Sunday, September 7, 2008
Understanding Nonverbal Communication
Author: clement cr
hello! sorry i posted quite late. Anyways i got something really cool here!
Understanding Nonverbal Communication
Since nonverbal communication—or body language—is such a natural part of our communication toolkit, learning to interpret it can greatly improve your relationships and your understanding of other people. Still, it’s an art to be treated with a degree of caution. Misinterpretation, especially when dealing in a highly politicized organization, can have ghastly consequences.
How can I tell when someone is bluffing? i can bet u want to know this
When someone is telling the truth, they always get to the point and tell it straight forward. For example, Mr Murali telling his wife " i will love u for eternal life" is that true or a lie..hehe well ask him but im sure he wont bluff. He's a nice guy. Errr Sir! u owe me a soda! haha. They say, “Look over there!” and reinforce the message by pointing simultaneously towards the focus of attention. Or, they’ll admit, “I’m unhappy about that,” and their face and body droop, too. When people are bluffing, though, their gestures usually are inconsistent with their speech. One may say, “It’s almost a done deal!” yet you notice a nervous body pattern—the shifting of feet or the tapping of fingers. Unusual aversion to eye contact or the blinking of eyes also can expose an inconsistency. Communication experts call this leakage.
How can I tell, from body language, when a person is getting angry? What can I do?
Tone of voice, subtle changes in facial expression, and gestures head the list of clues. For example, someone will start pacing up and down or rapping the table—pleasantly smiling all the while to hide true but socially unacceptable feelings. Your reaction to increased anger depends on the situation and your personality. You can choose to try to calm things down by demonstrating that you’re actively listening to the other person’s frustrations and by asking open-ended questions to encourage dialogue. Or you may prefer to back off until the heat dies down; if so, analyze what happened and how you reacted. If you think you have contributed to the person’s anger, consider how you might do things differently next time. You may want to revisit the incident with the person later to work together on a way to communicate more effectively in the future.
How do people behave when they’re not telling the truth?
Its easy. There are a number of gestures that betray lying. Most have to do with hiding the mouth with a hand. Other gestures include touching one’s nose or running a finger along the inside of a collar. Avoiding eye contact is another sign, especially if a previously “normal” eye-contact pattern shifts suddenly to darting or averted gazes. Or, if the pace of blinking picks up appreciably, there may be more than a speck of dust causing it!
Understand the Meanings Of Gestures
The six most universal human emotions—happiness, anger, sadness, envy, fear and love—are seen on faces around the world. Smiles and scowls almost universally convey happiness and anger. Other common gestures include the “I don’t know” shrug, the “yes” nod, and the side-to-side head shake that says “no”; but be careful: gestures that we may think are universal actually convey different messages in difficult cultures. For example, the thumbs up and joined forefinger/thumb are well-established signs for “OK” in the U.S. and United Kingdom, just as raising one’s first two fingers means “Victory.” In other cultures, though, both gestures have offensive meanings.
Many gestures come in “clusters.” If you study people during a meeting, you’re likely to see the following body movements:
Hands—a person may signal that he is evaluating what’s being said by balancing his chin on his thumb with his middle finger running along his bottom lip and his index finger pointing up his cheek
Limbs—one arm may be clamped against the body by the other elbow
Bodies—if a person’s torso is leaning back from a vertical position, he or she is signaling distance from what’s being said
reference:www.usal.es/~nonverbal/varios.htm
Book:
Philippot, Pierre, Robert S. Feldman, Erik J. Coats (editors). The Social Context of Nonverbal Behavior. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
posted by Clement CR
