Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

Verbal Communication:

The Verbal Communication is a type of oral communication wherein the message is transmitted
through the spoken words. Here the sender gives words to his feelings, thoughts, ideas and
opinions and expresses them in the form of speeches, discussions, presentations, and
conversations.

The effectiveness of the verbal communication depends on the tone of the speaker, clarity of
speech, volume, speed, body language and the quality of words used in the conversation. In the
case of the verbal communication, the feedback is immediate since there are a simultaneous
transmission and receipt of the message by the sender and receiver respectively.

The sender must keep his speech tone high and clearly audible to all and must design the subject
matter keeping the target audience in mind. The sender should always cross check with the
receiver to ensure that the message is understood in absolutely the same way as it was intended.
Such communication is more prone to errors as sometimes the words are not sufficient to express
the feelings and emotions of a person.

The success of the verbal communication depends not only on the speaking ability of an
individual but also on the listening skills. How effectively an individual listens to the subject
matter decides the effectiveness of the communication. The verbal communication is applicable
in both the formal and informal kind of situations.

Non-verbal communication:

According to experts, a substantial portion of our communication is nonverbal. Every day, we

respond to thousands on nonverbal cues and behaviors including postures, facial expression, eye
gaze, gestures, and tone of voice. From our handshakes to our hairstyles, nonverbal details reveal
who we are and impact how we relate to other people.

Scientific research on nonverbal communication and behavior began with the 1872 publication
of Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Since that time,
abundant research on the types, effects, and expressions of unspoken communication and
behavior. While these signals are often so subtle that we are not consciously aware of them,
research has identified several different types of nonverbal communication.

In many cases, we communicate information in nonverbal ways using groups of behaviors. For
example, we might combine a frown with crossed arms and unblinking eye gaze to indicate
disapproval.

 Types of Nonverbal Communication

1. Facial Expressions
Facial expressions are responsible for a huge proportion of nonverbal communication. 1 Consider
how much information can be conveyed with a smile or a frown. The look on a person's face is
often the first thing we see, even before we hear what they have to say.While nonverbal
communication and behavior can vary dramatically between cultures, the facial expressions for
happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar throughout the world.

2. Gestures

Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without
words.2
Common gestures include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts.
Other gestures are arbitrary and related to culture.

In courtroom settings, lawyers have been known to utilize different nonverbal signals to attempt
to sway juror opinions. An attorney might glance at his watch to suggest that the opposing
lawyer's argument is tedious or might even roll his eyes at the testimony offered by a witness in
an attempt to undermine his or her credibility. These nonverbal signals are seen as being so
powerful and influential that some judges even place limits on what type of nonverbal behaviors
are allowed in the courtroom.

3. Paralinguistics

Paralinguistics refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language. 3 This
includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch. Consider the powerful
effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of a sentence. When said in a strong tone of
voice, listeners might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone
of voice might convey disapproval and a lack of interest.
Consider all the different ways that simply changing your tone of voice might change the
meaning of a sentence. A friend might ask you how you are doing, and you might respond with
the standard "I'm fine," but how you actually say those words might reveal a tremendous amount
of how you are really feeling. A cold tone of voice might suggest that you are actually not fine,
but you don't wish to discuss it. A bright, happy tone of voice will reveal that you are actually
doing quite well. A somber, downcast tone would indicate that you are the opposite of fine and
that perhaps your friend should inquire further.

4. Body Language and Posture

Posture and movement can also convey a great deal of information. 4 Research on body language
has grown significantly since the 1970's, but popular media have focused on the over-
interpretation of defensive postures, arm-crossing, and leg-crossing, especially after publishing
Julius Fast's book Body Language. While these nonverbal behaviors can indicate feelings
and attitudes, research suggests that body language is far more subtle and less definitive than
previously believed.

5. Proxemics
People often refer to their need for "personal space," which is also an important type of
nonverbal communication.5 The amount of distance we need and the amount of space we
perceive as belonging to us is influenced by a number of factors including social norms, cultural
expectations, situational factors, personality characteristics, and level of familiarity. For
example, the amount of personal space needed when having a casual conversation with another
person usually varies between 18 inches to four feet. On the other hand, the personal distance
needed when speaking to a crowd of people is around 10 to 12 feet.
6. Eye Gaze

The eyes play an important role in nonverbal communication and such things as looking, staring
and blinking are important nonverbal behaviors. When people encounter people or things that
they like, the rate of blinking increases and pupils dilate. Looking at another person can indicate
a range of emotions including hostility, interest, and attraction.

