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After you have finished
reading this chapter,
you will be able to
Describe the power of
nonverbal communication
Outline the functions of
nonverbal communication
Describe the set of
communication symbols
that are nonverbal codes
Illustrate the influences
culture, technology, and
situation have on our
nonverbal behavior
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chapter
outcomeselling a story on screen is complicated because filmmaking encompasses
nonverbal performances (be it from actors or from animators). These
performances include the visual choices made by the artists and directors, from
colors used in a scene’s background to the characters’ clothing. For animators
like the team at Pixar, the challenge is even more daunting. They must make
inhuman objects—whether computer-generated “people” like Carl and Ellie,
monsters like Mike Wazowski from Monster’s University, or robots (or fish, toys,
or insects)—into believable, humanlike characters who can effectively communi-
cate complex information and emotions.
Likewise, in real life, we communicate with many tools other than language. In
this chapter, we examine nonverbal communication—the process of intentionally
or unintentionally signaling meaning through behavior other than words (Knapp
& Hall, 2010). This definition encompasses a variety of actions, such as gestures,
tone of voice, and eye behavior, as well as all aspects of physical appearance. We
begin by examining the nature and functions of nonverbal communication. Then
we move to the nonverbal codes that convey messages without words and conclude
with an examination of important influences on nonverbal communication.The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
A deaf woman signs a message to a companion. A colleague writes a note to you
on a pad of paper during a boring meeting. A man taps his watch to signal to
a friend that it’s almost time for lunch. In all three instances, communication
occurs without a word being spoken. But not all of all these examples are actually
nonverbal communication. Studying the essential nature of nonverbal commu-
nication reveals why.Nonverbal Behavior Is Communicative
You communicate nonverbally when you convey a message without using any
words. But you also communicate nonverbally when you use nonverbal behav-
iors in addition to words: when you smile, frown, or gesture as you speak or
when you use a particular tone or volume while talking (Giles & LePoire, 2006).
For example, as a kid, maybe you knew when your parents were angry with you
because they called you by your full name while using “that tone.”
Consider the examples we gave above. American Sign Language (ASL), a
visual language with its own grammatical structure used by hearing-impaired
individuals in the United States and English-speaking Canada, is still verbal
communication. It may be nonvocal, because the communicators don’t use their
voices. However, it is still a language, because it uses hand signals (rather than
spoken words) as symbols and it has grammatical rules. The note that your col-
league writes to you uses words, so it too is a form of verbal communication
(written rather than spoken). Only the third example is nonverbal communica-
tion—tapping a watch signals meaning without use of linguistic symbols. Yet
this example reminds us that nonverbal behavior and verbal communication are
connected. Had the friends not made a verbal agreement to meet for lunch, the
act of tapping the watch might be confusing.