Body movement or stillness

Nonverbal Codes--these are based on expectations people share about the
          behavior of others
  Personal appearance--one of the first thing individuals notice
   group identification--uniforms identify certain categories of workers--nurses,   police officers,
           airline pilots, surgeons, people in the military etc.
  status--college students dress more informally than office workers; people in   executive or
          managerial positions follow current trends in appropriate clothing   such as the currently fashionable
          three-piece suits
  self-image--although styles emphasize the freedom to express personal identity   through choice,
          there are still certain expectations on the job

Overt Body movement--these are movements tah are easily viewed and quickly
           recognized as clues to feelings
  walk--reveals your attitudes and feelings; for example the rate of your pace or   the length of your
          stride may change depending on whether you are in a hurry,   reluctant to arrive, or terribly tired
     positions--the position of your body in relation to another person is a powerful   clue about your
          feelings; for example, leaning forward, using an open  position(arms and legs uncrossed), and facing
          directly toward someone often   indicate your openess to another person
  gestures--hands are very important; they often are illustrators that serve to   emphasize a point,
          sketch a path or direction of a thought, show size or spacial   relation, etc.
  touching--handshkes very important, especially in the businesss arena; men do it   as a meeting
          between equals where women extend hands, in the business  environment, to establish the equality of
          their positions
  covert body movements--have little control over, we use these to make sense of   words
          facial expression--is the most important way that feelings are expressed
  eyes--people who are concerned with getting along with others tend to change mutual glances more
          often, maintaining eye contact with your listeners urges them to acknowledge you

Space and Time
   space--is occupied by your body, futermore the space around you is territory
   personal space--is the area that you share for intimate conversation; usually 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 feet
   social space--is the area for communicating with friends and business    associates; you lose the
           visual detail you have in the personal distance, 4 to12 feet
   impersonal(public) space--is an area for public communication, 12 to 25    feet
   time--are expected to arrive on time, punch in on time etc.

Influences on space communication:
  Status--people of egual status maintain a shorter distance between themselves than do people of
           unequal status
  Context--the larger the space the more you seem to need to close it off to make the immediate
           communication content managable
  Subject Matter--if you talk about personal matters or share secrets you maintain a shorter distance,
           when you talk about impersonal general    matters the space is generally large
  Sex and Age--women stand closer to one another than do men, opposite    sex pairs stand the
           farthes away
  Positive and Negative Evaluation-- you stand farther from enemies, authority figures, and
          higher-status individuals thna from friends and peers;  you maintain a greater distance from the
          physically handicapped and from    people of a different racial group than from the nonhandicapped
          and those    of your own race. typically you maintain more distance between yourself  and people you
           may subconsciously evaluate negatively

Nonverbal Body Signal Analysis within Groups:

Body Signals                                                  Probable Nonverbal Message
1. Removing glasses.                                              1. Disagreement, don't see eye to eye
2. Leaning forward.                                                2. Interested and involved.
3. Eye contact.                                                        3. Attention.
4. Rubbing of the nose.                                           4. Mild or strong negative reaction.
5. Tapping.                                                             5. Impatience or nervousness.
6. Closing book, closing pen, moving materials.    6. We have over-stayed our welcome

  Improving Nonverbal Communication:
   Be aware that you send messages on many channels; everything about you gives  information, way
           you look, move, etc.
   Keep your messages consistent: match your verbal, vocal, and nonverbal messages
   Avoid nonverbal communication barriers: often first impressions can mislead you. wait  to judge.don't
           be guilty of:
   stereotyping a person based on appearance alone
   making a hasty assumption based solely on nonverbal behavior
   judging a person because of the person's behavior in a single incident
   Decode verbal messages more accurately: watch for nonverbal clues that accompany  the message
   Be sensitive to the nonverbal messages of others: remember that people don't always  say exactly
           what they are thinking
   Remember that nonverbal behavior--like words--may have many meanings; rather than  guess, ask

  Silent Speech in Action
  Emblems--these are signals which may be directly translated into a word or words within  a
            particular culture
  examples include the thumbs-up sign=everything is fine
  the thumb and the first finger formed into an circle = OK, used by skin-divers
  in US culture roughly 100 emblems in use
 Illustrators--are linked to speech and can be used to emphasize a word or phrase, indicate
           relationship, draw a picture in the air, pace an event, and impose a rhythm on a  spoken word
 Regulators--are turn-taking signals which also have an important role to play in starting  or ending
            an exchange
  example--handshakes are regulators
  can be used to speed a speaker up or slow him down
  most frequently used regulators are head nods and the use of a gaze
  rapid nods convey the message to hurry up and finish speaking, while    slower, more deliberate
              nods request  the speaher to continue and indicate that the listener finds what is being said nteresting
              and to her liking
 Adaptors--are movements gestures and other actions used to manage our feelings or  control our
            response
  occur in stressful situations and reflect earlier often more childish coping   methods