People also utilize eye gaze as a means to determine if someone is being honest. 6 Normal, steady
eye contact is often taken as a sign that a person is telling the truth and is trustworthy. Shifty eyes
and an inability to maintain eye contact, on the other hand, is frequently seen as an indicator that
someone is lying or being deceptive.
7. Haptics
Communicating through touch is another important nonverbal behavior. There has been a
substantial amount of research on the importance of touch in infancy and early childhood. Harry
Harlow's classic monkey study demonstrated how deprived touch and contact impedes
development. Baby monkeys raised by wire mothers experienced permanent deficits in behavior
and social interaction. Touch can be used to communicate affection, familiarity, sympathy, and
other emotions.
In her book Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters, author Julia Wood writes that
touch is also often used as a way to communicate both status and power. 7 Researchers have
found that high-status individuals tend to invade other people's personal space with greater
frequency and intensity than lower-status individuals. Sex differences also play a role in how
people utilize touch to communicate meaning.
Women tend to use touch to convey care, concern, and nurturance. Men, on the other hand, are
more likely to use touch to assert power or control over others.
8. Appearance
Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, and other factors affecting appearance are also
considered a means of nonverbal communication. 8 Research on color psychology has
demonstrated that different colors can evoke different moods. Appearance can also alter
physiological reactions, judgments, and interpretations. Just think of all the subtle judgments you
quickly make about someone based on his or her appearance. These first impressions are
important, which is why experts suggest that job seekers dress appropriately for interviews with
potential employers.

Researchers have found that appearance can play a role in how people are perceived and even
how much they earn. One 1996 study found that attorneys who were rated as more attractive than
their peers earned nearly 15 percent more than those ranked as less attractive. Culture is an
important influence on how appearances are judged. While thinness tends to be valued in
Western cultures, some African cultures relate full-figured bodies to better health, wealth, and
social status.

9. Artifacts

Objects and images are also tools that can be used to communicate nonverbally. On an online
forum, for example, you might select an avatar to represent your identity online and to
communicate information about who you are and the things you like. People often spend a great
deal of time developing a particular image and surrounding themselves with objects designed to
convey information about the things that are important to them. Uniforms, for example, can be
used to transmit a tremendous amount of information about a person. A soldier will don fatigues,
a police offers will wear a uniform, and a doctor will wear a white lab coat. At a mere glance,
these outfits tell people what a person does for a living.

Nonverbal communication plays an important role in how we convey meaning and information
to others, as well as how we interpret the actions of those around us. The important thing to
remember when looking at such nonverbal behaviors is to consider the actions in groups. What a
person actually says along with his or her expressions, appearance, and tone of voice might tell
you a great deal about what that person is really trying to say.

Importance of Posture:

Emotions can also be detected through body postures. Research has shown that body postures are
more accurately recognised when an emotion is compared with a different or neutral emotion.
[13]
 For example, a person feeling angry would portray dominance over the other, and their
posture would display approach tendencies. Comparing this to a person feeling fearful: they
would feel weak, submissive and their posture would display avoidance tendencies, [13] the
opposite of an angry person.
Sitting or standing postures also indicate one's emotions. A person sitting till the back of their
chair, leans forward with their head nodding along with the discussion implies that they are open,
relaxed and generally ready to listen. On the other hand, a person who has their legs and arms
crossed with the foot kicking slightly implies that they are feeling impatient and emotionally
detached from the discussion.[5]
In a standing discussion, a person stands with arms akimbo with feet pointed towards the speaker
could suggest that they are attentive and is interested in the conversation. However, a small
difference in this posture could mean a lot. [5] Standing with arms akimbo is considered rude in
Bali.
The superman pose, both hands or fists near the hips or lower back and the package pose is
moving the elbows inwards and hands with/without fingers dug into or resting on the belt or
pants suggest male attraction to women.

What is meaning of trend in different fields?

A trend is a general direction into which something is changing, developing, or veering
toward. A trend simply reflects what seems to be going around at any given time. A trend can
be in any area and doesn't only reflect fashion, pop culture and entertainment. There can also be
a trend in the stock market to be bullish or bearish, depending on economic indicators, or a
political trend reflecting a nation’s current mood. Some trends are fun, some fabulous, some
appalling, but however long they last, you can be sure there will always be a new trend coming
along to replace the old.
Definition of trend Cambridge Dictionary:
A general development or change in a situation or in the way that people are behaving.

Definition of trend in business:

In the world of business, a trend is a pattern of gradual change in a process, output, or condition.
It is an average or general tendency. If I say: “There has been a trend towards shorter-term
mortgages,” it means more people are now taking shorter-term mortgages. In other words, there
has been a tendency towards shorter-term mortgages.

Trend in fashion:

A trend is what's hip or popular at a certain point in time. While a trend usually refers to a certain
style in fashion or entertainment.

Trend in economics:

The overall direction in which a nation's economy is moving. Most business managers need to be
aware of the prevailing direction of the economic trend for the product markets and countries in
which they operate in order to make more accurate and effective plans for their company.

What is meaning of style?

In sociolinguistics, a style is a set of linguistic variants with specific social meanings. In this
context, social meanings can include group membership, personal attributes, or beliefs.
Linguistic variation is at the heart of the concept of linguistic style—without variation there is no
basis for distinguishing social meanings. Variation can occur syntactically, lexically, and
phonologically.

Style in literature is the literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words — the
author's word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work
together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text. Style describes how the author
describes events, objects, and ideas.

In Word, a style is a collection of formatting instructions. You use styles to format the
paragraphs in your document. So you would use the "Title" style for your title, "Body Text" style
for body text, "Caption" style for the picture captions, and "Heading 1" for the major headings.

