The adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" helps illustrate how important the nonverbal aspects are in human communication. We get information from what we see as well as what we hear. A person's physical presentation when speaking, whether in a public setting or in casual conversation, tells us as much about his meaning as do his actual words. Nonverbal communication is made up of hundreds of nuances involving the body, face and voice.
Definition
When you speak to someone face to face, you give her information about your message not only through your words but also through physical aspects. Dr. Edward Wertheim of Northeastern University says nonverbal communication does one of five things: it reiterates, contradicts, replaces, complements or enhances your spoken words. For example, charismatic public speakers use expression, tone and gestures to convey that they are trustworthy, sincere and confident in their message.
Importance
Letters, emails, text messages and other forms of written communication are nonverbal, but they can't carry the same nuances as face-to-face nonverbal communication. It is hard to convey tone in an online forum. This led to widespread use of emoticons, or "smiley faces," in texting and online conversation. Scott Fahlman of the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science says he invented the smiley face emoticon in 1982 to represent joking on an online bulletin board, because unnecessary arguments often followed a post intended to be witty but misinterpreted as rude. Emoticons illustrate the importance of nonverbal communication.
Vocal Components
Vocal components are one of the most important aspects of nonverbal communication, and the only one involved in a phone conversation. The tone of your voice suggests the meaning behind your message. For example, a sarcastic tone usually indicates that you mean the opposite of what you actually say. Other vocal components include volume, speed, silence and sound symbols such as "umm."
Facial Expression
Because listeners often focus on the face when someone is speaking, facial expression is perhaps the second-most important element of nonverbal communication. The muscles of the face express emotion, such as anger, sadness, disgust, surprise and joy. Skilled speakers can control many of their facial movements to conceal their real emotions and present their message sincerely, even if it is not. For example, judicious use of eye contact conveys trustworthiness. However, according to the Forensic Psychology Lab at Dalhousie University, there are some subtle facial expressions that humans cannot fake or control, called microexpressions. These microexpressions appear on the face for a brief flash but are unmistakable when viewed as frame-by-frame video footage.
Body Language
Body language is perhaps the most-complex component of nonverbal communication, simply because it involves so many aspects. Body language includes proximity to the listener, posture and gestures as well as body motions such as shrugging, nodding and tilting the head. You should use gestures carefully, because what is acceptable in one culture might be offensive in another. For example, a hand raised with the palm facing the listener means "stop" in some Western cultures, but is extremely insulting in Turkey and some African nations.
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