verbal and non verbal communication in presentation

The Power of Nonverbal Communication in Public Speaking

• Speaking tips , Presentations , Psychology

Public speaking is more than just the words you say. It’s about how you say them, how you connect with your audience, and the messages you convey through your nonverbal communication. 

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the significance of nonverbal communication , the key elements that make up nonverbal cues, and practical strategies to harness this power to become a more effective and persuasive public speaker .

Table of Contents

The Silent Language

Nonverbal communication, often referred to as “the silent language,” encompasses all the ways we convey information without using words. It’s a potent form of communication because it operates on a subconscious level, influencing how our message is received and interpreted by our audience.

This encompasses a wide range of cues, including:

• Body Language : Your posture, gestures and physical movements.
• Eye Contact : The way you make and maintain eye contact with your audience.
• Proximity : How close or far you are from your audience or other individuals on the stage.
• Appearance : Your clothing, grooming, and overall appearance, which can influence your audience’s perception.
• Use of Space : How you move around the stage or speaking area, including gestures and body positioning. This even includes how you use the frame on camera if you’re speaking online. 
• Silence : The pauses and moments of silence in your speech, which can convey meaning and emphasis.
• Facial Expressions: We often have a poker face which does’t do much to enhance the message we’re aiming to convey. Facial expressions that go with the message can amplify your impact.  

Photo by Natasha Hall on Unsplash

The Impact of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication plays a critical role in public speaking for several reasons:

1. Conveys Emotion and Authenticity

Your facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice allow you to express emotions authentically. When your nonverbal cues align with your message, it adds depth and authenticity to your talk. For example, a smile can convey warmth and approachability, while a furrowed brow may signal concern or seriousness.

2. Enhances Message Clarity

Nonverbal cues can clarify your message, making it easier for your audience to understand and remember. Hand gestures can illustrate key points, and vocal variations can emphasize critical information. These cues act as signposts that guide your audience through your speech.

Pro-tip: if you over-do hand gestures or use repetitive ones, they can be distracting and damage your impact instead of enhancing it.

3. Builds Connection

Effective nonverbal communication helps you establish a strong connection with your audience. Maintaining eye contact, for instance, fosters a sense of engagement and rapport. A speaker who appears confident and approachable through their body language is more likely to connect with the audience .

4. Captures Attention

Engaging nonverbal cues can capture and maintain your audience’s attention. Movement, gestures, and vocal changes can add dynamism to your speech, preventing your audience from becoming disengaged or bored.

In a world where we’re constantly bombarded with notifications and urgent tasks, gaining attention is the real currency.

5. Demonstrates Confidence

Confidence is a quality that every public speaker should exude. Nonverbal cues such as upright posture, steady eye contact, and controlled body movements convey confidence to your audience. When you appear confident, your audience is more likely to trust and respect your message.

Key Elements of Effective Nonverbal Communication

To harness the power of nonverbal communication in public speaking, it’s essential to focus on specific elements and techniques. Let’s explore these key elements:

1. Body Language

Our posture, movements, and gestures are like an open book, revealing our emotions, confidence level, and authenticity. Here’s how body language can enhance or hinder your public speaking:

Posture : Stand or sit upright with your shoulders back. Good posture exudes confidence and presence. Conversely, slouching or crossing your arms can signal insecurity or defensiveness.

Gestures : Use purposeful hand gestures to emphasize points or convey information. Avoid excessive or distracting movements.

Movement : Move purposefully and with intent. Don’t pace nervously, but rather use movement to engage different sections of the audience or transition between points. Moving purposefully and making eye contact with your audience conveys that you’re fully engaged and interested in their response.

Note for speaking online : people often ignore movement and body language when speaking on camera. But in this context, it’s even more important to be more active and confident as the audience receives less information about your presence. 

Enhance your on-camera body language by being aware of the frame, using gestures that are within the frame and being intentional with the frequency and variance of your gestures.

Credibility : Avoiding distracting movements, such as fidgeting, pacing excessively or swinging in your chair. This enhances your credibility as a speaker and shows that you’re grounded (literally!).

2. Eye Contact

Maintain Connection : Make eye contact with individuals throughout your audience to create a sense of connection and engagement. This is possible to do online as well – look into the camera instead of looking at yourself or your presentation. 

