Non-verbal communication involves communication that takes place through sending and receiving visual messages. The communication is wordless and takes place between people. Messages are communicated through facial expression, gestures and touch, eye contact and body language or posture. The messages can also be exchanged through the use of objects or artifacts such as hairstyles or clothing. Non-verbal communication usually makes up two-thirds of communication that takes place between people or a group of listeners and a speaker.
Non-verbal communication is important in a high context culture. It is used to regulate interactions, to repeat the verbal message, as a substitute for the verbal message, to complement the verbal message and to accent a verbal message. Cultural differences exist in non-verbal communication especially in body movement, posture, general appearance and dress, facial expressions, gestures, touch, smell, paralanguage and eye contact.
Emotion is the action of feeling directed towards a mental notion. Artists always try to express some idea or emotion that can be understood by the audience in question. Questions whether the audience will see and understand the communicated message in the way the artist intended, whether the emotion they experience has the same intensity, is very important. Emotions are made up of various components. The components include verbal expressions used to display emotion, physiological changes, non-verbal reactions and cognitive interpretations.
Debilitative emotions are those that are intense, and they prevent or hinder effective performance. Debilitative emotions also extend the set or targeted duration. They result from the acceptance of irrational fallacies and thoughts. Minimizing debilitative emotions is attained to overcome the self-defeating thinking that often leads to debilitative emotions.
There are several existing barriers and opportunities to effective emotional expression. They include fear and vulnerability. This is manifested in mistrust, shyness and fear and proves to be a barrier to clear communication. One may be afraid of expressing what they feel because they think the recipient of the message may dismiss it. This hinders one from expressing valuable opinions and ideas. An effective opportunity to have an effective emotional expression is through journaling. This is a language of emotions and is effective when no one is ready to listen. It is a great way of recording emotions. An emotional fallacy is an argument that is designed to appeal to feelings and emotions so that they can override the logical arguments. It unfairly appeals to the emotions of an audience hence distracting it from the facts.
The arguments or position of Fortner, when it comes to communication as art, is emphasized and given substance through the ability to control feelings and communicate in a precise manner. Successful writers are those who have mastered the use of language. Audiences recognize poor art from good art, but despite this, people continue to practice the art of communication.
Information is unprocessed data. It is the meaning and significance that is assigned by humans to data by means of known conventions utilized in their representation. It is data that is organized, specific, verified as timely and accurate and leads to a decrease in uncertainty and an increase in understanding. Value of information lies on its capability to affect an outcome, decision and behavior. Knowledge is the sense we make out of the unprocessed data. It is the familiarity with such things as information, facts, skills or education. The acquisition of knowledge involves complex processes such as communication, reasoning and perception.
The premise for family communication involves effective parent-child communication and interaction. It also involves communication among all family members, which is essential in achieving effective potentials. According to the Circumplex model, rigid families are those, which have an individual who is highly controlling. Roles are defined strictly and are not to be changed. A chaotic family is that which has limited leadership. Roles are unclear and impulsive and often shift from one individual to another.
There are different types of communications in the workplace. The upward type is one in which communication flows in an upward manner. Communication is from employee all the way to the top management. Downward communication is where information flows from the manager down to employees. In the workplace, there are various forms of communication that depend on the way information flows. This is from the communicator to the recipient. The types of communications in the workplace include downward communication. This is where information is from the high level to the low level. This is, for example, the manager to employees or department managers.
This form of communication is suitable for giving feedback to employees and when instructing employees. Upward communication is another form of communication where the employee communicates with other higher-ranking employees. This is, for example, the employee communicating with their branch manager. They may do so to get clarity on the tasks they have, to pass reports on grievances they have. The employees may also want a pay raise and the manager may help with this. There is the horizontal communication where the communicator and the recipient are on the same level. This is, for example, an employee and another employee or two branch managers communicating.
This type of communication helps to save time on delivery of information. This is because communication takes place between people who are in proximity with each other. The coordination of tasks in the organization is easier, and the spirit of cooperation gains enhancement. There is also external communication where, for example, the manager communicates with external members of the organization like banks and vendors. This form of communication takes place when making supply schedules or raising capital. This communication is vital for the continuity of the organizations. This is because they need the outside individuals to get funds, make a profit and stay in good terms with the public.
There are different forms of power in the workplace. They include expert power, which is accorded to an individual according to their accomplishment or skill. Reward power is based upon the ability of a person to bestow rewards. The rewards can be in the form of pay, job assignments or benefits. Connection power is that, which is based upon the people you know. Conflict is the struggle for power and often occurs when actors interested oppose each other as far as power is concerned. The characteristics of conflicts include the fact that at least two people must be present; it involves a sense of perceived difference and struggle, power to influence and action.
Individual conflict resolution styles include avoidance where there can be no action taken to resolve a conflict, collaboration, which includes individual intervention and the ability to defend oneself. Symmetrical way of approaching conflict ensures a mutual, sustainable and relevant satisfaction between the parties involved. Communication and culture are almost the same because the method of communication depends on the culture of an individual. Technology is changing, and so is communication culture. This is the reason why we should embrace the new culture of communication.
Work Cited
Fortner, R. Communication, Media, and Identity: A Christian Theory of Communication. Toronto: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Print.
