Nonverbal / Demonstrative Communication
Nonverbal Communication

The functions of nonverbal communication, according to Professor Mark Frank, include: a) nonverbal communication actually defines communication by "providing the backdrop for communication" (for example, a dimly lit room means communication should be subdued but a brightly lit room with cheerful colors offers a chance for loud talking, laughter and even frivolity); b) nonverbal communication can "regulate" how verbal communication takes place (when the listener nods that he has understood what the speaker has said, it is a cue for the speaker to continue talking); c) nonverbal communication "can be the message itself" because a simple smile indicates acceptance or happiness; a wave means goodbye; raising an index finger suggests "we're number one" and raising a finger to lips means please be quiet (Frank, 2012, pp. 6-7).

Professor Frank (Director of the Communication Science Center at the University of Buffalo) points out that there are social rules….

Nonverbal Behavior
A first date is invariably a difficult situation. Both people feel insecure about what first impression they are making. Both feel the stress of a first encounter and worry about what to say and what to avoid. In addition, this stress might be compounded by the knowledge that nonverbal communication also plays a big role in the first impression created, as well as the decision to date the person again or not. If both parties are aware of the nonverbal clues that work best during a first date, this could help to enhance the experience for both people, because it can boost confidence and take some of the stress away from the first encounter.

Part of the stress of the first date and the nonverbal gestures that go with it resides in the fact that they are numerous and serve many purposes. Some nonverbal gestures, for example, serve to maintain….

I found myself often unconsciously mirroring her lack of eye contact and shifting body position. Instead of using my body to communicate peace, calm, and a sense of self-confidence and self-worth, I did the opposite and mirrored her inhibition and slouching posture.
In the case of my supervisor, I felt uncomfortable because of the subject I was forced to address with him, and his general demeanor. With a work colleague, I generally try to be less animated, and more focused on the content of my speech. I try to be still when a supervisor is speaking, to show my absolute attention, even though my nervousness can sometimes betray me. Regarding my supervisor, I wish I could have been more cool, calm, and collected, and more focused and meaningful in my use of gestures, rather than scattered and nervous in terms of my eye contact and use of hand motions. Had….

Nonverbal Comm
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in Criminal Justice

The administration of criminal justice is difficult and complex work which requires training not just in legal doctrines and procedural norms but also in the psychological makeup and behavioral tendencies exhibited at various levels of the criminal justice system. This calls for a perceptive ability to engage in effective communication both of the verbal and nonverbal kind. Indeed, from police work and courtroom procedure to detention and juvenile corrections facility oversight, the processing and placement of individuals within the criminal justice system is accommodated by certain communication approaches that can optimize efficiency, stability and fairness. The discussion hereafter considers the array of techniques and expectations that shape the communication practices of police officers, court personnel and corrections officers.

Police Situations:

Communication is an everyday part of police work. A great many law enforcement scenarios call for the intuitive use of communication methods, whether one is….

Besides employing some of the facial expressions that he shares with Jay Leno and Dennis

Miller, Mr. Letterman is extremely skilled at the use of the so-called "pregnant pause." In some respect, he may have cultivated from Johnny Carson the use of silent looks in response to his guests' innocent statements to maximize the potential for comedic interpretation or double entendre.

A more dramatic example of this comedic use of non-verbal cues would be Mr.

Letterman's use of gestures such as slapping his palms down on his desk while pushing himself back from his desk, or mimicking wiping his brow with his hand, or even with a cue card. Mr. Letterman also uses props to maximize the comedic effect of spoken words, such as when he tosses a card behind him to the coordinated sound effect of breaking glass.

Mr. Letterman also employs exaggerated facial expressions denoting either surprise or shock by widening his….

Nonverbal communication norms can vary significantly from one culture to the next. The first concept to understand is the meaning of culture. Culture "describes activities or behaviors, refer to the heritage or tradition of a group, describe rules and norms" and otherwise describes "general characteristics" of a group (Matsumoto, chapter 1). Cultures arise from such things as environmental conditions, needs and motives. Culture with respect to communication governs the norms of communication within a given society. Every society has a need for social coordination, and culture is the intermediary by which the norms of in-group communication occur (Matsumoto, chapter 1). Thus, culture typically governs the norms within a group with respect to all forms of communication, including the non-verbal.
When one is raised in a culture, one learns how to communicate within that culture. The forms that communication takes are passed along within that culture so that while one is growing….

Non-Verbal Communication in Military
Military leadership is active, purposeful and authoritative, and captures the lessons of experience and uses the wisdom and methods of history's great captains to show the way for current and future leaders (Jantzen pp). However, writing doctrine and understanding the human dimension of leadership in the twenty-first century will be more complex than ever due to the advancements in technology (Jantzen pp). Information technology is unique from other technologies because of its role in radically reinventing organizational structures, doctrine and procedures, yet it is also very flexible and can be altered to fit the culture and unique needs of the organization (Jantzen pp).

The information age has been called the information revolution, and a closely related concept is revolution in military affairs (Jantzen pp).

The term "revolution" connotes what George Gilder calls a paradigm shift, or the "collapse of formerly pivotal scarcities" coupled with "the rise of new forms….