Avoid Staring : Don’t fixate on one person or object for too long, as it can make your audience uncomfortable. Instead, distribute your gaze evenly.

Use of Notes : If using notes or slides, ensure you don’t rely on them excessively. Maintain eye contact while referencing your materials. Pro-tip: Don’t have full sentences on either your slides or your scripts. Have keywords instead and string together the sentences on the spot- this enhances improvisation and makes you sound fresh and natural.

3. Proximity

Your proximity to the audience and your use of personal space can create a sense of intimacy or formality:

Close Proximity: Stepping closer to the audience during a compelling point can create a feeling of closeness and connection.

This works in the online context as well – you’ll notice how the audience reacts when you lean in or when you sit back.

4. Appearance

Dress Appropriately : Your attire should align with the formality and expectations of your audience and the occasion. Dressing well can enhance your credibility.

When in doubt, go a bit more formal vs casual as a rule of thumb. 

5. Use of Space

Stage Presence : Occupy the stage with confidence. Move with purpose, and use the space to engage different parts of the audience.

Avoid Excessive Movement : While movement is essential, avoid excessive pacing or aimless wandering, which can distract from your message.

Photo by Igreja Dimensão

Strategic Pauses : Incorporate strategic pauses into your speech to allow your audience to absorb information and emphasize key points.

There is a lot of power in the pause – use it liberally throughout your talk, presentation or podcast.

Control Filler Words : Minimize the use of filler words like “um,” “uh,” or “like.” Silence is preferable to fillers and indicates thoughtfulness.

7. Facial Expressions

Your face is a canvas of emotions, and your audience is keenly observing it. Expressions can either reinforce or contradict your spoken words:

• Smiling : A genuine smile can instantly connect you with your audience and convey warmth and approachability.
• Micro-expressions: You can say a lot with your expressions. Train your face to express emotions intentionally instead of leaving it up to the audience to insert their own emotions.
• Expressive Eyes : Your eyes can express enthusiasm, surprise, or concern, adding depth to your message.

Practical Strategies for Harnessing Nonverbal Communication

Now that we’ve explored the key elements of nonverbal communication, let’s dive into practical strategies for harnessing this power in your public speaking:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice

Effective nonverbal communication requires practice. Rehearse your talk or presentation multiple times, paying attention to your body language, tone of voice, and eye contact. Recording yourself can provide valuable feedback.

2. Audience Analysis

Consider your audience’s expectations, cultural norms, and preferences when it comes to nonverbal cues. Tailor your approach to resonate with your specific audience.

3. Get Feedback

Seek feedback from trusted colleagues, mentors, or speech coaches. They can offer insights into how your nonverbal cues are perceived and provide guidance for improvement.

Nausheen working with top female LinkedIn influencer Lara Acosta , giving feedback on her talk.

4. Use Visualization

Before your talk, visualize yourself delivering it with confidence and impactful nonverbal communication. Visualization can help reduce anxiety and boost your performance.

5. Mindfulness

Stay present and mindful while speaking. Be aware of your nonverbal cues and their alignment with your message. Correct any unintentional cues that may undermine your message.

6. Rehearse Transitions

Pay special attention to transitions in your speech. Smooth transitions with appropriate nonverbal cues can maintain your audience’s engagement and guide them through your message.

7. Record and Review

Record your speeches or presentations whenever possible. Reviewing the footage allows you to identify areas for improvement in your nonverbal communication. Build this as a part of your speaking and practice routine and you’ll grow your speaking skills exponentially. 

8. Seek Role Models

Study accomplished public speakers and observe how they use nonverbal communication to enhance their message. Emulate their effective techniques.

Body language is underrated and super powerful as a tool in making you an impactful and memorable speaker.

Great non verbal communication can elevate your message and captivate your audience.

By mastering the key elements of body language , tone of voice, eye contact, appearance, use of space, and silence, and by implementing practical strategies for improvement, you can become a more effective and persuasive speaker. 

Remember that nonverbal communication is not just an afterthought – it’s an integral part of the message itself. Embrace this power, and you’ll find that your impact as a public speaker transcends the spoken word alone.

