Non Verbal Communication - Essay Example

Examples of non-verbal communication are with the inclusion of eye contact, vocal nuance, gestures, intonation, facial expressions, proximity, glance, smell, posture, and sounds among others. From a broader perspective non-verbal language is divided into two kinds. These are; those non-verbal messages that are generated from the body and the non-verbal messages that emanate from the broad setting like space, time and silence. This communication form is a major factor of the vital factors of communication and it is highly essential in high-context cultures. (andrews.edu, 2011) Merits of Non-verbal Communication Applications of this communication kind are numerous and several are mentioned in this aforementioned website.

These include the use of non-verbal communication to accent verbal messages, repeat verbal messages, regulate interactions, substitute verbal messages, and complement verbal messages. Accenting may refer to the utilisation of non-verbal communication like verbal tones. One can repeat verbal messages in a non-verbal way like frowning to show disgust. Regulation of interactions may refer to the scenario where non-verbal cues may be used to indicate to a person when they should speak or stop speaking.

Substituting of verbal communication may applicable in situations like a noisy environment that blocks verbal communication resulting to usage of gestures to pass on messages. Lastly, complementing may be a situation like the usage of hand gestures to stress points that have been communicated verbally. (andrews.edu, 2011) Non-verbal communication is very vital. In actual sense it came into use before verbal communication. It is actually referred to as silent type of language which is normally not formally taught and which came into existence way before the invention of language.

It is a universal kind of communication, though it may differ with certain cultures, apart from the persons that are autistic. According to Calero, in his book, non-verbal communication was in use way before the invention of formal spoken languages. In fact he puts it as thousands of years. Despite the fact that this form of communication has not had a lot of researchers interest, it has been in use by many populations across the globe as way of communicating attitudes, thoughts, notions and emotions.

Despite its having been a major form of communication in the world for a long time, people have not taken time to research on the meanings portrayed by this form of communication as Calero puts it in his book. (Calero, 2005 pp1, 2) Non-verbal communication is very important in every day’s communication. Most people consider it as a form of distinct speech and that it is basically applied in the passing of the message of interpersonal relationships and emotion. Thus, it can be said to speak louder than words.

However, it is very essential to note the fact that non-verbal communication has to go in tandem with speech or verbal forms of communication. They cannot generally be separated, but artificially it is a possibility. By artificially, it means that use of non-verbal communication like gestures (such as hand gestures) may also be viewed as the usage of words as audible ways of sending messages. Non-verbal communication is, therefore, seen as a very integral part of the normal natural language that humans use.

(nortonmedia.com, 2011) Negativities of Using Non-verbal Communication Various forms of non-verbal com