Nonverbal communication Space

Processing nonverbal communication is a skill, one that needs to be developed. This skill can be very hard to improve, given the fact that so much of the meaning typically is not transferred from the unconscious to the conscious.

What is Nonverbal Communication?

There are many definitions of nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is essentially pulling meaning from objects, or a person’s body language. It is one of the six skills interpersonal communication skills. So rather than saying something verbally, a person can understand based on other elements of the communication process such as gestures or facial expressions. For many, however, the source of input is typically overlooked. And so, we miss a tremendous upon amount of the meaning that we could process.

The importance of Nonverbal Communication

Its importance lies in the fact that it is represents a entirely different channel of information available for you to access. For example, let’s say that you are talking to another person. In English, meaning is attached to the sounds of the words and emotions cues attached to the tones. This is not the case in Chinese languages, where tone determines meaning.

Besides emotion, you can also pick up other kinds of nonverbal cues. A few of the more important ones include whether a person understands or whether they are confused. Whether they are telling the truth or lying. And whether they secretly agree or disagree with what you’re saying.

The significance of nonverbal communication is that this data largely stays within the unconscious and does not we reach conscious awareness. As studies of the mind have shown, only a small part of the sensory data process actually reach conscious Wrangell-Saint of it is processed unconsciously. There are many instances of this but let me just give you one example.

You meet someone new, you carry on a conversation for a period of 5 minutes, and walk away thinking, “You know, I really like this guy.” Thinking further, you begin to wonder what it was that the other person did, what they said that caused you to like them so much. But paradoxically, you really can’t say what those factors are.

Examples of Nonverbal Communication

There are many examples of the importance of this type of communication. Three examples of nonverbal communication include:

The Handshake

Most likely, you pay very little attention to the nonverbal elements of the handshake. And if it’s done right, there’s no reason to do so. However, when the other person doesn’t understand exactly how this ritual needs to be completed, it interferes with the process of forming a positive first impression.

The example from the American culture, is the amount of pressure one exerts during on the other person’s hand. One puts a certain amount pressure into the handshake, and it should be neither too much nor too little. Another aspect of this is that when grasping of the hand, the web of your hand intersects the web of their hand. And of course, many of us have encountered the perspiring hand. All of these factors, makes is made us a bit uncomfortable, and why don’t know why.

Eye Contact

In some cultures, it is considered impolite and disrespectful to look into another person’s eyes. In other cultures, conveys trust. So eye contact is a very important nonverbal communication in terms of whether one extends trust and even acts friendly towards the other person.