Verbal/Nonverbal Communication Verbal and Nonverbal Term Paper

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Body (and hand) movements provide as many nonverbal communication signals as body position or relative limb and hand position. Wringing the hands together is a universal signal of expectation, just as hands open to the sky are an indication of pleading or acceptance. The flattened palm pressed against the cheek like a pillow squashing the face denotes boredom, as does absent minding repetitive movements such as tapping fingers or swinging feet. Conversely, prolonged eye contact and dilated pupils indicate focused attention and interest, and is probably never as obvious as in courtship behavior.

Rubbing the brow with the fingers is an indication of irritation, as is wringing one's collar with a fingertip in the manner giving rise to the term "hot under the collar." (Nierenberg & Calero, 1971).

In both one-on-one and group conversation, one of the most reliable indications of relative dominance and leadership is simply who moves first and who "mirrors" whose postures and movements. Generally, the dominant person acts first, whether that entails conscious movement like reaching for a menu or a water glass at a business lunch meeting, or unconscious movements like crossing one's legs or shifting weight from one leg to the other. In all cases, the dominant person moves first and subordinates follow.

Nonverbal Interpersonal Communication in Deception:

Even if the eyes are not actually the "window to the soul," it is understandable how that saying evolved. Particularly in instances of attempted deception, the movement of the eyes in conjunction with other facial mannerisms provide some of the clearest universal nonverbal interpersonal communications cues.

Truthful verbal communication is normally matched by much steadier and direct eye contact than deceptive verbal communication. Similarly, verbal lies often trigger downward glances as well as hand gestures to cover the mouth, such as scratching the nose or upper lip while talking.

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The mouth itself provides more subtle cues of dishonesty and of discrepancy between thought and expression. Smiles, for example, can be genuine reflections of happiness or patronizing attempts at deception, in which case they employ completely different sets of muscles. Genuine smiles involve the muscles of the cheeks, whereas false smiles are limited to just the muscles of the mouth (Nierenberg & Calero, 1971).

Conclusion:

Verbal speech is the primary way that humans communicate. In fact, it has long been thought that much of what distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom is, precisely, our ability to use spoken language. Because we rely so heavily on verbal communication, our comparative ability to recognize nonverbal interpersonal communication has deteriorated to the extent that we perceive it more unconsciously than consciously. Nevertheless, our communicational repertoire includes many types of distinctly nonverbal elements involving everything from our eyes to where we position our feet in interpersonal interactions.

We rely on elements of nonverbal interpersonal communication to supplement our verbal communications in virtually every social realm, including the way we posture for strangers, the way we interact with professional associates whether they are our superiors or our subordinates, the way we establish and maintain our social rank amongst our social peers, and the way we initiate and respond to romantic overtures. Ultimately, verbal communications will always dominate human social interactions, but any careful observation of our nonverbal interpersonal communications reminds us of our common evolutionary roots with so-called "lower" animals and leaves no doubt as to the crucial role of verbal communication in the evolution of modern human social society......

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