Pulling it all Together:
Guidelines for Improving Interactions Through Nonverbal Behaviour
Now that this tutorial has explored the what, why, and how of nonverbal behaviour, you may now be wondering how you can use this information in a way that is beneficial to you. This section compiles what has been discussed throughout this tutorial into a list of guidelines that you can use to improve your daily interactions through the use of nonverbal behaviour.
1. Be aware of the pervasiveness of nonverbal behaviour and keep in mind that much of what you do sends a message to others – even if you are not speaking. Your use of kinesics, paralanguage, haptics, proxemics, chronemics, and artifacts may tell others something about you, whether you intended for it to happen or not.
2. Get acquainted with the nonverbal behaviours set out in social scripts – the expected guidelines of given situations – especially if you are preparing for a situation that you are unfamiliar with. Obviously, the situations you face in your life are varied; thus, illustrating the acceptable scripts for each situation you might face is beyond the scope of this tutorial. However, the Links and Resources page offers several items you can consult to learn more about situation-specific nonverbal behaviours. Particularly useful is the video entitled “Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures” (Klinker & Jandernoa, 2010) which offers a brief glimpse of gestures to be expected in cross-cultural situations. Also, the book entitled Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction, 7th Edition (Knapp & Hall, 2009) has a chapter devoted to nonverbal messages in specific contexts. Another suggestion is to ask others who have had experience in the situation to give you advice about which nonverbal behaviours are considered acceptable. 3. Ask yourself what goals you have for your communication with others – do you want to strategically self-present, or self-verify? Which is more important to you? If you want to strategically self-present, especially in a workplace setting, there are a number of nonverbal behaviour tips that have been proven effective in specific fields. For example, those working in helping professions like counselling or social work may find Egan’s (2010) descriptions of posture and body positioning techniques particularly helpful. Further, the book entitled Applications of Nonverbal Communication (Riggio & Feldman, 2005) is an exceptional resource that translates psychological research findings into practical settings like healthcare, law, business, education, and politics. Links to these resources are available on the Links and Resources page. 4. Understand that, through the theory of self-perception, watching yourself communicate can tell you things you may not have known about yourself. Therefore, if you want to improve your communication skills, you can practice in front of a mirror or videotape yourself to find out what inner feelings or attitudes you reveal through your nonverbal behaviour. By gaining further understanding of yourself in this way, you will be better equipped to adjust your nonverbal cues effectively. 5. Keep in mind that your nonverbal behaviour not only displays your feelings but, through the facial feedback hypothesis, can also create them. If you find yourself feeling unconfident about meeting a new client for the first time or making a positive first impression on the parents of a new boyfriend or girlfriend, you can try adjusting your posture to evoke feelings of confidence. 6. Beware of the fundamental attribution error – both as a presenter and a perceiver. Know that others may be quick to attribute your nonverbal behaviour to a characteristic within you (such as your attitude or a personality trait) and pay little attention to the situational causes. Keep this same thought in mind as you are perceiving others, too. If you truly want to gather an accurate perception of someone, put forth the effort to examine the situational causes of the behaviour you witness. For example, if you see the desk of the woman shown in Figure 16, resist the temptation to judge her as disorganized – she may simply have a boss and co-workers who indiscriminately drop papers off on her desk. 7. Finally, keep Albert Mehrabian’s finding (as cited in Thompson, 2011) in mind as you manoeuver through daily interactions with others. Only 7% of the message you send to others is verbal – the rest is revealed through your nonverbal behaviour. Regardless of what you say to others, your actions may contradict your words! |