Importance Of Nonverbal Communication - Research Paper Example

Importance Of Nonverbal Communication "The dress doesn't define a Monk", this sentence seems to be ancient folk expression , even today, more than ever true . Too often we stop at appearances , judging a person based on his physical appearance , or on the basis of the clothes he/she wears . These judgments , too often , do not reflect in any way the reality . "why do people judge others on appearance", by M. Farouk Radwan, "One popular psychological fact states that if you met a person who was really nice and interesting then most probably you will think that all of those who look like him to be interesting people". The physical aspect is the “first impression”, and many people will stop at the surface, basing their judgment only on what they see, because the first thing you see is the look. It is interesting that in different human societies there exist particularly rules regarding feelings, which are ingrained in the societal fabric. Body movements like postures, gestures, facial expressions, eye behavior, touching and any other visible movement of the body limbs determines impression-based judgement. Gestures play a big part in revealing how a person is feeling. The rate at which people gesture varies with the level of excitement or enthusiasm and this makes it a nonverbal communication (Hickson, 2010). It is from such societal rules regarding emotions and feelings that the concept of emotional labor emerges (Wolffhechel, 2014). Emotional labor describes the form of labor in which human individuals, particularly workers, engage in for purposes of creating and exhibiting feelings and emotions that are deemed appropriate and fitting to their job specifications. This is regardless of the fact that the feelings that are produced and displayed are very detached or undemonstrative of the workers’ real personal feelings. In many commercial organizations of the twenty first century, workers are aware of the fact that their personal feelings or sentiments have little significant at their work places. Feelings are amongst the unique features that depict humanity. In addition to being used in the creation, preservation and regulation of social relationships, emotions also play a very important role in the management of conflicts and the initiation of social transformation. The concept of commoditization of feelings describes the tendencies by individuals in the modern day to transform feelings into products or commodities that may either be purchased or sold. Arlie Hochschild created the concept of “impression-based judgment of feelings” in her book entitled The Managed Heart. The main concern of Hochschild (2012) in coming up with the concept of “commoditization of feelings” is the examination and description of the manner in which human individuals regulate their feelings and emotions for purposes of managing the impressions that they have on others around them. Individuals in the modern day are very concerned about the image and impression that they present particularly in their encounters and interactions with other people. According to Hochschild (2012, p. 24) “emotional cues” are very important elements in the management of human feelings. No deeper knowledge is judged based on what we have in front of our eyes. In addition, this first impression is so powerful that it makes us ignore anything that we become aware of or that the person will be there shortly thereafter. The less time we have to form a judgment about the other person , the more likely that we listen to our tummy , which is what our instinct tells us. According to the article," Why we shouldn't judge People on first Impressions", "Surpassing fashion or social rules, in the end, personality is what remains because fashion is as personal as whatsapp messages or the meaning of our emotional tattoos". How, precisely, boys, young people who are not taken to work because of their tattoos are too exposed possibly to many. This is because people judge others based by appearance, after analyzing their appearance they then associate the individuals who have tattoos are people: disreputable, dubious and often unclean, are always frowned upon and criticized (Arndt, 2013). Facial expressions convey a lot of information and complement the verbal communication. The look that a person has on their face and movement of a person’s head can pass the message of approval, disapproval or disbelief (Hickson, 2010). Facial expressions like smiling can represent warmth and happiness. In the workplace, these kinds of expressions can be used inappropriately and made to define new meanings that can make other employees uncomfortable. They are forbidden to perform certain jobs because it seems to create discomfort, which than inhibits a sense of distrust in the people who encounter them. People judge mainly on the basis of appearance and do not take into account the fact that maybe not all people who have tattoos are rude and irresponsible , but that can also be good people, good at their jobs , and even good kind to everyone. The most important premise on which the idea of commoditization of feelings is based is that in the contemporary world individuals- particularly those acting on the commercial arena- are constantly engaged in the process of buying and selling feelings. It is for this reason that the term “commoditization” is utilized. In the present days, individuals in different parts of the world have increased access to information on different topics; this is due to the proliferation of network technology and communication systems which make it easier to pass information from one part of the world to another. It is important to note that the term “commodity” describes any product that may be purchased or