Chapter 9 - Nonverbal Communication

 Nonverbal Communication

We communicate nonverbally every day and might not even realize it. According to Reflect and Relate, nonverbal communication is the intentional or unintentional transmission of meaning through an individual’s nonspoken physical and behavioral cues. Clothing, physical appearance, body language, eye contact, and facial expressions are all different ways we can communicate nonverbally. The unintentional transmission of meaning can be what others perceive from your nonverbal gesture that you did not mean anything by. The intentional transmission of meaning is when we communicate information to another people using nonverbal behaviors, such as sign language or emojis. Learning how to effectively understand nonverbal communication can help us in becoming a better communicator and to better understand the needs of the people we are communicating with, as well as help to determine the ways in which we should respond.  

At work, I communicate nonverbally all the time to my coworker. For example, when our boss is gossiping about a particular subject, I might raise an eyebrow to my friends, and she might raise one back or shake her head slightly. We do this intentional to communicate our annoyance or that we do not believe what he is saying. I also demonstrate nonverbal communication with my mother all the time when I hug her. I am nonverbally communicating with her that I love and appreciate her. 

I often communicate nonverbal behaviors unintentionally. For example, when I was at my significant others house, his dad asked me if I was cold because I had my hoodie on in the kitchen. I informed him that I was not and that I was wearing it because it was just comfy. He interpreted my physical appearance as that I was cold. Whether our behaviors are intentional or not, we communicate nonverbally all the time in many different kinds of ways.