Non Verbal Communication

& Verbal Communication

Business Communication-I
Agenda
 Parts of Non Verbal Communication
 Key Techniques
 Types of Barrier
 Communicating Across Cultures
 Non verbal Gestures
 Openness, confidence Gestures
 Cooperation, readiness Gestures
 Professional Gestures
 Indifference, boredom Gestures
 Evaluation, interest Gestures
 Anxiety Gestures
 Frustration, anger Gestures
 Defensiveness Gestures
 Dominating Gestures
Non Verbal & Verbal
Communication
Non Verbal Barriers to Effective
Communication
 Terry: "I won't make it to work again tomorrow;
this pregnancy keeps me nauseous and my
doctor says I should probably be reduced to part
time.
 Boss: Terry, this is the third day you've missed
and your appointments keep backing up; we
have to cover for you and this is messing all of
us up.
Parts of Non Verbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is made up of the
following parts:
 Visual - facial expression, eye movement, posture,
dress & appearance and gestures
 Tactile - This involves the use of touch to impart
meaning as in a handshake, a pat on the back, an arm
around the shoulder, or a hug
 Vocal - the intonation of one's voice
 Use of time, space, and image - Use of time can
communicate how we view our own status and power in
relation to others
Parts of Non Verbal Communication

 Physical Space -
 The "intimate zone“- about two feet (our closest
friends)
 The "personal zone" - about 2-4 feet (family & friends)
 The social zone - 4-8 feet (business transactions)
 The "public zone" - over 12 feet (lectures)
A Short Example of Effective
Communication

 Example:
 Maria: My project coordinator, Judy, is in a
slump; she's just not producing her usual caliber
of work. I need to find out what the problem is.
Key Techniques
 Focus the discussion on the information needed
Judy, I've noticed in the past month that you've fallen
behind on keeping the project schedule current. I'd like
to figure out with you what we both can do to get it back
on track.

Use open-ended questions to expand the discussion

You've always kept the schedule up to the minute-until
about a month ago. Why the change?
Key Techniques
 Use closed ended questions to prompt for specifics "What
projects are you working on that take time away from your
work on this project (warning: closed ended questions are
often disguised as open ended as in "Are you going to have
trouble finishing this project?)

 Encourage dialogue through eye contact and expression

This involves nodding in agreement, smiling, leaning toward
the speaker, making statements that acknowledge the
speaker is being heard.
Key Techniques
 State your understanding of what you are hearing This can
be done by restating briefly what the other person is saying
but don't make fun of it

"So it sounds like these phone calls have ended up taking a

lot more time than you or Jay expected; you think the three
of us should talk about priorities; is this your position?"

 Summarize the key points; try to get some agreement on the

next steps and show appreciation for the effort made so far.
"So let's call Jay right now and set up a time when we can
meet and iron this out; keeping the schedule updated is a
high priority and I'd like to get this settled by Wednesday”
TYPES OF BARRIERS

 PHYSICAL BARRIERS OR MECHANICAL

BARRIERS
 SEMANTIC & LANGUAGE BARRIERS
 SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
 CROSS-CULTURAL BARRIERS
PHYSICAL BARRIERS OR MECHANICAL
BARRIERS

 Defects in the medium

 Telephone, postal system, courier service,
electronic media
 Noise
 Traffic, factory work, arguments, cell phone
conversations, people talking
 Defects in the organization system
Physical, External or Mechanical Barriers
Defects in the organization system

Closed Top Heavy Long lines

communication Org Of
climate structure communication

Fear of
Competition
Lack of Reprisal for
Between
Trust Honest
employees
communication

Differing Lack of
Ego
frames of Communication
involvement
reference skills
SEMANTIC & LANGUAGE BARRIERS

 SAME WORDS WITH DIFFERENT MEANINGS

 SAME WORD PRONOUNCED IN DIFFERENT WAYS WITH TWO
DIFFERENT MEANINGS
 WORDS THAT ARE USED BOTH AS VERBS AND NOUNS
 SIMILAR SOUNDING WORDS
 PHRASES
 SENTENCES CAN CONVEY DIFFERENT MEANINGS
 TECHNICAL TERMS / JARGONS
SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS

 SELF CENTERED ATTITUDES

 GROUP IDENTIFICATION
 SELF IMAGE
 SELECTIVE PERCEPTION
 DEFENSIVENESS
 FILTERING
 STATUS BLOCK
 RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
 CLOSED MIND
 POOR COMMUNICATION
 STATE OF HEALTH
CROSS-CULTURAL BARRIERS
DEFINITION OF CULTURE

Culture is a shared set of values and attributes

of a group; it is the sum total of the ways of living
built up by a group and transmitted from one
generation to another
Culture is so much a part of an individual’s
manner of talking, behaving and thinking, that
communication style and competence are
influenced by it
CROSS-CULTURAL BARRIERS

 LANGUAGE
 VALUES
 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
 CONCEPT OF TIME
 CONCEPT OF SPACE
 THOUGHT PROCESSES
 NON-VERBAL BEHAVIOUR
 ORAL MESSAGES
 PERCEPTION
Six Stages In Multicultural Transformation

