Demonstrative Communication - Essay Example

 Generally, communication can be defined as a form of interaction through which individuals send and receive messages amongst themselves and there must be a sender and a receiver for it to take place. Over the past centuries, humans have come up with other ways to communicate through not only written text and spoken words but symbols, colors and body language among others (Calero, 2005). One form of communication is demonstrative communication, which mainly involves nonverbal and unwritten communication such as tone of voice, facial expression and body language among others. Krueger (2008) posits that nonverbal communication is communicating without words but through various channels. Mostly, nonverbal communication is associated with body language, but the truth is, it also involves facial movements and vocal features (Krueger, 2008). In most cases, individuals tend to communicate non-verbally through body language and facial expressions. For instance, some people perceive yawning or stretching arms as a sign of tiredness. This paper discusses demonstrative communication, its effectiveness and ineffectiveness as well as its positive and negative impacts for the sender and receiver while communicating. More so, it covers how this form of communication includes listening and responding. Demonstrative communication involves non-verbal and unwritten communications and facial expressions are the most popular among all forms of nonverbal communication. Facial expressions and body movements enable individuals to successfully communicate with those around them (Sonneborn, 2012). Sometimes, demonstrative communication reinforces verbal communication in that, dressing appropriately tells a lot about the speaker especially during a presentation. This communication type can be done by nonverbal action such as a smile, stretching arms, and waving among others. A person can perceive facial expressions as positive or negative depending on the type of facial expression used. For example, a smile is always considered a positive communication. More so, the speaker’s tone of voice is another form of positive communication and this depends on how the audience perceives the tone voice. On the contrary, demonstrative communication can as well pass a negative message, for instance, the receiver could receive frowning or aggressive tone of voice as negative. In addition, body language is an important tool used by individuals to communicate and interact with others. For instance, eye contact is an important quality as it assists in expressing confidence and that the speaker is knowledgeable in certain subjects at hand, and so looking down at the floor shows lack of confidence and knowledge and so it is viewed as negative body language. Tone of voice also play a significant role in the delivery of the message, that it, delivering a positive message involves using a non-confrontational and pleasant tone of voice whereas negative message involves yelling or fast talking. Nonverbal communication is a very important form of communication as it allows individuals in different settings to use and communicate with each other through numerous signals. Either the body language used can send information positively or negatively which may in turn leads to the creation of a sense of interest and trust or disinterest and distrust respectively. The body movements help in expressing emotions, feelings as well as attitude towards certain information (Sonneborn, 2012). Demonstrative communication is positive when it involves active listening, which is an important part of positive communication because when people listen; attentively, there will be an effective communication between the sender and the receiver. On the contrary, it becomes negative because of lack of eye contact, negative facial expressions like yawning or frowning, and inappropriate tone of voice. In addition, demonstrative communication can act as a backup for verbal communication, that is, verbal communication only involves speaking words and getting the point across as the sender of the message, but demonstrative communication like tone of voice can be useful in encouraging the receivers to openly and actively participate in the discussion. More so, the tone of voice and eye contact may inform receivers how important or serious the conversation is. Agreeably, demonstrative communication is considered effective when the information has been positively displayed and ineffective when displayed negatively. Therefore, some of the effective ways for a sender and receiver to communicate in a more effective manner include sending the right message, ensuring that the information received is correct, and also ensuring that the message sent is comprehended and understood appropriately by the receiver. On the other hand, demonstrative communication becomes ineffective when a person is vague. For instance, ineffective demonstrative communication occurs when the information sent is not understood, clear and concise. Furthermore, demonstrative communication not only involves nonverbal communication but also listening and responding. Active listening is very important to be able to follow and successfully interpret the signs used by the sender while communicating. Active listeners tend to understand the message and the emotion behind it (Collins and O'Rourke, 2009). In demonstrative communication, active listening entails paying attention and acknowledging the information from the sender and so receivers are expected to give undivided attention during the communication process in order to understand and comprehend the message effectively. Normally, the receiver nods the head as an indication that they are attentive and understands the message. Moreover, providing feedback is obviously responding to the message and so in demonstrative communications, individuals provide feedback or responds by reflecting on what the receiver said. In conclusion, demonstrative communication is a form of communication that mainly involves the use of nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language to pass information. This form of communication enables individuals to communicate and interact with one another though numerous signals. Positive demonstrative communication involves active listening and attention whereas negative demonstrative communication includes lack of eye contact, negative facial expression and aggressive tone of voice among others. Therefore, demonstrative communication is effective when the message is positively displayed, properly understood and comprehended by the receiver, and ineffective when the message is negatively portrayed and vague. Lastly, demonstrative communication involves listening and responding in the form of paying attention and reflection on the sender’s message respectively. References Calero, H. H. (2005). The power of non-verbal communication: What you do is more important than what you say. Los Angeles, Calif: Silver Lake Pub. Collins, S. D., and O'Rourke, J. S. (2009). Interpersonal communication: Listening and responding. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Krueger, J. (2008). Nonverbal Communication. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Sonneborn, L. (2012). Nonverbal communication: The art of body language. New York: Rosen Pub. Read More