Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 4  Nonverbal Communication 117

Recall from our model of competent communication (Chapter 1) that the situ-
ational context includes spheres like the place you are in, your comfort level, the
event, current events, and the social environment.
Now imagine dancing at a wedding, toasting your friend’s accomplishment,
flirting with an attractive friend, or wearing a business suit to a job interview. In
each instance, the situational context has changed. Situational context determines
the rules of behavior and the roles people must play under different conditions.
Competent communicators will always consider the appropriateness and effec-
tiveness of nonverbal communication in a given context.
Two of the primary factors involved in situational context are the public–
private dimension and the informal–formal dimension. The public–private
dimension is the physical space that affects our nonverbal communication. For
example, you might touch or caress your partner’s hand while chatting over din-
ner at your kitchen table, but you would be much less likely to do that at your
brother’s kitchen table or during a meeting at city hall. The informal–formal
dimension is more psychological, dealing with our perceptions of personal
versus impersonal situations. The formality of a situation is signaled by various
nonverbal cues, such as the environment (your local pub versus a five-star restau-
rant), the event (a child’s first birthday party or a funeral), the level of touch (a
business handshake as contrasted with a warm embrace from your aunt), or even
the punctuality expected (a wedding beginning promptly at 2:00 p.m. or a bar-
becue at your friend Nari’s house going from 6:00 p.m. to whenever) (Burgoon
& Bacue, 2003). Competently assessing the formality or informality of the situ-
ation affects your use of nonverbal communication—you might wear flip-flops
and shorts to hang out at Nari’s, but you probably wouldn’t wear them to a wed-
ding and certainly wouldn’t wear them on a job interview.
If your nonverbal communication does not appropriately fit the public–
private and formal–informal dimensions, you’ll likely be met with some non-
verbal indications that you are not being appropriate or effective (tight smiles,
restless body movements, gaze aversion, and vocal tension).

Pixar Animation Studios

At the beginning of this chapter, we considered how animators at

Pixar use elements of nonverbal communication to tell elaborate

stories in films like Up and WALL-E. Let’s reconsider some of the

ways nonverbal codes operate in these and other films.

c The directors of Up used simple visual cues to highlight the

characters so their appearance provides insights into their personalities.

Carl is very squarish in appearance, so he’s perceived as boxed in, in both

his house and his life. Eight-year-old Explorer Scout Russell is round and

bouncy—like Carl’s balloons, reflecting his optimistic, energetic personality.

These nonverbal elements carry subtle yet influential messages.

c Animators study human kinesics to make decisions about how their ani-
mated characters should move. To animate the aged Carl, they studied their
own parents and grandparents and watched footage of the Senior Olympics.

Ahb

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