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•Non Verbal
Communication
• “The most important thing in
communication is hearing what isn’t
said.”- Peter Drucker
CLASSIFICATION OF NON-VERBAL
COMMUNICATION

• Kinesics

• Proxemics

• Chronemics

• Paralanguage
 KINESICS (BODY LANGUAGE)

• Literally means body language

• It is the reflection of thought, feelings, and position.

• All bodily movements, postures and gestures are guided by our

thought processes and emotions.

• Paul Ekman says, “We talk with our vocal cords, but we
communicate with our facial expressions, tone of voice and our
entire body.”
 KINESICS INCLUDES

• Facial Expressions

• Eye Contact

• Gestures

• Body posture

• Appearance
• The face is the index of the heart.

• A facial expression is worth a thousand words

• Whatever we feel deep within ourselves is at once reflected in our

face without speaking a word.
EYE CONTACT

• Eye behaviour communicates in many ways.

• It shows emotions.

• Eye contact and eye movements convey their

meaning in combination with other facial expression.
GESTURES
• Gestures are the movements of arms, legs, hands and
head which help one to express thoughts and to
emphasize one’s speech.
• Some examples:
• Nodding the head- yes/ I agree
• Shaking fist –angry
• Clapping hands- I approve
• Waving- Good bye
• Thumbs up is acknowledged as ‘well done’ and
‘very good’, while crossing the fingers is a symbol
of hope and eagerness.

• Thus knowing the meanings of hand gestures

helps in communicating in the correct manner.
POSTURE

• Posture and how you carry yourself tells a lot about

you.
• How you walk, sit, stand, or hold your head not only
indicates your current temperament but also your
personality in general.
• For example: If you cross your arms while standing,
you indicate that you may be closed off and
defensive.
• Meanwhile, walking with your head down and
avoiding eye contact with others indicate shyness.
APPEARANCE

• It includes clothing, hair, jewelry, and so

on.

• Every occasion has its own particular type

of dress which may be formal or informal.
SPACE LANGUAGE/PROXEMICS
• Proxemics is the name of the study that explains
how people treat their space and other people in
their proximity.

• It is the study of how we communicate with the

space around us.

• It’s a subcategory of our nonverbal

communication.
 COLOURS

• We know that different colours are associated with

different behaviourial patterns, attitudes and cultural
background.
• The colours you choose can often tell something about
your personality.
• Red - an assertive, passionate and enthusiastic nature.
• Orange- warm hearted, quick-witted and active.
• Yellow- cheerfulness, optimism and originality.
• Green- responsible, hopeful and into green issues.
• Blue- cool and peaceful nature.
• White- innocence, enlightenment and efficiency.
• Black- mysterious(secretive), unconventional and
dominant.
• Brown- trustworthy, reliable and home loving nature.
• Grey- a desire to be anonymous (unnamed,
unidentified).
• Colours make their own statements.

• The signboards, interiors, uniforms, stationery,

vehicles and such other items which are in the public
eye should be consciously designed to make the right
colour statement.

• All this shows that there exists ‘Colour Language’

• Colours
• Time management has come to acquire great significance
in modern business management.

• It is well recognized that as business organizations pursue

their multifarious goals as per clearly laid out time
schedules, time management holds the key to success.

• In the organizational context, the efficiency of an

organization is judged by the importance people
concerned attach to actions such as:
• 1. Whether the person is in time for an appointment.

• 2. Whether a person who has come on time for an

appointment is kept waiting.

• 3. Whether the meetings and functions begin on time.

• 4. Whether the speaker keeps to the allotted time.

• 5. Whether the telephone is picked up as soon as it

rings.
• Progressive organizations ensure that the value of time is well
appreciated.

• Each of us has the same number of hours in every day, but that
time can be used differently.

• Time can be saved, wasted, or even killed.

• Time perception differs in various cultures, which can create

misunderstandings if a person is unaware of the cultural
differences.
• For example: In America time flies. In the business
world, Americans are expected to arrive to meetings
on time, and even early.

• On the other hand, such as China and Spain, time

walks. People do not feel pressurized.

• They would rather take it easy than live a busy life.

 VOCALICS/PARALANGUAGE

• It is a type of nonverbal communication that includes

articulation, pronunciation, rate, pitch, volume, pauses,
and other vocal qualities.

• Verbal Communication- concentrates on ‘What’ or the

content words.

