INTRODUCTION

Nonverbal communication is an important aspect in business communication. According to the Online Business Dictionary, nonverbal communication is defined as, Behavior and elements of speech aside from the words themselves that transmit meaning. Non-verbal communication includes pitch, speed, tone and volume of voice, gestures and facial expressions, body posture, stance, and proximity to the listener, eye movements and contact, and dress and appearance.1 It is very important to understand the significance of nonverbal communication to the business world. Only a small percentage of communication involves actual words: 7%, to be exact. In fact, 55% of communication is visual (body language, eye contact) and 38% is vocal (pitch, speed, volume, tone of voice). The world's best business communicators have strong body language: a commanding presence that reflects confidence, competence, and charisma.2

Nonverbal communication in business plays two roles. Managers use nonverbal communication to effectively guide other staff and team members. And team members in the business, use nonverbal cues to communicate information to persons outside the business, whether theyre customers, competitors or colleagues in another industry. This paper will discuss three main topics, the first will be How body language effects
1

What Is Non-verbal Communication? Definition and Meaning." BusinessDictionary.com - Online Business Dictionary. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/non-verbalcommunication.html>. 2 "Interview Body Language." Great Speeches, Communication Tips, & Public Speaking Skills. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.speechclub.com/content/business-communication/interview-tips/interview-bodylanguage>.

interactions in the workplace, second, The use of gestures in communication and its effect on interactions in the workplace, and third, The effect of facial expressions on communication in the workplace. It is very important to understand the effect of nonverbal communication in the workplace because being aware of ones nonverbal messages can help one achieve his/her career goals.

Nonverbal communication is the process of sending and receiving messages from another person. These messages can be conveyed through gestures, engagement, posture, and even clothing and hygiene. Nonverbal communication can convey a very different message than a verbal conversation. This can tell someone whether they are likes, interesting or hated. Nonverbal communication and can have meanings in objects as well. Certain articles in a persons life can say a lot about them and can sometimes even talk for them. A persons handwriting can also tell a lot about the way they can communicate with others.

Nonverbal communication can be easiest practiced when the two communicators are face to face. The nonverbal aspect of communication is easiest when the environment is right for all communicators involved, such as, when the environment is right or the moment is right. Nonverbal communication is an important aspect in any conversation skill people are practicing. Nonverbal communication will inhibit someone to be able to tell other person how they are really feeling without having to voice any opinions. People can interpret body signals better than they can talk most of the time. 2

CHAPTER ONE
How Body Language Effects Interactions in the Workplace

Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously. James Borg states that human communication consists of 93 percent body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves. Others state that "Research has suggested that between 60 and 70 percent of all meaning is derived from nonverbal behavior." Body language is one of the most powerful and influential communication tools in the business world.3 One of the most basic and powerful body-language signals is when a person crosses his or her arms across the chest. This can indicate that a person is putting up an unconscious barrier between themselves and others. For example, when a manager is confronting a subordinate about a problem, the subordinate may cross his/her arms unconsciously as a barrier between the manager and himself. Crossed arms can also indicate that the person's arms are cold, which would be clarified by rubbing the arms or huddling, obviously this will be easy to understand due to the temperature and clothing worn. When the overall situation is amicable, crossed arms can mean that a person is thinking deeply about what is being discussed. But in a serious or confrontational situation,

"Body Language." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language>.

it can mean that a person is expressing opposition. This is especially so if the person is leaning away from the speaker. A harsh or blank facial expression often indicates outright hostility. Consistent eye contact can indicate that a person is thinking positively of what the speaker is saying. It can also mean that the other person doesn't trust the speaker enough to "take their eyes off" the speaker. Lack of eye contact can indicate negativity. Eye contact can also be a secondary and misleading gesture because cultural norms about it vary widely. If one makes eye contact, but is making the arms-across-chest signal, the eye contact could be indicative that something is bothering the person, and that he wants to talk about it. Or if while making direct eye contact, a person is fiddling with something, even while directly looking at you, it could indicate the attention is elsewhere. Managers and employees should be aware of what eye contact means in order to be able to understand if the receiver is offended or correctly understand the senders intentions. Also, there are three typical areas that a person will look which signify different states of being. If the person looks from one eye to the other, then to the forehead, it is a sign that they are taking an authoritative position. If they move from one eye to the other, then to the nose, that signals that they are engaging in what they consider to be a "level conversation" with neither party holding superiority. The last case is from one eye to the other and then down to the lips. This is a strong indication of romantic feelings and very unprofessional in the workplace.