Denial

Integration Defense
Multicultural
Transformation
Adaptation Minimization

Acceptance
SUGGESTIONS WHEN ENGLISH IS A SECOND
LANGUAGE

 LEARN FOREIGN PHRASES

 USE SIMPLE ENGLISH
 SPEAK SLOWLY AND ENUNCIATE CLEARLY
 OBSERVE EYE MESSAGES
 ENCOURAGE ACCURATE FEEDBACK
 CHECK FREQUENTLY FOR COMPREHENSION
 ACCEPT BLAME
 LISTEN WITHOUT INTERRUPTING
 REMEMBER TO SMILE
 FOLLOW UP IN WRITING
Non verbal Gestures
Openness, confidence Gestures

 open hands
 unbuttoning or removing jacket (men)
 eye contact
 smile, leaning forward, relaxed
 hands away from face, possibly behind back
 standing straight, feet slightly apart,
shoulders squared
 hand in belt thumb hooked in waist
 snapping fingers
Cooperation, readiness Gestures
 uncrossed legs
 a person moves closer to another
 unbuttoned coat (men)
 finger to face, blinking or squinting
 welcoming handshake
 open arms or hands (palms out)
 smile
 eye contact
 rubbing palms together indicating expectation of
something pleasant
 hand to chest in a man indicates loyalty (but in a
woman it is defensiveness)
 touching, patting, holding hands to give reassurance
Professional Gestures

 taking notes
 evaluation gestures especially hand to face
 leaning forward
 use of space in seating so as to avoid
barriers
 eye contact
 index finger to lip to restrain from interrupting
 hand on arm of speaker
Indifference, boredom Gestures
 leg over arm of chair
 rhythmic drumming, tapping
 legs crossed
 shaking one foot (women)
 straighten up then slouch
 ``cold shoulder,'' turning away especially toward exit
 glancing at exit
 rigid, unmoving posture with fixed stare
 yawning
 hand holding up face, drooping eyelids
 fidget or rock
 turning up nose and/or ``tsk'' sound (signifying disgust)
Evaluation, interest Gestures
 hand to cheek gesture
 slight blinking or squinting
 chin stroking
 hands touching face especially upper lip
 leaning forward (positive) and leaning back (negative)
 head tilted, ear cocked
 peering over top of glasses
 Nibbling on tip of pencil or earpiece of glasses indicates wish for
nourishment in form of more information
 arched eyebrows
 licking lips
 wrinkling nose
 scratching head
 ruffling hair
Doubt Gestures
 pacing
 hand over nose
 eyes closed
 brow furrowed
 arched eyebrows
 frown
 scratching in front of ear
 rubbing eyes
 hand to face gestures (evaluative)
 pacing with head down and hands behind back or just standing—
unwise to interrupt a person thus engaged
 scratching head
 pinching bridge of nose, especially with head lowered
Suspicion, secretiveness Gestures

 folded arms, moving away from another

 crossed legs
 head tilted forward
 rubbing nose
 lack of eye contact, stolen look, sideways glance
 hand covering mouth
 scratching in front of ear
 frown
 ``poker face''
 anxiety gestures
 looking at floor
 frequent swallowing
 wetting lips
 throat clearing
 scratching head
Anxiety Gestures
 nail biting
 finger movement
 sighing
 hand wringing
 rapid movements
 clearing throat
 tremors, especially knees
 heavy breathing
 voice strained
 lips quivering
 rapid eye movement
 rigidity
 crossed fingers
 chewing on things
Frustration, anger Gestures
 making fists
 hands on hips / hand in pocket
 stomping
 if sitting – on edge of chair (ready for action)
 chin out
 kicking the ground
 lips pressed together, jaw muscles tight
 running fingers through hair
 rubbing back of neck
 snorting
 pointing
 putting out cigarette especially if with grinding motion
 hostile stare
Defensiveness Gestures
 hands in pocket
 hands behind back
 clenched hands
 men with jackets button up
 folded arms (can be reinforced by making fists)
 crossed legs
 body twisted away, moving away, sitting back
 looking at door
 head tilted forward, possibly squinting
 stalling for time by cleaning glasses, rearranging,
etc.
 hand rubbing back of neck.
Dominating Gestures
 elevating self, like standing when others are sitting
 taking a different posture than others in a group,
especially hands behind head
 sitting straddling the chair
 standing with arms spread and hands gripping desk
or table
 loud voice or low voice carefully enunciated
 standing or walking with hands behind back and
chin up
 thumbs in lapels
Open Gesture Closed Gesture
open hands  hand covering mouth
palms up making fists
unbuttoning jacket  peering over top of glasses
spontaneous eye contact  glancing at exit
smile  frown
leaning forward  leaning back
relaxed  rigid
hands away from face  looking at floor
standing straight  moving away
feet apart  legs crossed, shaking foot
shoulders squared  fidgeting
uncrossed legs  locked ankles
welcoming handshake folded arms
touching  cold shoulder
patting open palm tapping
rubbing palms together  hand wringing
affirmative head nods  head lowered
eye contact  lack of eye contact
calm use of facial movements  staring or eyes closed
body positioned toward other  rocking
seating arrangement with no barriers  stalling for time (light cigarette, clean glasses, etc.)