Nonverbal Communication in Interpersonal Relations - Book Report/Review Example

Nonverbal Communication in Interpersonal Relationships Supervisor] Nonverbal Communication in Interpersonal Relations A communication process occurring between two or more people with the help of non-verbal cues or speechless communication is referred to as nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is also known as body language and plays a pivotal role in the successful communication or negotiation procedures. Keeping in view the importance of nonverbal communication, I have selected the topic to discuss it with its effectiveness in maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships. For this reason, the author has selected a quantitative research article “Instructor’s perceptions of teaching behaviors, communication apprehension, and student nonverbal responsiveness in the classroom” (Malachowski & Martin, 2011). In their study, Malachowski et al. (2011) aims at exploring the link between instructor’s views of their own nonverbal communication cues along with their trait communication apprehension with their perceptions of their students’ nonverbal responsiveness. For this reason, the researchers have used quantitative model of research work by taking a convenient sample of 302 students in a school. By finding the crux of their findings in alignment with the rhetorical and relational goal theory, the researchers identified that the environment of a classroom depends upon the mindset of the students and teacher. The researchers found that students and teachers initiate their day in the classroom with particular rhetorical and relational goals. The basic variables set for this study are as following: 1. Nonverbal immediacy of instructors 2. Confirming behavior of the instructors, and 3. Caring behavior of the instructors. The dependent variable set for this study is the instructor’s approach towards the nonverbal cues delivered by the students. It has been confirmed by the contemporary analysis of the statistical data retrieved that students perceive their needs are more satisfied when the instructor’s nonverbal cues are more immediate, confirming and reflects a caring behavior. These findings are justified by the basic idea presented in the Rhetorical and Relational Goal theory. The results also reflected that instructors with low trait communication apprehension finds their students as delivering messages with the help of nonverbal cues. In this manner, it can be asserted that the level of communication apprehension determines how instructor is going to behave with the students and what kind of response he/she would expect from the students. On the other hand, another finding of this study is that instructors with the positive approach towards students receive more of the nonverbal communication from the students. To clarify, it can be suggested that instructors with more nonverbal immediacy, caring behavior and confirmation to their gestures found students nonverbally active in the classroom. Herein, it can be inferred that the instructor’s relational behavior has a deep influence on student’s mindset, as to how they should communicate with the instructor. Malachowski et al. (2011) stated, “If an instructor is able to enact The relational behaviors of nonverbal immediacy, confirmation, and caring, they may also be successful in eliciting student nonverbal responsiveness. Thus, this study highlights the importance of instructors’ communication as it may impact the communication they receive back from students” (Malachowski & Martin, 2011). The results of the study also reflects that the students who depend more on communicating nonverbally, they take more interest in the classroom lecture than the students who prefer to speak their ideas and understanding of the lecture. Students who communicate nonverbally are also found to be more active in the classroom as they enjoy their time in the class, which results in better results delivered by these students. Similarly, instructors who have a majority of their students depending upon nonverbal communication are found to be more active and involved in the classroom. Instructors also stated that they feel more satisfied while teaching the students who prefer not to interrupt the instructor during lecture delivery. To give a real life example of the concepts presented in the discussion above, the researcher will discuss his interpersonal relation with the class of internees he train at the workplace. As a trainer of fresh and studying graduates, the researcher is designated to polish their presentation skills. It has been observed that when an important lecture is being delivered to the students, the lecturer does not like to be interfered. Due to curiosity and the urgency to learn new presentation skills, students find it inevitable to ask questions to clarify their concepts. Moreover, the researcher finds it difficult to understand the environment of the class as he does not allow questioning during the class or make eye contact with the internees. The results presented for the research work selected for this paper reflects that students who depend more on communicating nonverbally, they take more interest in the classroom lecture than the students who prefer to speak their ideas and understanding of the lecture. Students who communicate nonverbally are also found to be more active in the classroom as they enjoy their time in the class, which results in better results delivered by these students. Similarly, instructors who have a majority of their students depending upon nonverbal communication are found to be more active and involved in the classroom. Instructors also stated that they feel more satisfied while teaching the students who prefer not to interrupt the instructor during lecture delivery. In this manner, the researcher will have a better understanding of the environment and the mood of the students and find it easier to predict how the lecture can be delivered to the internees efficiently. Similarly, these findings can also be applied on other relations of the researcher. For example, the researcher can use nonverbal cues with his family to communicate feelings, warn about potential threats or carrying out an enquiry. In a social setting, the researcher can use nonverbal use to judge the personality of the peoples in discussion. Form the formation of a nonverbal communication habit; it will become easier for the researcher to how to be able to communicate effectively with the team members, family members and society. As mentioned above nonverbal communication cues are one of the basis on which an individual is able to enhance teamwork. From the analysis of benefits described pertaining to nonverbal communication in interpersonal relationships, it has been observed that the communication medium is effective in restoring the trust of the communicators. Theories in psychology have reflected upon the human psychology, and how it influences the level of trust maintained in a communication or negotiation process. For example, if a father is enquiring his son about his involvement in a recent accident, the father will focus on the facial expression of his son. If the facial expressions of the son are panicked or shaking, the father will understand that his son is guilty of his involvement in the accident but does not want to admit about it. Another example can be of a lecturer delivering notes on the history of the world to the students. If the lecturer’s oral communication is not supported by his nonverbal cues, the students will not understand the formation of the world and initiation of life on Earth. On the other hand, if the lecturer keeps students engaged with the lecture by making eye contact with each student one by one, he will be successful in maintain attention level amongst the students. Keeping in view the ideas and concepts presented to support the idea that nonverbal communication increases the effectiveness of the communication message, it can be asserted that with wrong facial expressions, the whole crux of the discussion can be lost. Moreover, the movement of the body during a communication process helps the participants to judge each other’s intentions. Reference List Malachowski, C. C., & Martin, M. M. (2011). Instructors’ Perceptions of Teaching Behaviors, Communication Apprehension, and Student Nonverbal Responsiveness in the Classroom. Communication Research Report, 28(2), 141-150. Read More