If a manager disbelieves an employee it can be indicated by an averted gaze, or by touching his ear or by scratching his chin. Also, when one is not being convinced by what another is saying, the receivers attention fades and the eyes will look away for an extended period of time. During a meeting or a presentation, the sender can detect boredom by scanning the receivers for head tilting to one side, or by the eyes looking straight at the speakerand becoming slightly unfocused. Also interest can be indicated through posture or extended eye contact, such as standing and listening properly. Deceit or the act of withholding information can sometimes be indicated by touching the face during conversation. Excessive blinking is a well-known indicator of someone who is lying. Recently, evidence has surfaced that the absence of blinking can also represent lying as a more reliable factor than excessive blinking.4

"Body Language." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language>.

CHAPTER TWO
The Use of Gestures in Communication and its Effect on Interactions in the Workplace

The use of gestures in the workplace can be very useful in explaining or expressing ones thoughts and intentions. Agesture is a movement or position of the hand, arm, body, head, or face that is expressive of an idea, opinion, emotion, etc.5 According to The Definitive Book of Body Language, Gestures come in 'sentences' called clusters and invariably reveal the truth about a person's feelings or attitudes.6 Gestures can be used to express explicit messages that have linguistic translations. For instance, a person may wave their hand rather than saying "hello", or nod his or her head in agreement, which means "yes" or "okay." These gestures can be very practical in the business world because they are a quick way to convey thoughts and feelings without needing to speak or write. Some gestures are called illustrators: gestures that do not have exact, generally understood meanings. These gestures add meaning to a verbal message. For instance, when giving a presentation, a person might use hand gestures to highlight a point. One may use gestures while speaking to others to accompany his/her words, these body movements may not have an exact meaning but rather embellish a one's words.

"Gesture | Define Gesture at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gesture> 6 Pease, Allen, and Barbra Pease. The Definitive Book of Body Language. Australia: Pease International, 2004. Print. 21.

A person's body movements that convey feelings and emotions through facial expressions and body positions are called affect displays. These body movements may indicate whether a person is open and receptive, angry, distracted, or a number of other emotions. Many affect displays are commonly interpreted; for instance, individuals who sit in a slumped position and frown are believed to be disinterested or unhappy. Those who sit upright, smile, and have raised eyebrows, are seen as interested and happy. While these affect displays are often appropriately interpreted, they may not be related to the interaction with another person, and thus may be misread. For instance, if a person has a terrible headache, he may squint, look down, and grimace during a conversation, indicating to the speaker that he disagrees with her, even if he is receptive to and in agreement with the speaker. Researchers also categorize certain nonverbal behaviors called adaptors, which are typically unconscious behaviors and are used when a person is tense or anxious. Examples of illustrators are adjusting one's clothes, biting one's nails, or fidgeting and toying with an object. Illustrators indicate to others that a person is upset or nervous, and behavior such as this during a job interview or a meeting with a coworker may be interpreted very negatively. A person who engages in such behavior may be seen as preoccupied, anxious, or even as dishonest. As with affect displays, such body language may not convey true feelings; a person who fidgets and bites her nails may be exhibiting such behaviors for innocuous reasons. Thus, while such behaviors are often interpreted correctly as presenting anxiety, they do not necessarily indicate that a person is in any way dishonest.7

Knapp, M, L., and J.A. Hall. Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction. 5th ed. Fort Worth, TX: Wadsworth, 2002.

When listening to others, individuals often convey messages nonverbally. Therefore, care should be taken to avoid the following8:

Sitting or leaning back is a body movement that may convey disinterest in a speaker's words or disagreement with the speaker. Additionally, resting your chin on your hand may convey boredom. Conversely, leaning forward slightly, raising eyebrows, and making eye contact indicate that you are receptive to the speaker.