Style is defined as a particular of doing or saying something, or refers to a unique form

of clothing or way of arranging your appearance. An example of style is the method by which
you learn.
The style in writing can be defined as the way a writer writes. It is the technique that an
individual author uses in his writing. It varies from author to author, and depends upon one's
syntax, word choice, and tone. It can also be described as a “voice” that readers listen to when
they read the work of a writer.

What is meaning of being provoked?

Provoke means stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome
one) in someone .e.g "the decision provoked a storm of protest from civil rights organization.

OR

stimulate or incite (someone) to do or feel something, especially by arousing anger in them. e.g
"A teacher can provoke you into working harder".

OR
deliberately make (someone) annoyed or angry. e.g
"Rachel refused to be provoked"

Difference between Formal, Informal and Non-formal Communication

Someone said correctly “The very attempt of, not to speak, speaks a lot.”Communication plays a
crucial role in our life, as people interchange their ideas, information, feelings, opinions by
communicating. Formal communication is one that passes through predefined channels of
communication throughout the organization. On the contrary, Informal communication refers
to the form of communication which flows in every direction, i.e. it moves freely in the
organization.

Communication could be verbal – spoken or written, or non-verbal i.e. using sign language,
body movements, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact or even with the tone of voice.

In an organization, there are two channels of communication – formal communication and

informal communication. People often confuse between these two channels, so here we have
presented an article which explains the difference between formal and informal
communication network.

BASIS FOR FORMAL COMMUNICATION INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

COMPARISON

Meaning A type of verbal communication in A type of verbal communication in

which the interchange of which the interchange of information
information is done through the pre- does not follow any channels i.e. the
defined channels is known as formal communication stretches in all
communication. directions.

Another Name Official Communication Grapevine communication

Reliability More Comparatively less

Speed Slow Very Fast

Evidence As the communication is generally No documentary evidence.

written, documentary evidence is
present.
 Time Consuming Yes No

Advantage Effective due to timely and Efficient because employees can

systematic flow of information. discuss work related problems, this
saves time and cost of the
organization.

Disadvantage Distortion due to long chain of Spread of rumors

communication.

Secrecy Full secrecy is maintained. It is difficult to maintain the secrecy.

Flow of Only through predefined channels. Can move freely.

Information

Definition of Formal Communication

The communication in which the flow of information is already defined is termed as Formal
Communication. The communication follows a hierarchical chain of command which is
established by the organisation itself. In general, this type of communication is used exclusively
in the workplace, and the employees are bound to follow it while performing their duties.
Example: Requests, commands, orders, reports etc.

The formal communication is of four types:

 Upward or Bottom-up: The communication in which the flow of information goes from

subordinate to superior authority.
 Downward or Top-down: The communication in which the flow of information goes
from superior to subordinate.

Example: Requests, commands, orders, reports etc.

The formal communication is of four types:

 Upward or Bottom-up: The communication in which the flow of information goes from

subordinate to superior authority.
 Downward or Top-down: The communication in which the flow of information goes
from superior to subordinate.
 Horizontal or Lateral: The communication between two employees of different
departments working at the same level.
 Crosswise or Diagonal: The communication between the employees of two different
departments working at different levels.

Definition of Informal Communication

The communication which does not follow any pre-defined channel for the transmission of
information is known as informal communication. This type of communication moves freely in
all directions, and thus, it is very quick and rapid. In any organization, this type
of communication is very natural as people interact with each other about their professional life,
personal life, and other matter.

Example: Sharing of feelings, casual discussion, gossips, etc.

The informal communication is of four types:

 Single Strand Chain: The communication in which one person tell something to

another, who again says something to some other person and the process goes on.

Single Strand Chain

 Cluster Chain: The communication in which one person tells something to some of its
most trusted people, and then they tells them to their trustworthy friends and the
communication continues.

Cluster Chain

 Probability Chain: The communication happens when a person randomly chooses some

persons to pass on the information which is of little interest but not important.
 Probability Chain

 Gossip Chain: The communication starts when a person tells something to a group of

people, and then they pass on the information to some more people and in this way the
information is passed on to everyone.

Key Differences Between Formal and Informal Communication

The following points are substantial, so far as the difference between formal and informal
communication is concerned.

1. Formal communication is also known by the name of official communication. Informal

Communication is also known by the name of grapevine.
2. In formal communication, the information must follow a chain of command. Conversely,
the informal communication can move freely in any direction.
 3. In formal communication, full secrecy is maintained, but in the case of informal
communication maintenance of secrecy is a very tough task.
4. Formal communication is written, whereas Informal communication is oral.
5. Formal communication is time-consuming as opposed to Informal communication, which
is rapid and quick.
6. Formal communication is more reliable than Informal communication.
7. Formal communication is designed by the organization. Informal communication starts
itself due to the urge of ‘human to talk’.
8. In formal communication, the documentary evidence is always available. On the other
hand, in the case of informal communication, the supporting documents are not available.

Conclusion:

A very deep discussion on the difference between formal and informal communication has been
done in this article. Nowadays, many big Transnational Organizations has started an open-door
policy, in which any employee of any department can communicate directly with the head of an
organization, about their complaints, grievances, and requests. This results in reducing the
complexity of the formal communication.