• Paralanguage- concentrates on ‘how’ of a speaker’s

voice or the way in which she/he speaks.
• Voice Modulation is an important aspect of Effective
communication. Without Voice Modulation, your speech
would sound flat. there are basically 6 benefits to
modulation:
• Binds the audience
• Expresses emotions
• Shows confidence
• Speech becomes interesting
• Allows speaker to stress/draw the attention of a listener
• Brings clarity in Communication
• Voice: pitch variation:
• high pitch- indicates nervousness, anxiety, tension, fear,
surprise, anger, Joy, or impatience.
• Low pitch- indicates affection, sadness, boredom, pleasantness
or intimacy.
• Volume: we mast speak loud enough for our audience to hear
us, but also remember not to be too loud.
• The loudness of our voice should be adjusted according to the
size of the audience.
• For example: If a supervisor says, “I would like to talk with you in
my office.” You might feel somewhat at ease.

• But if you said it loudly then you would feel disturbed and
uncomfortable.

• Softness and loudness in volume alters the meaning specifically.

• Speaking speed: Rapid speech indicates excitement.

• We increase speed of speaking to tell an interesting

story, and reduce speed to explain a difficult idea.

• We need to present the easy parts of a message at a

brisk pace, because it is likely to be understood easily.
• Pronunciation: It is the accepted standard of the way in which a
word is said.

• Correct and clear pronunciation is important and indicates that

the speaker is careful and has the consideration for the audience.

• Stress: on a particular word in a sentence can change the

meaning and implication.
• I didn’t say he stole the money.
• I didn’t say he stole the money.
• I didn’t say he stole the money.
• I didn’t say he stole the money.
• I didn’t say he stole the money.
• I didn’t say he stole the money.
• I didn’t say he stole the money.
• Try reading the below sentence:

• “Were you there last Monday?” by stressing a different word

each time, and note the difference in the implied meaning.

• Voice segregation/Nonfluencies: sounds like er-er, oh,um,

you know, etc indicate that the speaker is hesitating or cannot
find the next word to say.
• The language of touch plays an important role in how
we respond to others and to our environment.
• It communicates many messages like
• 1. To appreciate someone, we pat on his back.
• 2. Parents and elders bless their younger ones by
touching their head.
• 3. Younger people express respect by touching the
feet of elderly people.
 ARTIFACTS

• Include clothing, jewelry, personal belongings, accessories,

etc.

• Communicate economic level, educational level,

trustworthiness, social position, level of sophistication, level of
success, moral character, masculinity/femininity

• Important part of first impressions

• The "material culture," that is, how we live, what we carry with us,
and how we dress have been traditional focuses of anthropology
and ethnology.

• Increasingly, however, attention has been paid to these issues also

in intercultural communication, and related areas such as
intercultural marketing.

• Cultural meaning of colours, and the change of meanings within a

culture, for instance, have been studied from marketing point of
view.
• Artifacts are forms of decorative ornamentation that are chosen
to represent self-concept.

• Artifacts are technically the objects that we carry on our person or

surround ourselves with.

• Everyday people are judged by the type of clothes they wear, and
how they choose to represent themselves.
• There are different forms of attire for different occasions,
but there are also forms of attire that we wear to
represent our identity.

• We choose to do this in the same way in how we

personalize our homes with different objects and
decorations.
ENVIRONMENT

• Communicates something about you

• We surround ourselves with things that are important/meaningful to us

• Use artifacts to define our territory

• Can influence interactions

• How people use an environment communicates something about them

• The environment can influence the outcome of communication.

• For this reason, organization gives careful consideration to office space, factory layout,
the sales area and conference venues.

• The environment should put people at ease and match their expectations; an unsuitable
environment can produce `noise' that causes communication barriers and interferes
with the communication process.
• Certain instincts, such as desire for privacy, familiarity and security, need to be
satisfied.

• Careful design of the workplace can meet these needs which improves
communication, productivity and morale.
• Natural and artificial light, color, temperature, tables, chairs, desks, lounges, plants,
sound, artwork, magazines, and floor and wall coverings all have an impact on people's
perception of an organization.
• In the workplace, attention to punctuality or a disregard for it can make a
strong nonverbal impact.

• A disregard for punctuality may, like a sloppy appearance, merely reflect a

casual attitude.

• However, a deliberate decision to keep a contact waiting may be a way to

communicate a negative message.