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Forms of nonverbal communication
Researchers have identified numerous forms of nonverbal communication: physical appearance, paralanguage (vocal cues), facial expressions, kinesics (body movements), haptics (touch), eye contact, and proxemics (space).
Physical appearance includes body type, height, weight, hair, and skin color. These characteristics affect our daily communications with others. We also wear clothing, and we display artifacts, which are ornaments or adornments that themselves communicate. Our clothing and artifacts mark our unique or co-cultural identity, or the many smaller cultural groups to which we belong within a larger culture. Whatever you wear or do not wear, says something about you.
Paralanguage, or vocal cues, also mark our cultural, ethnic, and gender identity. This is how we say something, not what we way. Paralanguage includes the following areas, accent (how words are pronounced together); pitch range (high or low tone); pitch intensity (high or low carrying of your voice); volume (loud or soft); articulation (precision or slurring); and rate (speed). We tend to evaluate others' speech based on our own standards. If you raise your voice during a conversation, chances are that will be interpreted as you being angry or irritated. However, raising your voice is common among many cultural groups as an indication of sincerity or authenticity.
For example, some African Americans tend to have expressive voices and are passionate about their speaking points, which can be mistaken for anger. In addition, putting the accent on a different part of a word or a different word in a sentence can send very different meanings, as can shifts in tone at the end of the phrase (rising or falling). Consider the different ways to pronounce just 'really?.' Decoding nonverbal cues at this level requires a sophisticated understanding of the language.
Facial expressions falls under a larger category of nonverbal communication, kinesics, or body movement. The face is capable of producing 250,000 different expressions. Many of these vary cross culturally, but some can be recognized across cultures. These are the facial expressions accompanying emotions represented by SADFISH, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, interest, surprise, and happiness. People of some cultures are taught from a very young age not to show certain emotions, making it more difficult for people from these cultures to identify these emotional expressions when they see them.
The most expressive part of the face is the eyes, and for this reason, many scholars categorize gaze separately from facial expressions. Eye contact is a very powerful communication tool. Holding eye contact can be a sign of respect, truthfulness, attraction, attention, or domination and power, for example. Failure to make eye contact can similarly be an indication of respect, fear, intimidation, lack of interest, and more. Some of this depends on the culture. For example, in most Western cultures, it is considered appropriate behavior to look someone in the eye during a conversation, and to comfortably hold that gaze with the other person. In fact, failing to make eye contact often raises suspicion about ulterior motives. In many Eastern cultures, however, making and maintaining eye contact can indicate disrespect when it involves people of different positions along the social hierarchy; it is considered impolite to look a teacher in the eye, for example.
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