What is non verbal communication?
According to HELP GUIDE.ORG, nonverbal communication, conveyed through facial expressions, body language, pace, intensity and tone of voice gives you a powerful means for self expression. Nonverbal communication is the Pulley that attracts and holds the attention of others.
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Personally I feel that non verbal communication is an art, it is not something that you can actually understand in a day or so. In addition, non verbal communication also speaks louder than words especially in close relationships. For a close relationship to be built up, it often takes more than just merely words as we do often send signals that we do not intend to send which may actually cause misunderstandings.
It was interesting to know that researchers have actually discovered the most important non verbal cues that will show the other party whether you are interested, excited or confused etc.
These most important non verbal cues are eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice, posture, touch, intensity, timing and pace and sound that convey understanding. Such important non verbal cues tend to be overlooked by some people when they communicate. For example, when having body contact, tight finger pressure, grip and hugs may feel good to you but not necessarily to the other party. Hence it is important to know the differences between what you like and what other people like. Holding someone’s hand too tightly may hurt the other party and causes him or her to feel uncomfortable. Sounds like “ahh, ummm,ohh” can show that you are interested, understand and have compassion which can be encouraging to the other party.
Hence, the awareness of non verbal communication and emotional awareness will allow you to be more sensitive to other people. Effective communication can only be achieved when we can accurately pick up emotional cues others send and respond back with the correct non verbal cues. Therefore, I feel that it is actually important for us to improve our non verbal communication skills to avoid misunderstanding and conflicts. What do you guys think about non verbal cues?
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Hi Liyun!
ReplyDeleteI agree that non-verbal communication speaks louder than words. In fact, so much that it can cloud the verbal part.
In fact, there are times when I receive different non verbal cues and verbal cues, and I didn't know which to trust. More often, I get the impression of insincerity, and it is especially difficult if they are my friends.
Sometimes, non verbal cues also helps to see through the real intentions of the other party, and allows you to prepare for defence against malicious intentions. In this case, they act like clues and indicators.
That is, in my opinion. :)
Munting
Hi Liyun,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really well discussed post. Indeed understanding verbal cues is not an easy task. As though the vast number of non-verbal cues alone were not mind bogging, the same action performed by different people had different meanings too.
For instance, friend A always tends to be in a dazed mode and friend B is highly spirited. One day, both talked in a monotonous voice. Most likely, we will be concerned more about B than A as we are familiar with their character. However, when entering a new work and environment, some situation do not provide us with the luxury to slowly understand each other. Thus, one possible guideline I will use for non-verbal cues is being sensitive towards those which may offend the other party and being less sensitive towards those which suggest ill-intention to self. Easier said than done though, well, let’s just try our best to slowly understand the confusing cues!
Cheers,
Michelle
Hey Liyun,
ReplyDeleteI'm here to complete the picture since both my group members have decided to comment on your blog! I actually liked what you mentioned about non-verbal cues and would like to share an interesting experience regarding this issue.
I used to have a friend back in primary school who suffered from wandering eyes, in other words, he could not really focus on a particular object. Being childish, I used to find it really amusing that he was constantly being reprimanded by teachers for not looking at them when they are talking to him. The teachers did not know about his condition and the poor boy was also embarrassed to talk about it. This was when I realised the importance of maintaining eye contact although I think it was more of the fact that I was afraid of being scolded.
Positive non-verbal cues such as maintaining eye contact are important as it shows the person you are communicating with your interest and concern with what he is trying to say. All the best as you seek to improve your non-verbal actions!
Rgds,
Hanrong
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteThanks for ur stories. I do believe we will always encounter such incidents with non-verbal cues as they are like so part of our lives. Especially like what Hanrong mentioned, i believe eye contact is very important in communicating especially in interviews and presentation. Like i always believe, non verbal is an art....let all try to understand and improve our sensitivity to these cues.
liyun
Dear Li Yun,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my blog post and I have to agree with Michelle that your blog post on non-verbal communication was a well-written one! :)
I have to agree that learning how to interpret non-verbal communication is an extremely important skill. This is a skill that can be learnt and improved upon more interaction with others. Many a times, non-verbal cues are the windows to that offers one an insight into what the other party is thinking. Take for example, when conversing, we can infer that the party is getting defensive when he/she starts to fold his/her arms. Therefore, we can interpret these small little non-verbal cues and aspire to hone our communication skills to a greater level.
Cheers,
Min Huey :)
Hey Liyun,
ReplyDeleteI feel that your extensive discussion on non-verbal cues is interesting and thought provoking. Most often than not, I think that non-verbal cues are sometimes overlooked by people and this might create wrong impressions upon others.
I certainly agree with you that it is important for us to improve on our non-verbal communication skills so as to avoid misunderstanding. Definitely, like what Min Huey said, these skills can be enhanced through more interaction with others. By interacting more with others, we might be more sensitive towards those non-verbal cues which were once difficult to identify. In fact, during my numerous visits to old folk's homes, I learnt that the elderly appreciates the younger ones to hold their hands – a form of touch – as that makes them feel loved.
In addition, I think that it is also important to know the person whom we are interacting with so that non-verbal cues can be applied more appropriately.
Cheers,
Wei Tian
Hi LiYun,
ReplyDeleteHave to agree that this is indeed a well discussed post.
I do agree with you that non verbal communication plays an important role in our lives. One such example is the eye to eye contact when communicating.
There was once when I attended a class, all about non-verbal communication. Since the ES oral presentation is coming, let me share some information that I have learnt during that class regarding eye contact.
The lecturer mentioned something about having eye to eye contact when giving a presentation or when stressing something important. This will make you sound more sincere and polite. And on the other hand, the listener should not do actions like, falling asleep, folding of the arms, yawning etc. These are impolite actions and should be refrained from doing, when listening to the presentation. It will also send the wrong signal to the presenter, saying that the presentation was boring.
So, non verbal communications is a skill to be learnt and it will definitely help us in expressing ourselves more clearly.
Yes i do agree that eye contact is very important during presentation. Being audience we can also nod our head or smile to indicate that we are listening or following. I guess this will make the presenter more confident of what he or she is saying....
ReplyDeleteHi Li Yun!
ReplyDeleteGood job during your presentation today! (:
Well, I didn't know that the researchers have actually classified nonverbal cues into so many different categories. I feel that nonverbal should compliment verbal communication such that the intended meaning is able to be conveyed. This can help minimize misunderstandings.
Your examples about the nonverbal cues relating to different people in different ways is very similar to the Five Love Languages. The five love languages include the following: touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts and quality time. People receive and give these 5 types of love languages in different ways and two people need to understand each others' love language in other to have effective communication.
You can read the book if you want to find out more! (:
Anyway, all of us definitely have to improve on our nonverbal communication skills especially for presentations. Haha! Eye contact is indeed important.
See you next week!
Regards,
Ariana
Dear Ariana,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job today too. Wow...i didn't know abt the 5 love languages maybe it's time for me to do some reading up. Thanks for your sugguestions.
See you next week!