Humans rely on non-verbal communication every day. A tilt of the shoulder or a raising of the eyebrow quickly communicates to a spouse that he may have ventured into dangerous territory. Your boss's posture when she asks you to step into her office can spell doom or indicate you're getting that promotion you've been hoping for. The signals can be difficult to interpret, however, and exercises can help you become a better communicator and a more astute observer.
Statue Building
Statue building requires two people and a modicum of open space, say the middle of a large living room or classroom. One person is the builder and the other is the statue. The rest of the group must call out emotions, like "anger," "love" or "disappointment," for example. The statue builder must manipulate the body of the statue in a way that effectively communicates that emotion without words.
Mirroring
Mirroring is an exercise often used in acting classes to establish a bond between actors. It is meant to enhance the connection between the two by causing them to rely only on body movements to anticipate what the other is doing.
Stand face to face with a partner and designate one person as the leader. The follower must mimic the movement of the leader as closely as possible. Switch roles so that both participants get used to leading and following. Next, try the exercise with no leader. Each person must anticipate and follow the movement of the other, working together in a dance. Try telegraphing your moves to your partner using facial expressions or body language until you achieve a balance between giving and receiving, and you are connected and communicating but using no words.
Group Role Playing
Miming actions without speaking may not seem like the kind of non-verbal communication that you must master, but imagine yourself in a foreign country, unable to speak the local language. Getting around, finding a bathroom or ordering something to eat depends upon your ability to communicate without speaking.
Try an exercise where the group is divided in two. The actors must mimic a list of activities, and the guessers must identify that activity. The activities can be written down beforehand and drawn from a hat. They should represent a range of simple to more complicated maneuvers.
Back-to-Back
One way to internalize the importance of non-verbal communication is to speak to or listen to your partner without looking at one another. Start by standing back-to-back so you are touching your partner, and have one person recount a story from the day's events or from childhood or whatever you choose. While you are connected back-to-back, you will feel your partner as he gestures and moves during the telling, but you won't have the benefit of seeing his facial expressions. Try to guess at the emotions the speaker is feeling as he communicates the story, and identify what emotions you feel as you listen.
Do the exercise again, but try is standing several feet apart. This time, there will be no physical cues and no expressions to help you. Compare notes afterward to see if you perceived the emotions of the story in the same way that the speaker intended them.
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