sold; labor, bread and cars are examples of the most commonly bought commodities in the twenty first century. Individuals selling their labor, find it offensive to be perceived in the same manner as any inanimate commodity would be perceived. Therefore, workers or people who offer their labor for pay are expected to produce and exhibit feelings that are appropriate and effective in making their customers or clientele more satisfied with the services or products offered (Hopkins, 2014). According to Appelrouth and Edles (2010), commoditization of feelings has different salience for individuals in different social classes and career lines. Hochschild (2012) posits that individuals are commonly required to engage in emotional labor. This describes the unpaid for production and/or inhibition of feelings that workers have to engage in the performance of their job-related tasks. Emotion work is one of the most important responsibilities for workers, particularly in the service sector; this is particularly because while there has been a decline in the manufacturing sector in the last few years, the service sector has grown tremendously (Hochschild, 2012). Workers in the service sector include teachers, call center executives, airport workers, nursing home workers, social welfare officers and day-care center workers, just to name but a few. Such workers labor emotionally since they are always expected to be energetic, respond to unpleasant situations amicably and always remain cheerful at work. The concept of impression-based judgment of feelings may be illustrated in many different scenarios. It is noteworthy that while some workplaces and job specifications accord little significance to the personal feelings of workers, other jobs require workers to produce and display certain kinds of emotions that are perceived as being appropriate. In the air transport industry for example, flight attendants and air hosts and hostesses are expected to be very cheerful, friendly and hospitable to passengers who board their planes. Such workers are always expected to wear a smile on their faces and depict special extra concern for the wellbeing, safety and conform of passengers. Hochschild (2012, p. 7) claims that in most planes “Drinks [are]served not only with a smile but with concerned enquiry such as, “Anything else I can get you, madam?” The atmosphere [in such planes] is that of a civilized party…Once or twice inspectors test the stewardesses by being deliberately exacting, but they [are] never aroused and at the end of the flight they line up to say farewell with undiminished brightness…(Hochschild, 2012, p. 7). Hochschild (2012) asserts that in order to remain composed and cheerful in spite of the exacting nature of some passengers, the flight attendants have to engage in emotional labor. In so doing, the flight attendants are actually transforming their feelings into commodities that are exchanged for their salaries or remuneration. Many different careers require workers to have very high abilities and competencies in the management of their feelings. Hochschild (2012) purports that one such type of worker, is a court judge. Many a times, the judges in courts of laws are presented with very troubling and disconcerting pieces of evidence aimed at proving that atrocities such as rape, murder, dismemberment and torture have been perpetrated by the accused. Because of such experience, law court judges have to manage any feelings of repulsion, anger, pity and horror so that they can perform their duties objectively, impartially and according to the laid down laws. The nonverbal communication is essentially very important because the likelihood of lies being contained in them is minimal as they reflect the sincerity of the message being conveyed. They are unconsciously conveyed, in most instances, hence, they are not easy to manipulate or change. Just like the use of the other language communication processes, people use nonverbal communication. This type of communication comes in many forms and can be classified into four main forms, kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage and chronemics (Hickson, 2010). These classifications are very important in trying to understand appropriate use of nonverbal communications and existing inappropriate nonverbal communications in an organization. According to Hickson (2010), eye contact in a strong facilitator of communication and a very common nonverbal cue used in the society. It can be used to define the beginning and the end of a conversation. It conveys emotions and can be used to solicit feedback from the listener. Posture is a nonverbal cue that can signify the attitude of the listener concerning the message being conveyed to them or the person conveying the message. When the posture is leaning towards the message conveyor then the attitude towards the message or the person conveying the message is favorable, while leaning away, shows a bad attitude. The society now is very much concerned with the nonverbal communication and a scrutiny is being paid to nonverbal cues (Hancock, 2014). The mode of dressing is another nonverbal cue that speaks a lot about a personality. The dressing mode can apply in two ways, to the employees and how they dress, and how the leaders of the organization dress. Dressing mode defines personality and how the leaders dress reflects their leadership status. A leader should be dressed in such a way that when a person walks into a room, they can point them out as the leader of the group. Inappropriate use of dressing mode to communicate nonverbal cues is when an employee dresses in clothes that are not considered professional in nature. This can pass wrong message to the other employees and generate conflict (Hickson, 2010). Proxemics is the way people perceive