Arguably, communication is one of the important activities in human nature. As a matter of fact, communication creates the link between different people in society. It is worth noting that communication is an essential activity among human beings since it is used in every aspect of life. There are various fundamentals of communication that ensure that every aspect of human communication is done in the right way. In communication, there is the integration of practice and theories that will lead to the understanding of the communication process. In society, communication creates relationships, identities, as well as realities. The impact of communication depends on how it is carried out. Moreover, there is important to comprehend that communication can be improved across groups, organizations, across interpersonal, as well as public communication. In general perspective, communication process will make some sense if it is carried out ethically and effectively. Ethical and effective communication in society strengthens the objectives and goals of communication since the information will be passed and received in the right way.
The understanding of effective and ethical communication is achieved by understanding values, beliefs, cultural identities, assumptions, communication patterns, as well as wolves. Nonverbal communication is an important form of communication that is worth studying. In nonverbal communication the message is mostly passed through facial expressions, eye contact, touch, gestures, body posture and language, as well as physical distance. In both writing and speech, there are various concepts of nonverbal communication (Driver, 2010). These aspects include volume, pitch, societal arrangement of words, stress and intonation, as well as speaking style. Nonverbal communication is very important in society since it makes almost two-thirds of the entire communication. As a matter of fact, nonverbal communication is crucial since it can portray the message in verbal way as well as body language. The body language should always match with the verbal signals in order to convey the right information. In fact, nonverbal communication has the impact of developing strong first impression on a person.
It is known that effective communication is the key to a successful relationship, either professional or personal. It is essential to note that nonverbal communication, such as gestures, eye contact, posture, or facial expression speaks loudest. The ability to use and comprehend nonverbal communication is a very powerful tool, which can help in connecting individuals from various cultural diversity and develop a good relationship (Remland, 2009). Nonverbal communication is very essential in society. Perhaps, the way people move, look, react and listen informs the other person whether you are truthful, care, or you are interested in what is being communicated. To become a good communicator, it is essentials to be sensitive to nonverbal cues and body language of others, as well as your own.
In order to understand the concepts and meaning of nonverbal communication, it is essential to comprehend the types of body language and nonverbal communication. These nonverbal cues and signals communicate to others your interest and concerns (Alberts, 2012). It includes body posture and movement, facial expressions, gestures, touch, eye contact, space, as well as voice. The types of nonverbal communication depend on how it is effectively presented in the entire communication process.
There are various skills that are required to enhance effective nonverbal communication. It is always worse being an employee of an organization delivering on how good the company is, and at the same time frowning, turning away from the audience, as well as shrugging. In such scenario an individual will be sending mixed information to the audience. In some occasion, the audience will assert meaning and importance to information passed based on the appearance of the speaker and the appearance (Driver, 2010). Effective nonverbal communication is achieved by harmonizing nonverbal actions and verbal actions. Nonverbal communication and messages allows individuals to modify and reinforce their communication. The emotional and physiological state of an individual is well communicated through nonverbal communication.
Just like any other form of communication nonverbal communication requires ethical adherence. The ethical factor on nonverbal communication is achieved through cooperativeness and honesty. The nonverbal communication should not be intended to harm another person. Communication is meant to pass the message from one person to another (Ekman, 2003). Therefore, the message passed through nonverbal communication should be honest even if it puts you to a risk. The responsible stakeholders in society should develop and encouraging environment of honesty and trust. The message passed through nonverbal communication does not make sense if it is full of lies.
Good communication experience and skills is essential for the development of both professional and personal lives. Research shows that nonverbal communication makes up a bigger percentage of our day to day interpersonal communication. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that nonverbal communication skills are adopted and improved. The nonverbal communication skills will ensure that communication is done in an ethical and effective manner. In addition, the world today is diverse; this means that the nonverbal communication continues to be complex. There is a tremendous difference in meaning that is asserted to various nonverbal communications (Hargie & Dickson, 2004). Adherence to nonverbal communication skills will enhance proper communication among individuals. One of the many skills that enhance nonverbal communication is paying much attention to various nonverbal signals. The signals have the power to convey the message and information that is not presented in words. Paying much attention on the unspoken behavior of individuals will help in improving nonverbal communication.
