Dr Albert Mehrabian of UCLA The Silent Language

Dr. Albert Mehrabian of UCLA The Silent Language 7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken. • 38% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said). • 55% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression. • This study focused on feelings and attitudes, specifically if you likedislike something, or someone.

Nonverbal Communication Behavior other than written or spoken language that creates meaning for someone. A multi-channeled process that is performed spontaneously. It typically involves a subtle set of non-linguistic behaviors, that are often enacted subconsciously. Verbal and Nonverbal behaviors are often intertwined.

Take five minutes and create a list of possible “channels” that could be considered nonverbal communication.

Kinesics/Body Movements Emblems: Have a direct verbal counterpart. Illustrators: Accompany a verbal message. Affect Displays: Facial or body movements that show feelings or emotions. Regulators: Help to synchronize the back-andforth nature of conversations. Adaptors: Body movements that occur as a reaction to your own physiological, or psychological state. Scratching an itch, tapping a pencil

Other Channels for Nonverbal Communication Chemical Code System: Natural Body Odor Dermal Code System: Skin Texture, sensitivity that result from reactions to the environment. Physical Code System: Physical characteristics of the body. Weight, hair, eye color etc. Artifactual Code System: The creations

NONVERBAL CONTINUED Touch and space (M and N): The bubble around us that marks the territory between ourselves and others. Contact cultures: People stand closer together, make direct eye contact, when talking and touch frequently Non-contact cultures: People stand further apart, make less direct eye contact, and touch less often

NONVERBAL CONTINUED Time: How people use it, structure it, interpret it, and understand its passage is called chronemics. Past, present, and future oriented cultures Technical, formal, and informal time systems Monochronic and polychronic

Cultural Space (M and N) Cultural Space relates to the way communication constructs meanings of various places. Our views of ourselves are formed, in part, by our cultural space. For example, think of “home” one of the earliest cultural spaces we experience Another example: the social class of a U. S. -American home is often expressed nonverbally: from the way the lawn is cared for, to the kinds of cars that are in the driveway, to the kinds of furniture in the home.