Unit 3: Applying Interaction Skills for Information, Advice or Guidance

Non-Verbal Communication

Nonverbal communication is a rapidly flowing back-and-forth process that requires your full focus on the moment-to-moment experience. If you’re planning what you’re going to say next, checking your phone, or thinking about something else, you’re almost certain to miss nonverbal cues and not fully understand the subtleties of what’s being communicated.

Nonverbal communication can play five roles:

• Repetition: It repeats and often strengthens the message you’re making verbally.
• Contradiction: It can contradict the message you’re trying to convey, thus indicating to your listener that you may not be telling the truth.
• Substitution: It can substitute for a verbal message. For example, your facial expression often conveys a far more vivid message than words ever can.
• Complementing: It may add to or complement your verbal message. As a boss, if you pat an employee on the back in addition to giving praise, it can increase the impact of your message.
• Accenting: It may accent or underline a verbal message. Pounding the table, for example, can underline the importance of your message.

Source: The Importance of Effective Communication, Edward G. Wertheim, Ph.D.