Non-verbal Communication Is One of the Significant Forms of Communication - Essay Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Non-verbal communication is one of the significant forms of communication that people use to express their feelings where verbal communication is inappropriate or may be difficult to apply. A difficult situation may arise when a person is physically impaired to the extent that speaking is impossible. In such cases, the person communicating sends messages through other means such as gesticulation; touching and facial appearance amongst other communication techniques where words are not applied (Peter, 2007 p 23). Dancing is among the non-verbal communication techniques that involve body movements. Other people express themselves through their hand writing, which indicates emotions at the particular time when the person was writing. Non-verbal communication can be significant in helping people to understand themselves as well as their partners. Ullica & Peter (1997 p 67) notes that non-verbal communication has been in use for many years, and it develops depending on the prevailing circumstances whereby need arises leading to the use of non-verbal communication. This essay is a critique of the assertion by Eunson (2008, p. 260) who states that non-verbal communication can be a very powerful tool in understanding ourselves and others. It presents a critical evaluation of the correctness of this statement as well as a practical situation whereby this knowledge has been applied to solve problems in real life. Understanding Ourselves and Others When we communicate some information to other people, we usually expect them to understand and give us a feed back regarding the information they have received. On the other hand, when people communicate to us, they usually expect us to reciprocate to the information we have acquired. Nonverbal communication is significant in situations where words can not be used. For example, how would anyone communicate to a colleague in the quietness of a sorrowful scene such as that of death when everyone else is very quiet? Gesture can be used to indicate that it is time to leave or a sign of understanding when people can not converse loudly. On the other hand, facial expression is very important in understanding the needs or requests that other people make (Ullica & Peter 1997 p 91). Through non-verbal communication, we can understand ourselves depending on how others react to the information that we send to them. For example, if we make a certain gesture and the other person gets annoyed, we realize that we are not using the right approach to in expressing our needs or feelings. If some one responds positively according to the communication that we send, we understand that the person has conceptualized the message in the right way. Mark & Judith (2007 p 41) observe that using non-verbal communication can help in conflict resolution. When other people are not happy with our actions, but they do not want to jeopardize the friendship, it is likely that non-verbal communication will be used to help us understand their feelings. This is an indication that non-verbal communication is a powerful tool for generating understanding between people. Non-verbal communication can be applied to express positive or negative emotions as well as attitudes between people. More over, people are understood better when they use non-verbal communication techniques as they engage in dialogue. They serve as supportive actions to verbal communication, making it easy for other people to understand better. In regard to understanding ourselves, the way we react to certain stimuli in the environment is important in helping us to understand our feelings (Hargie & Dickson, 2004 p 78). For example, the sight of a snake triggers different reactions in different people. However, we may not understand ourselves unless we experience such a situation. When we run or close our eyes as a result of viewing something unusual, we realize our feelings towards that thing. Later on after such an encounter, a person can be confident in letting others know that he/she fears snakes. Before the encounter and the non-verbal communication, we may be unable to communicate our feelings. The use of verbal communication in such a situation may seem as usual, and we may tend to view it as a common reaction towards any exceptional encounter. This may not be clear in trying to understand whether we fear snakes or not, because it is usual to shout at the sight of anything we do not see often. Non-verbal communication also helps us to understand other people’s personality depending on how they present themselves (Floyd & Guerrero, 2006 p 56). In the case of Tina, it is clear that her non-verbal communication indicates that she does not like unnecessary interference with her privacy. Her quietness and lack of enthusiasm in discussions are indicators of her desire to remain alone and to work as an individual. She may not be aware that she communicates a lot to people regarding her social life. The person who demonstrates characteristics of individualism through actions communicates much than the person who uses verbal communication in such matters. She remains quiet because she would like to remain so On the other hand, Hugo is an embarrassment to many people. He accompanies his discussion with unnecessary non-verbal communication that makes other people abhor his conversation. For example, a loud voice when explaining something to other people embarrasses them. They tend to understand him differently from what he is. The loudness is a form of non verbal communication that indicates anger or authoritarian behavior (Floyd & Guerrero, 2006). On the other hand, touching people as he explains a point communicates a lot regarding behavior. People get embarrassed by this habit and understand him differently. In fact, Tina was actually offended by Hugo because of being touched in a manner that she understood to be sexual harassment. Unless Hugo is made to understand that even though he is attractive and possesses characteristics that would make him likeable, his non-verbal communication discourages other people from associating with him to a great extent. More over, Hugo needs to learn to understand other people’s non-verbal communications. He needs to evaluate the reaction of other people to his actions, which will help him to behave in the acceptable manner. Peter, (2007 p 27) observes that it is difficult to tell a colleague verbally regarding his/her behavior. This is the reason why people need to be in a capacity to learn from each other’s non-verbal communication by looking at their response to know how they like or dislike certain actions. If Tina was to file a complaint against Hugo regarding sexual harassment, it might catch Hugo by surprise to know that Tina was embarrassed o such a great extent. However, such a situation can be avoided through observing the reactions of Tina and other people over his habit of touching others in an offensive manner. Conclusion Non-verbal communication is important in helping people to understand themselves as well as others. Observing the reactions of people towards stimuli is significant in understanding them as well as a person’s behavior. Different people use different non-verbal communication techniques to demonstrate their feelings and attitudes towards certain issues and behaviors. It depends on the keenness of the person receiving the information, whether or not the non-verbal communication will be useful. If the message is not understood, the outcome may be undesirable. For example, Tina is planning to file a complaint against Hugo, who fails to understand the impact of his actions on others depending on their response to his behavior. In essence, the assertion by Eunson (2008, p. 260) who states that non-verbal communication can be a very powerful tool in understanding ourselves and others is true. References 1. Eunson, B. (2008). Communicating in the 21st Century, Australia: John Wiley & Sons 2. Floyd, K., & Guerrero, L. K. (2006). Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships, Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 3. Hargie, O. & Dickson, D. (2004). Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. Hove: Routledge 4. Mark K. L., & Judith H. A. (2007). Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction Wadsworth: Thomas Learning. 5. Peter, A. (2007). Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Functions, Waveland Press 6. Ullica S., & Peter M. (1997). Nonverbal Communication: Where Nature Meets Culture, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Read More