Channels of nonverbal communication

How to Communicate with Diplomacy and Tact Using Nonverbal Communication

In talking about nonverbal communication, many people use the popular term "body language, " This is, however, an inaccurate representation of what nonverbal communication actually is, for many reasons we won't go into here. Suffice it to say that we are intentionally using the term nonverbal communication, because it is accurate for explaining all of the various areas that non-linguistic communication covers.

What is nonverbal communication? We can say it is communication behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning without the use of words. As this article will highlight, there are several areas, or channels, of nonverbal communication. Some are more relevant to communicating with diplomacy and tact than others, and in the interest of space, it is those that we will focus on here.

It's difficult to imagine life without the use of nonverbal communication. When we think about the flatness of text messages without emoticons, we are getting close. But in regular life, nonverbal communication comprises as much as 93 percent of our communication. Perhaps it is the context that determines how much of our communication is nonverbal and how much of it is linguistic. For example, if you're at a football game, your nonverbal communication is going to be closer to 100 percent of your communication, but if you're in a class, you will rely on nonverbal communication to a much lesser degree than you will rely on the verbal channel.

Characteristics of nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication has five distinct characteristics that help us better understand its role, purpose, and use. These characteristics are:

1. Nonverbal communication is present in most interpersonal communication.

2. Nonverbal communication often conveys more information than verbal communication.

. Nonverbal communication is usually believed over verbal communication.