The Role of Nonverbal Communication in Effective Communication

Communication is extremely important in life. It makes it simple to share knowledge and build relationships. For example, the socialization process begins at home at an early age, professors share their knowledge with their students and corporations exchange information with their employees and customers. Therefore, communication should not be underestimated. Communication is the back bone of any relationship anywhere from family, friends, co- workers, even strangers. People communicate with people and even pets in various forms every day. Gestures are made with the body, arms and hands it also include movements of the head, face, mouth and eyes, such as winking, nodding, blowing a kiss or rolling one's eyes. Learning how to communicate effectively will make lives better. The style in which people communicate affect and shape the way people feel and speak more than imagined.

The eyes are often called “the windows of the soul” as they can send many non-verbal signals. The eyes are powerful communicators of feelings including easiness and uneasiness. As an example, Genie a girl that was abused and tied to a potty-chair found at age thirteen was never exposed to any form of contact except when she was fed by her parents. With a mind of a one-year-old, one of the only ways to communicate was with her eyes. Sadness, confusion, and a look of being frightened was all those eyes would reveal. Most of the time, Genie would avoid eye contact and shy away communicating fear of socializing. Although Genie wasn’t social and was extremely timid, her look would also show sweetness and innocence and couldn’t help making people feel compassion over her. Not everyone can tell a lie without either getting caught or making it obvious they’re lying. A research Kang Lee did on “Can you really tell if a kid is lying” revealed that some of the best liars are little humans as early as age two and get better as they get older.

The researcher asked children to play a card game and in between the game they were asked not to peek at cards when researcher stepped out of the room. More than ninety percent of children lied about not peeking. They were so good at looking at researcher straight in the eye and not looking around when answering questions. It is also said that lying is a typical stage of development. Kang Lee also stated that there are two key ingredients to make a good lie. First ingredient is mind reading, the ability to know people have diverse knowledge. Second ingredient is to be able to control their facial expression, their speech, and body language also known as self-control. The ability of mind- reading and having self-control is easier for young children and makes it easier for them to lie. Extended eye contact lasts about three to five seconds, forming a bond between two people. Eye communication is key, in order to engage an audience as a speaker. It makes the presentation more like a conversation which makes it feel more interesting. Engaged eye communication results in a successful and contentment experience in communicating. In contrast, an eye roll is disregarding what the other person says or thinks; which indicates a put-down. Visual communication is in paired with the body signs and gestures. Body language is the unspoken element of communication that people use to reveal feelings and emotions. Body language is known to affect how people see and judge others. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy discusses how posture can change the way people feel about themselves and how they are perceived by others. A good posture is standing tall and proud. It is called a high power pose; this would be lifting the chin slightly up and standing straight.

This pose will make one feel and seem powerful and confident and ready for any presentation. Posture reveals it all. There is a lot of hidden communication through posture. It offers signs about character, self-worth, and mood. The wonder women pose is another powerful pose. Standing tall, posing with both arms on hips makes anyone appear big. It takes someone from looking submissive to looking self-confident. This posture should be done in private before an interview, or perhaps a presentation making anyone feel self-assured. “Change your posture for two minutes… it could significantly change the way your life unfolds.”- Amy Cuddy A sad case of poor body language would be of Genie, the girl with the “bunny walk”. She walked hunched over and unsteady, had poor motor skills, lacked of body communication skills and was extremely antisocial due to her traumatizing life. After being under several studies and educational one on one therapy she started showing responsiveness; she had and intense way to explorer, exploring tactically putting things against her face sniffing and blowing on things that were new to her. That was Genies way of exploring new things to her, and communicating to the world with her strange body language that she is new to absolutely everything. Body language is important because people get judged by nonverbal behavior and because body language may shape an individual.

The posture displayed by any individual communicates a variation of messages whether good or bad Effective verbal communication includes more than just talking. Communication is defined as, 'a process of transferring information from one individual to another'. A conversation over the phone, a speech or face- to face. Spoken conversations or discussions are judged by volume, tone and even the speed and clearness of speaking. Speaking is an active way of communicating and helps in expressing thoughts, knowledge and emotions in words. As an example, using effective verbal communication, professionals can give presentations or lectures to convey their knowledge on a particular topic. Whether providing instructions, describing a product, making a sale or communicating a vision or strategy, professionals need to keep their message clear and strong by preparing adequately. In order to ensures a successful presentation, professionals must use vivid language, descriptive examples and additional visuals. By using short words and sentences, speakers tend to avoid confusion. Another great example is Genie who scored at the level of a 1-year-old upon her primary assessment. Genie rapidly began learning and adding new words to her vocabulary. She started learning single words and ultimately began putting two words together just as young children do. A little over a year after treatment she seldom began putting three words together. Children her age quickly acquire new words and begin putting them together in creative ways. This was not the case for Genie, unfortunately. Her language abilities remained at the same stage and was unable to learn and apply any grammatical rules and use language in an expressive way. Although, Genie was born with the least average intelligence, and that the abuse and isolation of her childhood had left her functionally disabled, she still learned some of the most important ways to show her emotions which is through one of many ways to communicate. Verbal communication refers to the spoken words in the communication process.

Human communication is unique for its extensive use it bridges between two people by helping them share information; it conveys different feelings and reactions to different people. Communication divides into two divisions namely, verbal and nonverbal communication. Communication is learned and developed by being an active listener and improving vocabulary. It includes eye contact, signs, and gestures, in other words body language and various other forms of expression. Nonetheless, it is verbal communication which plays an important role in day-to-day lives and it is the most fundamental ability of communication. Nonverbal communication manages to convey the sender's message without having to use words. An eye can threaten like a loaded and levelled gun, or it can insult like hissing or kicking; or, in its altered mood, by beams of kindness, it can make the heart dance for joy. ... One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity. - Ralph Waldo Emerson. It would be quite difficult to imagine a world without some sort of communication.

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