Nonverbal Functions and Group Interaction

Nonverbal communication signals listeners about how to interpret a message.  In small
 groups nonverbal communication is displayed by:

  Clarification--members of a gruop who wish to clarify a statement without using
      verbal cues will tend to emphasize their message using their arms, head, shoulders,
      and torso to add meaning to their words
  Control--certain nonverbal cues are positively reinforcing for other group
      members, when a member of group is talking and accompanying his
      communication with smiles, nods, eye contact, gestures, facial expressions, etc.,
      these not only help clarify his meaning but are also reinforcing to listeners; body
      and vocal cues are the most typical signals of control in a group
  Emotional States--nonverbal behaviors are key indicators of emotional states and
      feelings; the face is the most important sector of the body for communicating
      emotion; it signals anger, disgust, fear, pleasantness, happiness, surprise, anger,
      and boredom: for example enjoyment is manifested by wide eyes and broad smiles,
      fear causes our eyes to fix in a frozen position, the body trembles, the face turns
      pale, we sweat, and our hair bristles
  Interpersonal Relationships--the are four different elements that characterize
      relations in a group nonverbally: first is inclusion or exclusion-whether a person is
      considered to be a part of an interaction or not, second is confirmation or
  Disconfirmation--whter messages are supportive of others or negative, third and
      fourth are control messages and emotional messages
  Summary--group members use various channels of nonverbal communication to signal
      communicative functions; the nonverbal channels function predominately to indicate
      message clarification, control, emotional states, and interpersonal relations

Nonverbal Communication in Groups
  Small Group--there a three approaches to the study of nonverbal communication that have
       helped to define the objective and roles of groups
  Transcription approach--identifies individual units of behavior and codify them(a
       system that ranks nonverbal behavior stimuli)
  External variable--nonverbal behavior is a complex function of a. the behavior
       exihibted and b. a given context, this examines a groups facial expressions and
       body movements, and then the behaviors are observed and measured
  Contextual approach--attempts to describe the rules and structure of nonverbal
       language code, a behavorial unit contains specific parts, organized in a certain way,
       and fitted into a larger system of behavior; this approach recognizes the continuous
       nature of the stimuli under investigation

Using Nonverbal Communication Effectively
Groups that communicate face to face have a chance to listen to the way words are said,
 for example groups can listen for vocal emphasis, pauses as well as watch for facial
 expressions, eye contact, posture, gestures, and the way that the members sit in relation to
 one another
The participant who is skilled in nonverbal communication can transmit much more
 information by use of vocal inflections, expressive facial expressions etc. and the
 listener(s) can decode messages more effectively allowing that group member to get a
 good feel of the underlying dynamics in a group meeting

Nonverbal Communication defined in Small Groups
  Two kinds of nonverbal communication:
   First the intentional or conscious kind compromises those nonverbal cues that
               people provide to others with the intent of getting an idea across
   Second the unintentional or involuntary or unconscious kind compromises those
               nonverbal behaviors that people exhibit out of habit or because of spur of the
               moment feelings, without being aware of them

Problems in Nonverbal Group Communication
  Group members may add nonverbal confusion to meetings by using random facial
          gestures, tics, or grimaces; they may use gestures unrelated to their words or feelings such
          as finger tapping, playing with pencils, clicking pens, and rocking back and forth
  Some group speakers may lack the necessary nonverbal skills to add emphasis to their
          ideas, they may speak in a monotone voice and keep a frozen facial expression
  One of the most effective ways for a listener to help a speaker clarify ideas is to provide
          nonverbal feedback that reveals what he understands, what he fails to understand, etc.

Develop Nonverbal Expressiveness
  Flexibility--the key to expressive paralinguistic skills
  A speaker in a group can change the pitch of their voice, vary word loudness, and
              speed up or slow down the rate of speech, thus enabling them to get their point
              across
  A group member who speeaks in a monotone voice has given up one important   channel
              of nonverbal communication, a principle of message communication is that   the more
              channels a speaker uses, the greater the chance of successful   communication

 
For additional information
Nonverbal Cues
Nonverbal Message--body & sound
Nonverbal Message--space & time
Main Page--Communication within Groups and Teams
Home Page