Averting ones eyes is a cue that, depending on context, could show respect, shame, or nervousness. Haptics is the act of physical contact to display an emotion. A punch, a kiss, and a pat on the back all portray meaning without the need for words. Arguably the most important nonverbal cue is paralanguage. Paralanguage is the non-word utterances used in moments of emotion that can occur by themselves or as a particular emphasis on a word or syllable. The importance of nonverbal communication becomes clear with the realization that it constitutes for the preponderance of human communication. It has been estimated that any where between sixty-five and ninety-three percent of the emotional impact of a delivered message originates from nonverbal cues. For example, a statement such as, Im fine, can have a multitude of different meanings depending on its delivery. Added emphasis on fine and a furrowed brow would lead you to believe that the sender is upset while a smile and a slight rise in pitch would indicate that he or she is indeed, ok. Nonverbal communications greatest importance is the fact that it conveys emotional information which would be otherwise concealed. Therefore the large brunt of human emotion is passed on not through what people say, rather by what they do. According to an article published by Shaver, Schwartz, Kirson, and Oconnor in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology facial expressions are recognized universally for their meanings. A smile indicates happiness while a grimace shows displeasure. The impact and use of facial expressions however, is culture bound. This becomes clear when comparing high context cultures of the far-east with the low context cultures of the western world. In china facial expressions are used far less and hold less impact than they do in America. The emphasis in communication within the Chinese culture lies primarily within the context of the spoken message itself. These differences can lead to misinterpretations between cultures. A Chinese man would have a much harder time reading the nonverbal signals of an American than he would a fellow Chinese. Nonverbal communication is all around us. The majority of all the information we receive is subject to some sort of nonverbal cue. This strengthens our ability to communicate by allowing us insight into our fellow man. It is this insight and this understanding of one another that has allowed us to come as far as we have. While linguistics are an essential part of the communication process, when its broken down actions really do speak louder than words. Warren G Harding EssayAdler, R.B. ; Towne, N. (1999). Looking Out/ Looking In: Interpersonal Communication. 9th Ed. San Francisco: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Shaver, P. , Schwartz, J., Kirson, D., ; OConnor, C. (1987). Emotion knowledge: Further exploration of a prototype approach. Journal of Personality and .