Another skill to focus on during nonverbal communication is looking for incongruent behavior. There are situations whereby the spoken words do not match with nonverbal signals. In such scenario it is important to focus on the nonverbal signal to assert meaning to the information passed (Alberts, 2012). Other essential skills towards nonverbal communication include asking questions nonverbal signals, focus on eye contact, use signals assert the meaning of communication, consider context, practice, and focus of the signals as a group.
There are occasions whereby nonverbal communication can go wrong in society. This happens when the audience and the presented misread the signals. As a matter of fact, the presenter sends confusing signals or negative signals without their knowledge. In such scenario, the audience must ask the question on the signals so that they do not get a bad impression. In addition, when negative nonverbal signals are used then the trust and connection among audiences and the presenter is damaged. Stress during communication has tremendous impact on nonverbal communication (Steinberg, 2007). Stressed individuals will make wrong judgment of the audience and will send confusing information to the audience. To ensure proper and effective nonverbal communication is crucial to manage stress.
During nonverbal communication it is worth noting that emotional awareness is very important during nonverbal communication. In order to send accurate nonverbal signals and cues, one must be aware of emotions. The emotions influence you and others during communication. Emotional awareness plays various roles in ensuring that nonverbal communication becomes effective (Remland, 2009). It enables individuals to read others in an accurate manner, develop trust, respond in various ways showing you understand the message, as well as discovering whether the communication meets the emotional needs.
Nonverbal communication becomes very complex in a multicultural society. This is because the understanding and types of nonverbal cues and signals vary in society and may mean different thing. The ethical principles of nonverbal communication vary in various societies. Therefore, it is always essential to focus on these principles (Hargie & Dickson, 2004). The principles include expecting the differences, exemplifying the universal, empathizing through action, as well as learning the culture. In order to communicate well, it is crucial to learn the culture of the audience and comprehend about the meaning of cues and signals used in communications.
There are various challenges that are faced while using nonverbal communication. In fact, the challenges that arise are unique and complex in nature. One of the main challenges is the ambiguity of the cues that are used during nonverbal communication. The ambiguity arises as a result of variation in meaning due to differences in degree of intention, context and culture. Random gestures in various societies have different meanings; hence, the intended message in most cases is not achieved. In addition, another issue of nonverbal communication is the fact the nonverbal cues are mostly culture-bound. Furthermore, the nonverbal cues and gestures are in most cases bounded by culture of a society (Ekman, 2003). Despite the fact that some cues and gestures are universal, there are others that are totally disconnected. For example, some cues and gestures are seen to be positive in one gesture, while the same cues and gestures are obscene in another culture. The interpretation of the nonverbal communication gestures and cues is also another problem. This is because the dimensions of interpretations vary from one culture to another. The diversity in the world complicates the entire verbal communication.
In conclusion, nonverbal communication plays tremendous role in communication since it takes a bigger percentage in the communication process. The nonverbal communication includes body posture and language, eye gaze, facial expression, gestures, as well as touch. The nonverbal communication is very important since it goes beyond what is told by word of mouth. Perhaps, the use of nonverbal communication requires proper skills in order to judge the cues and gestures in the right manner. The nonverbal communication can be improved by understanding diversity, checking context, looking for clusters, considering past experience, as well as practicing perception checking.
References
Alberts, J. K., Nakayama, T. K., and Martin, J. (2012). Human Communication in Society (3th ed.). Upper Sadler River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Driver, J. (2010). You Say More Than You Think. New York, NY: Crown Publishers.
Ekman, P. (2003). Emotions Revealed. New York, NY: Owl Books.
Hargie, O. & Dickson, D. (2004). Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. Hove: Routledge.
Remland, Martin S. (2009). Nonverbal communication in everyday life. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Steinberg, S. (2007). An introduction to communication studies. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.
