The Nonverbal Message

Definitional

One of the most unrecognized areas of communication is nonverbal despite the fact that 65% of all exchanges are nonverbal. Nonverbal messages must be interpreted, the types of information that we receive through them must be understood as well as observing the interaction with the communicators that are using nonverbal communication. There are 3 types of nonverbal communication: verbal non vocal which involves words that are not spoken, nonverbal vocal which involves sighs or sounds made but there is no conversation, lastly there is non verbal non vocal which is the message you convey by your dress, face, hands and body appearance. These messages are conveyed through cues or hints that help to convey your message to the receiver. Nonverbal communication has three main purposes it can either: replace verbal communication, re-enforce or enhance it, or it can also contradict verbal communication. When looking closely looking at nonverbal communication one must understand the various studies that are under the umbrella of nonverbal communication. Kinesics is the study of the body movement usually referring to the head and face and the part that they play when used in a communication exchange. Similar to this is haptics which is the study of touch between the communicators. Oculesics is another study of nonverbal communication and deals with the study of eye contact. Eye contact is an extremely crucial part of nonverbal communication and deals with: regulating the flow of the exchange, monitors feedback, expresses emotion, communicates the nature of interpersonal relationships. Proxemics is another important part of nonverbal communication that deals with the study of space between each communicator. The study places various distances into categories that help to enhance each exchange: personal space (1.5-4'), intimate distance usually used for friends and family (18" or less), social distance (4-12') and lastly public distance used in large communication exchanges which is (12-25'). Besides the obvious parts of nonverbal communication there is the area of paralinguistics which deals with things beyond the basic language such as the quality of the voice, volume of the conversation, pitch & range as well as resonance. When dealing with the study of nonverbal communication it is important to note the difference between cultures and how their exchanges vary. Many cultures are considered high contact cultures such as many places in Europe. These cultures tend to touch each other more often, sit or stand closer to each other, make more eye contact, and speak louder (Tubbs & Moss 112). Low contact cultures tend to not touch each other when communicating, stand further away, use less eye contact and speak quieter (Tubbs & Moss 112). One of the most important uses of nonverbal communication in society is in the area of deception. People who are experts at studying nonverbal communication become very good at being able to detect deception through cues and hints given off by the sender.

Application

For my application I have chosen to link a clip of the Charlie Chaplin movie titles City Lights. This film is a silent film therefor it has an excellent display of nonverbal communication because they do not speak. Throughout the clip the viewer finds themselves truly studying every body movement that each character makes to convey their message as to how they are feeling and what exactly they are trying to do. Without the verbal message the nonverbal becomes the message and requires much more interpreting than just straight speech in a conversation. Because this film doesn't use speech it is very easy to understand how each character feels by their body language. For example towards the beginning of the clip when Charlie is walking down the street it is very evident he is not in a good mood and is most likely upset. We can come to this conclusion based on his body language: he is walking slowly, his head is down, sad expression on the face etc... Later on in the clip you can see the emotional shift when he visits the lady. His body language changes to be more upbeat and he begins to take part in an exchange with her by holding hands. It is interesting to note that before they held hands she pulled him in much closer to what would be considered an intimate distance. By watching silent films such as this it becomes much more apparent to us how much we rely on nonverbal communication to enhance our conversations as well as communicate our thoughts and feelings, sometimes while we don't even know we are doing it.

Personal

For my personal application I want to focus more specifically on one area of nonverbal communication that applies to my work in the theatre that I have found to be an essential part of any performance on stage. Whether most people realize it or not when they go to see a show on stage one of the strongest pieces of nonverbal communication being conveyed is the actor's costumes. Many would just consider them to be nice looking clothes that would most likely be worn by the character they are playing. However what many don't realize is the amount of time and thought that went into each costume idea specific to that character. Costumes do not only need to reflect what type of clothes their character would wear but they must give a deep insight to that character. Every little detail on a costume is there for a reason and is meant to help tell that persons story more efficiently. As an audience this is sometimes picked up on but for the most part the surface is only skimmed. Color choice is a strong and efficient way to communicate nonverbally with the audience and as a society we have our own set of established norms for the mood that each color conveys to us. Other things such as how formal the outfit is, sizes, fabric choice etc... All these things are used by costume designers in the area of performance theatre to help nonverbally communicate to the audience who their character really is and not just their choice of clothes but every little detail in between.