Nonverbal communication - types and examples

What do we usually understand by the word "communication"? Contact with people who are pleasant to us, information exchange, interaction. At a time when every action should bring benefits and benefits, it is increasingly said that communication should be "productive." This implies that every act of communication has a purpose, and in order to achieve it, when preparing for an important conversation, you should think not only about what you are talking about, but also the non-verbal component, that is, your gesture, posture, clothing and disposition towards the interlocutor. Below we will consider what the non-verbal communication consists of and from what sign systems it consists.

Non-verbal communication is non-verbal behavior, communication, which uses gestures and other signs. It's a way to "say without words," and sometimes our body "speaks" for us, which we may not be fully aware of. Such communication occurs even when there is no verbal exchange. There are various ways in which types of non-verbal communication are classified. One of them distinguishes the following sign systems:

1. Optical-kinetic system. This includes our facial expressions and gestures. Obviously, the overall motor skills of the individual parts of the body (hands, face) conveys the emotional reactions of the interlocutor and usually reinforces and complements the information we received from his words. Widespread misunderstandings arising from the incorrect interpretation of gestures, for example, representatives of different cultures. It is also widespread that it is through gestures that one can understand what is really on your mind in your "counterpart," and many books have been published on this topic. And although the nose can not be itching not from a liar, but an allergic, the observant interlocutor does not miss this component from attention. The main mistake made by many who are just beginning to comprehend the science of "reading" gestures is to interpret each of them separately. Like other sign systems, from which non-verbal communication develops, the system of signs and gestures is capable and, on the contrary, weaken the action of words.

2. Paralinguistic, extralinguistic systems. They complement speech by using such means as voice timbre, height, speech rate, laughter, pauses in conversation. In written messages, for example, on the Internet, where a set of these tools is limited, so-called smiles are used. Speech units they are not, but clarify the meaning of the transmitted message; It is also important that they are international.

3. The organization of such conditions of the communicative process as space and time. This is also an important component of the communication situation. The way the interlocutors are located relative to each other, expresses their degree of trust and attention to each other, and at the beginning of the conversation can set the tone of the whole conversation. Therefore, such attention is paid to where the manager's table is located, and where a place for visitors is organized; How the participants are sitting at the talks. Non-verbal communication develops from such moments as observance of the norms of a given culture in the distance between the interlocutors. In many countries for not too close friends this distance should not be reduced to 40 cm, otherwise the interlocutor will feel only dislike instead of trust. A special area of knowledge dedicated to the issues of temporal and spatial organization of communication is also identified - this is proxyemics. It distinguishes, among other things, specific spatial and temporal characteristics of certain situations (chronotopes are the term of AA Ukhtomsky). For example, this is the well-known effect of the "wagon traveling companion", when unfamiliar people become particularly frank with each other.

4. Eye contact. The extent to which nonverbal communication develops successfully depends to a large extent on how often and for how long the interlocutors look into each other's eyes. It is the visual contact (or lack thereof) that helps us to understand whether the partner is interested in the conversation, how open it is for communication.

We can say that non-verbal communication, possessing the aforementioned sign systems, is able to best convey the meaning of the speech message. However, there is an important condition: all participants in communication should use a single "language", code. But the selection of signs, units, like words in speech, is a difficult task. She was repeatedly tried to solve, for example, K. Berwistl or P. Ekman. Nevertheless, non-verbal communication is inextricably linked with speech, complements and even replaces it, and knowledge of its components helps to competently build communication for solving everyday and work tasks.