Nonverbal Communication

Graphics courtesy of GoalcastOpens in new window Nonverbal communication is communicating without words—sharing information by means of facial expressions, eyes, touching, body language, tone of voice, and even style of dress, posture, and spatial distance between two or more people.

Suppose, for example, a leader is talking to their teamOpens in new window about working together more effectively. The leader schedules a meeting with the team in their office. At the meeting the leader says, “Helping you work together effectively is the most important thing I do. I am committed to helping you work through this.”

While the leader is verbally expressing this importance, s/he is fumbling through papers. The leader then stops to answer the phone. Further, the leader’s voice shows little enthusiasm and s/he looks out the window while s/he is speaking to the team. The team hears the leader’s words, “the most important thing I do,” but the message they receive is that it really isn’t that important after all.

Nonverbal communication adds flavor to oral communicationOpens in new window. That is, it helps you understand the attitudes and emotions of those with whom you are speaking, which in turn helps you more accurately interpret their message.

There are four key sources of nonverbal messages: body movements and gesturesOpens in new window, touchOpens in new window, facial expressionsOpens in new window, and eye contactOpens in new window.

Body Movements and Gestures

Body movements, such as leaning forward or backward, and gestures provide nonverbal information that can either enhance or detract from the communication processOpens in new window.

Open body positions, such as leaning backward or gesturing with palms facing up, communicate immediacy, a term used to represent openness, warmth, closeness, and availability for communication.

It has been noted that the use of gestures can help in the process of learning and comprehension. Defensiveness is communicated by gesturesOpens in new window such as folding arms, crossing hands, crossing legs or pointing at others.

Touch

Touching is another powerful nonverbal cue. People tend to touch those they like. For example, women do more touching during conversations than men.

Touching conveys an impression of warmth and caring and can help create a personal bond between people. Leaders should be careful about using touch with people of divers cultures, however, because norms for touching vary significantly around the world.

Facial Expression

Facial expressions convey a wealth of information. Smiling, for instance, typically represents warmth, happiness, or friendship, whereas frowning conveys a dissatisfaction or anger. Research has revealed that the association between facial expressionOpens in new window and emotionsOpens in new window varies across cultures. A smile, for example, does not convey the same emotion in different countries. Leaders should be careful when interpreting facial expressions among diverse groups of employees.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is a strong nonverbal cue that varies across cultures. Westerners are taught at an early age to look at their parents when spoken to. In contrast, Asians are taught to avoid eye contactOpens in new window with a parent or superior in order to show obedience and subservience.

Once again, leaders need to be sensitive to different orientations toward maintaining eye contact with diverse employees.

Leaders need to pay close attention to nonverbal behaviors when communicating. They need to recognize that how they communicate is as important as what they communicate. Nonverbal messages can undermine contrary messages.

A messageOpens in new window can be given meaning only in a context, and cues or signals are important. Leaders should change their own communication style if they discover that it is interpreted negatively or incorrectly.

Table X-1 presents common nonverbal behaviors exhibited by leaders and how employees may interpret them negatively.

Leaders also can benefit from watching the nonverbal communication of others who are receiving their messages. If, for example, a leader is speaking and most of his employees are staring at him with their arms crossed, this may signal that they are frustrated or upset by the message.

Thus, by reading others’ nonverbal communication, an individual can often find out, for example, their feelings and attitudes toward the communication and toward the leader.

How to Improve Nonverbal Communication Skills

Here are some suggestions on how leaders can improve their nonverbal communication skills.

Body Movements, Gestures, and Speech

• Lean forward to show the speaker you are interested.
• Don’t display slumped shoulders, downward head, flat tones, or inaudible voice, all of which convey indecisiveness or lack of confidence.
• Don’t speak too fast or too slowly. Your tone of voice should match the tone of the messages.
• Use paraphrasing as a mechanism to check on communication accuracy. Paraphrasing is restating what someone else has said or written.

Facial Expression

• Nod your head to show you are listening or that you agree.
• Smile and show interest.
• Don’t close your eyes or tense facial muscles.

Eye Contact

• Maintain eye contact and don’t look away from the speaker.