and use the space around them or the one provided for them. This includes, sitting arrangement, personal space and physical space. There exist a personal space zones in the U.S that can be defined according to their categories. Intimate zone is 0 to 2 feet and is a very close proximity. Personal zone is 2 to 4 feet, which means that the people in this zone are fairly, acquainted with each other. Social zone is 4 to 12 feet which means that the persons within this zone are not acquainted to each other but there is a definite reason for them to communicate with each other Paralanguage consists of variation in speech; voice quality, volume, tempo and pitch. This can also include laughing, yawning and burping. All of these convey a certain message to the message receiver and only some are actually appropriate in a business setting. Shouting and using high pitch tones are not necessary in the business organisation as they fuel emotions and tempers. Professionalism is to be accompanied with rationality and that means that a message can be conveyed using most appropriate forms and shouting is not one of them effective means. Yawning and burping are inappropriate ways of nonverbal communication and they do not conform to the office etiquette. Chronemics is concerned with the use of time. Being late or early and keeping others waiting, conveys a message about an individual which may mean carelessness, lack of ambition, disrespect and responsibility. It is considered inappropriate for an employee to be attending meetings late, arriving to work late and not being able to manage time properly. Performance and time are inseparable as time management is hinged to the performance of an organization. The more efficiently an organization manages its time, the higher the production it achieves. Effective and efficient use of time reduces the cost of production. According to Schildkrout (1999), the desire for artistic creation and manifestation has always been in existence since the immemorial days of man’s conception. The discovery of printings aged more than thirty thousand years old point out the fact that the human body has been in use as a canvas for long time. The earliest forms of body representations include body piercings, tattooing, teeth removal or modification and ceramic figurines for the example the Egyptian mummies. In almost all human civilizations, the people reshaped and adorned their bodies in one way or the other, and for different reasons. In the recent days, there are more technologically advanced methods of body modification. Schildkrout (1999) continues to state that there are different reasons for the myriad forms of body representations that are used by individuals. Body art in the past days was used to communicate the accomplishments, social status and cultural dispensations of an individual; scarification, removal of certain front teeth and head shaping could either place a person among the elites or common folks depending on their cultural customs, traditions and beliefs. Scarification, very common in the sub-Saharan Africa, is a very painful ordeal similar to modern day surgical treatments. Foot binding, despite the great pain and body distortion that accompanied it, was considered prestigious among the ancient China people. The Karen people of Thailand, who view long necks as a show of beauty, ornament their women’s necks with brace rings, not considering the great discomfort it causes. Body representation was also used to recognize individuals with the aim of either accepting or alienate them. Contemporarily the body representations used in different parts of the world includes body paintings, scarification and tattooing. This could be for religious purposes, beauty or just simple experimentation. It is also significant to note that false impression exists in the advertising industry. For one, advertisers have the ability to focus more on the positive side of a product or a commodity. They have the power to ensure that consumers of a particular product are only aware of the positives of a commodity. For instance, automobile brands adverts communicate to customers how their products have extra safety, comfy, and style. Similarly, food ads will concentrate on convenience and taste. The same case applies to cigarette adverts that will communicate flavor and lifestyle. Most consumers make decisions using the information provided in the advertisements. This means that they are normally oblivious of the negative effects related to the consumption of a particular product or service. Those who are smart enough are forced to look for more information elsewhere to be able to know all about the product in question. In the end, some may find that the product or service in question will do them more harm than good. On the contrary those who do not have such information stand to suffer the consequences after consuming or purchasing the product. The plain truth is that no product lacks a wrong side. At least, a product will have one or more shortcomings that are never communicated to the consumer. However, advertisers or marketing managers in companies and organizations do not provide such information to consumers knowing that this may lead to no one consuming them. This means that they manipulate consumers to purchase the products despite the knowledge that they may affect them in a negative way. There are a number of products that are known to have negative effects or faults. For instance, tobacco is known to have negative effects to the health of those who consume it. People who consume tobacco are at high risk of becoming cancerous. This is a deadly disease that can lead to one losing a part of his or her body or even death. Tobacco producers advertise the product as cool and enable people to improve their moods (Yu, Saleem & Gonzalez, 2014). Good things are mentioned about the product making it hard for one to realize their negative effects. At the end of tobacco adverts, the advertiser mentions that excessive consumption of the same is harmful to one’s health. One can easily argue that this message warns people on the dangers of tobacco. This is true to some extent. However, the fact that it is delivered after many positives of the product means that only a few people may get the chance to hear it (Smith, 2014). Some may even choose to ignore it. Equally, food products with high calories, saturated fats, and sodium cause heart diseases. Automobiles can also lead to accidents that even take someone’s life. However, advertisers are very keen to leave such information out considering the impact it will have their ability to convince people to consume or purchase their products (Todorov & Porter, 2014). Companies and organizations have the obligation to ensure that their products and services do not harm the society. Nonetheless, most of them have neglected this obligation as they are consumed by the desire to make more and more profits. It is common knowledge that no company, organization, or business wishes to look bad in the eyes of their potential consumers (Fairfax, 2014). As such, each one strives to positive image, as this is imperative for its survival on the market. A negative image can easily lead to a business exiting the market, as customers may not be willing to do business with a company that has a tarnished name considering the fact that they associate the name with its products. This is one of the main reasons to why most companies chose not to provide potential customers with whole information in relation to their products and services. They also work under the assumption that a customer may not realize the negative effects as he or she will be consumed by the positives. This means that they feed on people’s ignorance to serve their own interests as opposed to protecting the interests of the society (Olivola & Todorov, 2010). If materialism and consumerism was that good to the society, then advertisers ought to give information on both the positive effects and negative effects of their products or services. This will give consumers caution hence their clear understanding of what they getting their self into. With this being the case, they will be able to make informed decisions on whether or not they will consume a particular product. This is as opposed to making the decision to purchase or consume a certain product only to regret at a later stage. Essentially, consumerism is only interested in influencing purchase and nothing else (Dotinga, 2014). Workers in different commercial platforms of the 21st century are also expected to engage in emotional labor that is characterized by the management of feelings. This is because while in their lines of duty, workers experience different emotions and feelings that must be well managed. In the present day commercial arenas, many business leaders and managers have realized that the concept of commoditization of labor, particularly emotional labor, may be utilized effectively as a means of gaining competitive advantage over rivals in the markets. Hochschild (2012) argues that in order to exact emotional labor, workers have to engage in both surface and deep acting. In ensuring that their surface acting is impeccable, workers in the service industry engage their bodies [not their souls or inner selves] in order to present their customers with the “appropriate” display of emotions and feelings. When engaging in deep acting, workers have to directly exert great effort in order to display the emotions and feelings that are expected of them. References Appelrouth, S. & Edles, L. D. (2010). Sociological Theory in the Contemporary Era: Text and Readings. Pine Forge Press, pp. 249-255. Arndt, A., Harrison, D. M., Lane, M. A., Seiler, M. J., & Seiler, V. L. (2013). “Can Agents Influence Property Perceptions Through Their Appearance and Use of Pathos?” Housing Studies, 28(8), 1105-1116. doi:10.1080/02673037.2013.802292 Dotinga, R. (2014, July 28). “Facial Dimensions May Be Key to First Impressions.” HealthDay Consumer News Service. Hancock, D. (2014). “First Impressions.” Australian Geographic, (122), 32-37. Hickson, M. (2010). Nonverbal communication: Studies and applications. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Hochschild, A. R. (2012). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling (20th Edition). London: University of California Press. Hopkins, A. F. (2014, February 16). “Apparel, appearance form first impression.” Charleston Gazette, The (WV). Olivola, C. Y., & Todorov, A. (2010). “Fooled by first impressions? Reexamining the diagnostic value of appearance-based inferences.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46(2), 315-324. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.12.002 Schildkrout, E. (2000). Body Art as Visual Language. New York. Smith, D. J. (2014). “Overcoming first impressions and misconceptions.” Grand Rapids Business Journal, 32(10), 9. Todorov, A., & Porter, J. M. (2014). “Misleading First Impressions: Different for Different Facial Images of the Same Person.” Psychological Science (Sage Publications Inc.), 25(7), 1404-1417. doi:10.1177/0956797614532474 Wolffhechel, K., Fagertun, J., Jacobsen, U. P., Majewski, W., Hemmingsen, A. S., Larsen, C. L., & Jarmer, H. (2014). “Interpretation of Appearance: The Effect of Facial Features on First Impressions and Personality.” Plos ONE, 9(9), 1-8. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107721 Yu, M., Saleem, M., & Gonzalez, C. (2014). “Developing trust: First impressions and experience.” Journal of Economic Psychology, 43:16-29. doi:10.1016/j.joep.2014.04.004 Read More