Deck 4: A: Verbal Communication

Question 1

How is the voice used to communicate nonverbally? What distinguishes vocal nonverbal communication from verbal communication? Describe a scenario where a person would communicate vocally as a substitution for a verbal message.

Answer 1

Ideal answers will indicate that vocal and verbal messages are distinctly different things, and both verbal and nonverbal communication may be either vocal or nonvocal. (Language may be spoken, written, or gestured, and nonverbal communication may be visual, tactile, or auditory.) Verbal communication uses language, and nonverbal communication includes the intentional or unintentional encoding of messages using any means other than language. Paralanguage, vocal elements like pitch, volume, rate, inflection, and vocalizations, can add emphasis, clarity, reinforcement, or contradiction to our verbal messages. Examples will vary but should include the use of a vocalization, such as a sigh, scream, laughter, or cry, as a substitution for a verbal message that communicates a powerful message.

Question 2

How do humans use their eye behavior to communicate with one another? Pulling together information from throughout this chapter, describe how eye behavior functions as part of the communication process. What should we be aware of with respect to eye behavior when we communicate with someone from another culture?

Answer 2

Ideal answers will indicate an understanding that eye behavior is a very powerful communicator. Eye contact helps us to connect with others personally and may help us to manage others' impressions of us and to regulate our interactions with them. Direct eye contact might communicate confidence, positive feeling toward the other person, or might even communicate dominance over another person. Research indicates that even infants recognize the importance and power of eye gaze. However, it should be noted that the meanings of eye behavior are ambiguous-a stare could mean a variety of things. The meaning of eye behavior and rules for how to use eye behavior appropriately vary from one culture to another. Lack of eye contact, though unintentional, might communicate deception, nervousness, or anxiety. Direct eye contact, while telling a lie, might aid in the process of deceiving another person. Eye behavior can also help to create immediacy between individuals.

Question 3

List, describe, and provide an example of the six functions of nonverbal communication discussed in your textbook.

Answer 3

Ideal answers will emphasize that nonverbal communication functions in the following ways. Examples for each will vary. •Nonverbal behavior may reinforce verbal messages by repeating, complementing, or accenting the verbal message. •Nonverbal behavior may substitute for a verbal message. •Nonverbal behavior may contradict a verbal message either intentionally or unintentionally. •Nonverbal behavior may manage impressions and regulate or coordinate our verbal interactions. •Nonverbal behavior creates immediacy, or feelings of closeness, involvement, and warmth between people. •Nonverbal behavior may be used to deceive others.

Question 4

Dan is seventy-five years old and recently got his first personal computer. He has discovered the world of chatting online and is excited about the opportunity to make friends with similar interests throughout the world. Unfortunately, he's also discovered that it's tricky to navigate this new communication world because of the lack of nonverbal cues. He often finds himself being misunderstood by others and is confused about how to interpret what others communicate to him. What advice do you have for Dan about how to encode and decode or interpret subtle nonverbal cues when communicating online?
Answer Key

Question 5

What types of cues might a police officer look for as a sign of deception in a suspect's behavior? Why would the officer want to be skeptical of assuming that these cues are actually a sign of deception?

Question 6

Synthesizing what you have learned throughout this chapter, explain the functions that facial expressions serve in our communication. Explain how we know that some facial expressions are inborn rather than learned behaviors.

Question 7

Kiyomi has recently moved to the United States from Japan in order to attend college. She has also decided to work part-time to gain some experience in a Western workplace. What would you explain to her about the cultural elements of our various nonverbal codes to help her learn to communicate competently?

Question 8

List and define the categories of body movements, or kinesic behaviors, discussed in your book. Using a detailed narrative example, illustrate how all of these behaviors might be used to communicate within a single conversation.

Question 9

Describe the ways in which physical appearance and artifacts serve as communication behaviors. How does being physically attractive appear to benefit a person?

Question 10

Explain why nonverbal communication is not a language and what is meant when nonverbal communication is described as "often spontaneous and unintentional communication that is ambiguous and more believable than verbal communication."