UNIT 3: Non-verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication and its components
I believe that non-verbal language is based on the various ways in which we can convey a message without using verbal language (speaking, writing, reading and listening). Non-verbal language is made of six subdivisions: Gestures, haptics, vocalics, proxemics, chronemic, personal presentation and environment.
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We perform gestures in various ways at the time we interact with people. They can be done in a conscious and unconscious way, and can imply our status, moods or if we agree with what is spoken. Some examples of them can be when we unconsciously cross our arms over our chest, which gives the meaning of us feeling insecure and that action is like a barrier between the person we are talking to and us; and the finger-crossed which is considered as a sign of wishing for fortune.
The haptics (the contact behavior) on the other hand represents the tactile exchanges we have with others while interacting with them, and it strictly relies on the relationship we have with the interlocutors. Although this may vary depending on the situation, there are a variety of haptics, some can be used to show affection, get someone's attention, and even persuade another person.
For example, physiotherapists must maintain contact with their patients at the time of performing physiotherapies and it is something normal; another instance could be that you are in a bus stop and a stranger touches you, clearly you will feel uncomfortable because you do not know that person. Although many times they can occur in certain environments, these will vary so much depending on who makes them and what type of contact they perform.
Many of us might think that voice shouldn’t be considered as a component of non-verbal language, but what happens is that it is not about what we say, but about the way we say it and how it sends a message to others. Likewise, the vocal qualities are involved within the discourse such as pitch, volume race, rate, vocal quality, verbal fillers. These characteristics help to maintain an adequate flow of the conversation and opens the possibility to emphasize some parts of our statements. It can allow others to know if we are happy or sad as well, in the case of languages this feature is used depending if we want to ask, imperate or just state something.
On the other hand, proxemics is based on the distance set between the interlocutors at any time, which leads to messages such as internal states, types of personalities and even the relationship between those involved in the speech. Likewise, territoriality is linked to proximity, and it consists of the internal and unconscious desire of the human being to appropriate and shelter territories. This behavior makes animals, human beings and even countries get very reserved when an “intruder” is around their “boundaries,” this defensive reaction can scale from insults until linguistic or physical collisions.
At the same time, our perception of time, which is called chronemics, can affect our interpersonal relationships in different ways. For example, a person who works in a company where there are members from different parts of the world may have more than one problem at the time of holding meetings due to various time zones that have to be taken into account when scheduling it.
Last but not least, The way we dress says a lot about our personality, moods, social status, among many other things. In turn, the perception of these varies depending on the countries because they can be interpreted differently by that culture. All of these are part of our personal presentation and environment.
The importance of Non-verbal Communication in your everyday life
Personally, non-verbal communication is something quite important in my life. As you might notice in my image and video analysis, I tend to overanalyze a lot of stuff and for me the minimum changes in the speech or behaviors of the person who is talking to me are something outstanding and very noticeable. Besides that fact, normally I do not like to chat with other people, I can count with the fingers of one hand the amount of people with whom I use to talk to, and since our interactions are either for college or just time that we spend together watching or reading something, we are normally in callings, and so we can use non-verbal communication to know how the other actually feels and see if there is something wrong so one can help the other if it is needed. Thus, I think that I am the kind of person that gains a lot (communicatively speaking) through the use of non-verbal communication, because if you stop to think a little about it, non-verbal communication is something which deals substantially with how much you know people and their attitudes, that is the only way in which you would be able to notice those little details and changes, and since I am a person with few friends but with great bonds, I result being benefited by the daily use of that I can give to it.
