An Introduction to Nonverbal Behaviour
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Ask someone the question: "How do we communicate with others?", and you will likely get
the response: "We speak to them."
While it is true that we convey meanings to others through spoken words, we
convey so much more through our nonverbal behaviour - that is, behaviour that
conveys our inner thoughts, attitudes, and feelings without the use of words1.
So much of our communication with others is nonverbal, in fact, that researcher Albert Mehrabian found that only
7% of the messages we send to others is verbal – the remaining 93% is
nonverbal, with 55% of our message conveyed through body language, and 33%
conveyed through tone of voice (as cited in Thompson, 2011). Certainly, there is much truth to the old
adage that 'actions speak louder than
words'!
Since nonverbal behaviour comprises such a large part of communication, you may be wondering what, specifically, nonverbal behaviour consists of in a communicative context. The answer to this query is hardly definitive. While Mehrabian (as cited in Thompson, 2011) classified nonverbal behaviour as tone of voice and body language (where body language consisted of facial expressions, gestures, and posture), other researchers have included use of space (Hall, 1966; Duncan, 1969), touch (Remland & Jones, 2005), use of time (Poyatos, 1983), and even style of dress (Morsbach, 1973) in their examinations of how we communicate nonverbally. With all of these elements of nonverbal behaviour in mind, it is no wonder M. S. Thirumalai (1987) refers to nonverbal behaviour as "every communicative human act other than speech" (para. 1).
As you can see, nonverbal behaviour is pervasive and makes up a major part of our daily interactions with others. Thus, I have developed this web tutorial to strengthen your understanding of nonverbal behaviour in a way that builds your knowledge of the topic in thought-provoking ways. Specifically, I aim to provide you with a comprehensive illustration of the elements of nonverbal behaviour and the impacts these behaviours have on the messages we convey to others. Next, I explore these behaviours through a social psychological lens to illustrate why we communicate nonverbally and how our nonverbal messages are perceived by others. I then conclude by providing you with a list of guidelines for improving your daily interactions through the use of nonverbal behaviour.
I hope you enjoy your time here. Should you have any comments or questions, please click the 'Contact Me' icon at the top of the page to send me an email, or click here to access a comment form.
Regards,
Jennifer Dmitruk
Undergraduate Student
University of Regina
Since nonverbal behaviour comprises such a large part of communication, you may be wondering what, specifically, nonverbal behaviour consists of in a communicative context. The answer to this query is hardly definitive. While Mehrabian (as cited in Thompson, 2011) classified nonverbal behaviour as tone of voice and body language (where body language consisted of facial expressions, gestures, and posture), other researchers have included use of space (Hall, 1966; Duncan, 1969), touch (Remland & Jones, 2005), use of time (Poyatos, 1983), and even style of dress (Morsbach, 1973) in their examinations of how we communicate nonverbally. With all of these elements of nonverbal behaviour in mind, it is no wonder M. S. Thirumalai (1987) refers to nonverbal behaviour as "every communicative human act other than speech" (para. 1).
As you can see, nonverbal behaviour is pervasive and makes up a major part of our daily interactions with others. Thus, I have developed this web tutorial to strengthen your understanding of nonverbal behaviour in a way that builds your knowledge of the topic in thought-provoking ways. Specifically, I aim to provide you with a comprehensive illustration of the elements of nonverbal behaviour and the impacts these behaviours have on the messages we convey to others. Next, I explore these behaviours through a social psychological lens to illustrate why we communicate nonverbally and how our nonverbal messages are perceived by others. I then conclude by providing you with a list of guidelines for improving your daily interactions through the use of nonverbal behaviour.
I hope you enjoy your time here. Should you have any comments or questions, please click the 'Contact Me' icon at the top of the page to send me an email, or click here to access a comment form.
Regards,
Jennifer Dmitruk
Undergraduate Student
University of Regina
Footnotes:
1. This definition of nonverbal behaviour has been adapted from Kassin, Fein, Markus, & Burke's (2013) definition of "behaviour that reveals a person's feelings without words [. . .]" (p. 103).
1. This definition of nonverbal behaviour has been adapted from Kassin, Fein, Markus, & Burke's (2013) definition of "behaviour that reveals a person's feelings without words [. . .]" (p. 103).