Crossed arms often connote a defensive posture, which can indicate that a person is unhappy with the speaker, feels threatened by the speaker, or does not want to listen to the speaker.

Adaptors, such as fidgeting or playing with objects, may indicate that you are nervous around the speaker or disinterested in the speaker's message.

All people unconsciously use gestures to back up what they are saying. Watch people talking at a party, during a meeting, during a class, in the hallways. They all use their hands for example people might use certain gestures called emblems that have a direct verbal translation in our culture. Such as A for Ok, they might also use gestures to illustrate what they are saying such as using their hands to describe an object or a motion or enumerating a list of main points.

Gestures not only reinforce what people say they also reveal people's attitude. People may perceive gestures as either warm or cold. In our culture warm gestures might include
8

Beall, Anne E. "Body Language Speaks." Communication World (March/April 2004): 1820.

leaning toward people with an open posture and open gestures, directly facing them, smiling, touching and gesturing expressively.

Cold gestures might include keeping your hands on your hips, slumping, avoiding eye contact, not smiling and gesturing nervously such as cleaning your fingernails, drumming your fingers, fiddling with objects or looking at your watch. Most people naturally use good gestures when they are sitting because they are not thinking about what to do with their hands. When you are sitting, remember to avoid nervous gestures and stony facial expressions.

CHAPTER THREE
The Effect of Facial Expressions on Communication in the Workplace


Facial expressions and eye contact are types of nonverbal communication that can have an effect on business relations. Researchers have found that people can identify with great accuracy seven separate human emotions, even after seeing only facial and eye expressions: sadness, happiness, anger, fear, surprise, contempt, and interest. Therefore, without speaking a word, a facial expression can convey a great deal of information to others. Similarly, eye contact or lack of eye contact can also indicate a person's attitudes and emotions. Research indicates that people use four different facial management techniques to control our facial expressions. First, people intensify their facial expressions, or exaggerate them, in order to show strong emotion. For example, a saleswoman who just made a major sale might intensify her positive expression by smiling more broadly and raising her eyebrows. Second, people may weaken their facial expressions when they control or subdue them. For instance, an employee who just found out that he got a raise might smile less or look less happy after finding out that his coworker did not get a raise. Third, a person neutralizes their expressions when they avoid showing any facial expression. A person might not show any emotion when being reprimanded in the workplace or when attempting to negotiate with another businessperson. Finally, humans mask their facial expressions. This occurs when a person hides his or her true emotions and conveys different emotions. For example, an employee might express enthusiasm to a manager who gives him an undesirable task in order to curry favor with that manager. Or, a customer service representative might express concern and caring in her facial expression, when in 10

actuality she is annoyed by the customer. Each of these facial management techniques makes is possible for people to interact with one another in socially acceptable ways. Making and maintaining eye contact can have positive outcomes in the workplace. Eye contact can be used to indicate to a person that you are receptive to what they have to say. Additionally, eye contact may indicate that you want to communicate with a person. Finally, eye contact can be used to express respect for a person by maintaining longer eye contact. Interestingly, refraining from making eye contact, such as looking down or away, may indicate a level of respect for someone of higher status. A lack of eye contact, or an unwillingness to maintain eye contact may indicate discomfort with a situation, a disinterest in the other person's words, or a dislike of the person. However, the degree to which a person does or does not make eye contact may be dependent on their own level of shyness or extraversion and cannot always be interpreted as a reaction to a particular person or situation.9

It's less important to always agree with one another than it is to truly understand the reasons behind words, gestures or facial expressions. Superficial communication might maintain a relationship for some time, but if the communication core was weak at the start, the lines of communication will eventually break.
9

Simmering, Marcia J. "Body Language - Examples, Manager, Type, Workplace, Business, Body Movements and Gesture." Reference For Business - Encyclopedia of Small Business, Business Biographies, Business Plans, and Encyclopedia of American Industries. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/A-Bud/Body-Language.html>

11