Nonverbal Communication
In 1969, Ekman and Friesen delineated communicative nonverbal behavior as those actions that are evidently and knowingly planned by the sender to send out a stipulated message to the receiver. Their delineation does not take up the sharing aspect even though it takes up the aspect of purpose. They elucidate that there is no compulsion that communicative actions should have a common decoded definition; there could be communicative actions without information where the sender planned to send out a message but no one recognizes him. (Function and Impact of Nonverbal Communication in a Computer Mediated Communication Context: An Investigation of Defining Issues)

Non-verbal behavior associated with movement, which might be of any portion of the body, or the complete body is known as Kinesics. (Kinesics: http://stephan.dahl.at/nonverbal/kinesics.html) Kinesics points to posture, bodily movements, viz. gesticulations, and the manner in which the body is used in a particular circumstance. Posture is manifestation….

I could have made more of an effort to connect nonverbally by relaxing and keeping eye contact during the emotional parts of the conversation.
The second encounter had different challenges: I was talking to someone while walking on a busy street. I had to juggle my focus between my conversational partner and the various obstacles in front of us and on the ground. I think I could have done a better job keeping in nonverbal contact with my friend, either through touching him or her when we could not make eye contact to indicate my presence, or turning to look more frequently at him. Although this dialogue was pleasurable, it can be difficult to show interest and attention while moving, and avoid tripping or getting hit by cars. There is always a balance between showing attention to what is going on in your surroundings, and engaging with the other individual,….

Non Verbal Cues of Bill Clinton's Speech: January 26, 1998
Clinton was certainly in a tight spot when he gave the addendum to his speech regarding the fact that he did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. The nation had changed their focus from what he had accomplished, as a President, to who he had had sex with. He had much to lose, not the least of which was his political career.

His speech on January 26, 1998 was meant to reassure the nation that he was innocent. However, to paraphrase Shakespeare, the President doth protest too much, methinks. His non-verbal cues easily gave the impression that he was a man with something to hide, a man who was desperate to get the public to believe him, before the truth finally emerged.

Non-Verbal Cues of Bill Clinton's Speech: January 26, 1998

Introduction:

On January 26, 1998, President Bill Clinton stood alongside his wife, Hilary,….

Non-Verbal Rules The cultural space that I visited and covered was a state-tour musical concert attended by close to 5,000 people at all concert locations. I showed up on three occasions. The interactions between attendees were lively and varied. Various verbal and non-verbal aspects could be picked up. Some of the non-verbal communication setups I observed included, but they were not limited to, shaking of hands, gestures, hugging, touching, and even facial expressions. Aspects of verbal communication identified were proximity and eye contact. In this discussion, I will concern myself with proximity.
In essence, in non-verbal communication, proximity has got to do with the distance communication participants keep between each other during the conduct of their interactions. In the three concerts I attended, the distance people kept between each other varied. For instance, as the concert commenced, there was an observed shorter distance between friends and people who appeared to be couples.….

Nonverbal Communication: Public Observations
Perhaps the most striking difference between men and women in terms of their nonverbal communication is their use of personal space. Riding on a bus or in a waiting room, males tend to spread out, sometimes taking up two seats or more. It is not unusual to see a male with his legs open and hands dangling between them. This looks almost like a challenging posture, even if he is apparently relaxed and not being openly threatened.

In contrast, even a woman who seems confident and is casually dressed in jeans will often assume a contained posture in a similar public environment. She will cross her legs, thereby making herself smaller, rather than occupying even her full allocation of space. In the waiting room I observed, I noticed that when a woman sat next to a man she would often be particularly intent upon squeezing her legs together….

Because other research has indicated that nonverbal cues can be laden with emotion, and even be important indicators of deception, understanding the use of nonverbal cues in response to certain questions by therapists can give those therapists an important point of reference in evaluating responses.
Unfortunately, despite some significance in the statistical findings of Hill and Stephany (1990), there are complications and limitations to the usefulness of this research study. In theory, this could be an incredibly useful research study because it could provide therapists with a new, statistically proven, tool for evaluating the responses of clients and improving their therapeutic methods. Unfortunately, even Hill and Stephany (1990) admit that they had difficulty reconciling their findings with the research already extant or hypothesized in the relevant literature. For example, previous research has indicated that less controllable nonverbal cues such as leg movements or posture shifts should be more significant than….

" This type of skill or behavior is also closely linked to self-disclosure, genuineness and immediacy.
Central to this skill is the ability to communicate one's thoughts and feelings in a way that is respectful of the other person's feelings and does not denigrate or overtly criticize them in any way.

While there are many skills that can be interpreted as confrontational, it is also possible to present both verbal and non-verbal types of behavior that are confrontational but in a way that promotes and conveys sincere and genuine feelings of interest and openness in the therapeutic relationship. In the use of language this means to convey to the other individual that the apparent attitude of confrontation is really an effort to sincerely and genuinely help and assist. The key words here are assertive, calm and concerned.

One uses language in a way that is serious and calm but also clear and direct….

He listened attentively to my description, and waited until I had finished talking before responding. We maintained eye contact throughout this exchange. The salesman then showed me the range of what they had within my requirements, demonstrating the traits of each model. He accented these traits with explanatory hand gestures. The CR for both myself as customer and the salesman was complete, and thus I feel that the exchange was successful.
Another exchange that I experienced in my capacity as customer was at a cell phone dealer. As above, I entered, and was approached by a young salesman. This person looked nervous, but nonetheless smiled as he introduced himself. He did not shake my hand, but rather invaded my personal space. I must add that the shop was fairly crowded, which did not help to either ease the salesman's nerves or improve my increasingly irritated disposition. I however tried to….