Nonverbal communication is the transmission of information that does not involve words and instead uses tactics such as body language, facial expressions, tonal shifts, or even silence. For example, smiling, maintaining eye contact, and presenting a pleasant smell can be categorized as nonverbally conveying your attractiveness and interest. Numerous principles govern the effective functioning of nonverbal communication (DeVito, 2016). Nonverbal messages are necessary for emotional expression and actively interact with the information contained in verbal ones by either complementing, contradicting, or substituting it. This principle is why impressions are largely formed by nonverbal messages such as posture and dress and can be craftily manipulated to exert influence and deceive. Furthermore, conversations are regulated and structured by nonverbal signals that you are ready to either speak or listen to. Finally, showing intimacy and communicating or confirming relationship status is mostly done nonverbally through gestures such as hand-holding.
In the article “The Naked Face”, Malcolm Gladwell explores how intuition might be the result of subconsciously but effectively detecting nonverbal communication. He discusses the first principle of nonverbal cues serving as crucial channels for revealing emotion, specifically facial expressions. Gladwell explains how two psychologists made an index of every possible facial muscular movement and cataloged which combinations communicated which specific emotion (Gladwell, 2002). Then, he delves into the second principle by explaining how involuntary facial microexpressions either confirm or contradict a person’s verbal messages by exposing their authentic feelings. With the help of such research, it is possible to perceive certain facts about the speaker’s identity and whether they are lying. Gladwell’s article illustrates that nonverbal communication is an essential aspect of interpersonal skills.
Every human being who participates in society and is present in a physical space with other people is utilizing nonverbal communication, whether consciously or not. It is not even necessary to verbally interact with others because your posture, facial expression, and clothes already divulge several things about your self-concept and social status. In my own everyday life, I choose to shower and wear clean clothes to communicate that I am a functioning, presentable adult to control impression formation. I smile and nod when listening to my friends or colleagues to display my interest in what they are saying and signal that it is my turn to listen. I look at the professor and take notes during class to communicate that I am paying attention and that this class is important to me. I add emojis to my texts to indicate whether I am joking or being serious. Everyday life involves countless interactions between verbal and nonverbal types of communication.
However, I have noticed that my nonverbal communication contradicts my verbal messages and needs improvement in certain instances. Sometimes, although I am interested in the content of a conversation, I often glance at my phone to check for notifications out of habit. I keep listening but automatically pull out my phone and start scrolling social media sites without fully processing what I am doing. Unfortunately, my actions and lack of eye contact communicate that I am bored, and my friends usually do not believe me if I insist that is not the case and feel disrespected. To combat this problem, in the future, I will keep my phone in my bag and commit my full attention to my friends.
Gladwell concludes that some people are better at “reading people’s thoughts just by looking at them” because of their superior nonverbal communication (Gladwell, 2002). They can analyze and detect certain facial tics or body language more quickly and effectively than others, either through intentional studying or years of subconscious experience (Gladwell, 2002). The potential benefits of this ability include better interpersonal communication in law enforcement, politics, and courtroom examination (DeVito, 2016). Gladwell cites numerous examples of psychologists recognizing that a government employee was lying or a random passerby was a dangerous criminal by analyzing nonverbal cues such as microexpressions. It could be leveraged to manipulate people and increase personal attraction and popularity in everyday life.
I believe Gladwell’s main “take-home message” about nonverbal communication is that it reveals hidden, involuntary information about the speaker and that acknowledging it is not always necessary in everyday life. Firstly, relaying information verbally requires conscious effort and indicates that we are ready to take accountability for our words; however, we cannot control our involuntary microexpressions. Confronting a person if their body language contradicts their verbal messages crosses certain boundaries and entails a specific obligation to respond. If my colleague looks miserable but tells me she is fine, it may be in my best interest to respect her privacy and pretend I believe her, so I do not have to get involved. Secondly, analyzing nonverbal cues is not an exact science and is mostly based on faith. While a psychologist may state that Philby’s reveal as a Soviet spy was predictable due to his microexpressions during court examination, his testimony could not have been used instead of hard evidence to judge him guilty. Nonverbal communication can be a useful tool but certain nuances must be taken into account.
References
DeVito, J. A. (2016). The interpersonal communication book (14th ed.). Pearson.
Gladwell, M. (2002). The naked face. Genius. Web.