If you want to work with an amazing coach who can guide you through this process of overcoming your stage fright , might I recommend myself? Find out how you can work with me and take advantage of my 10,000+ hours on stage and on camera to become a better speaker. 

Nausheen I. Chen

Get a free 5-day course in speaking fearlessly, you might also like.

• public speaking , TED Talk

Unveiling the TED Talk Process: What You Don’t Know Yet

• Confidence , public speaking , Speaking tips

How to Make People Listen When You Speak: 5 Techniques You Haven’t Tried Yet

• Confidence , Psychology , public speaking , Speaking tips

The Best Mindset for Public Speaking: Why It’s Not What You Think

• fear of public speaking , public speaking

74% of People Fear Public Speaking: Here’s How to Beat Glossophobia

• public speaking , Speaking tips

Speak Like a TED Talk Speaker: 5 Powerful Techniques

• public speaking , public speaking courses

Public Speaking Courses 101: How to Choose the Best Course for Your Needs

Videos you might like, “hello” 5 powerful strategies to introduce yourself in any presentation, public speaking tips: 6 powerful tips to influence people, how to create unforgettable videos as an entrepreneur, how to start your first podcast, build an amazing brand, and make money with podcasting, speaking in public: how to use the power of the pause for memorable talks, top 10 public speaking warm-ups to keep you calm and focused before a presentation.

Transform your speaking skills in 5 days. Sign up to find out how to turn your words into powerful, confident communication. This free video course will give you concrete strategies to gain more confidence and speak fearlessly at your next presentation, meeting or podcast.

By clicking the button above, you are agreeing to the terms outlined in our privacy policy .

Work With Me

Free resources, privacy & transparency.

• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy

© 2023 Nausheen I. Chen. All rights reserved.

How to Communicate Non-Verbally During Presentations

February 23, 2023 / Blog

Non-verbal communication is an essential aspect of conveying your message during a presentation. It can amplify your message by helping you connect with your audience, emphasize key points, and maintain the audience’s interest . Therefore, it is vital to develop your non-verbal communication skills to improve your presentation’s impact.

Need a Presentation Designed? Click Here To View Our Amazing Portfolio

Let’s talk about the best strategies for effective non-verbal communication during presentations.

Preparing for your presentation

Non-verbal communication is as important as verbal communication during a presentation. Thus, preparing for your presentation allows you to incorporate and optimize both verbal and non-verbal communication.

Here are some tips to help you prepare:

• Practice your body language and facial expressions in front of a mirror. You can also record yourself to review later. Being aware of your body language and facial expressions allows you to identify areas you need to improve.
• Dress appropriately for your audience and the message you want to convey.

Using body language

Body language lets you communicate through physical movements to convey messages and feelings.

However, while it can convey confidence, enthusiasm, and credibility, it can also undermine your message. Unprofessional body language can make you appear uncertain, uninterested, or untrustworthy.

Here are some tips to help you use your body language productively:

• Stand up straight to convey confidence, authority, and enthusiasm.
• Make and maintain eye contact with your audience. Make eye contact with individuals throughout the room, not just one individual or section.
• Use hand gestures to emphasize key points. Use gestures to indicate numbers or draw attention to specific areas of the slide.
• Use posture to convey your level of interest and engagement. Avoid slouching or leaning back, as doing so can make you appear disinterested and unprofessional, and may detract from your presentation.

Using facial expressions

Facial expressions can convey a range of emotions, attitudes, and reactions during a presentation. Using appropriate facial expressions can help your audience understand your message more effectively and engage them on an emotional level.

Here are some tips to use facial expressions effectively:

• Smile to show you’re friendly and approachable. Moreover, smiling can help you appear more confident and relaxed.
• Use a variety of facial expressions to convey different emotions.
• Avoid expressions that display discomfort, nervousness, or other negative emotions.

Effective non-verbal communication is an essential aspect of successful presentations. It can help you convey your message more effectively, connect with your audience, and keep them engaged.

By following the tips and strategies in this post, you can develop non-verbal communication skills to improve your presentation’s impact.

Partnering with SlideGenius can take the pressure off you as you prepare for your presentation. By handling the creation of visually appealing and informative presentation decks, SlideGenius can free up your time and energy to focus on the most important aspects of your presentation: preparing and rehearsing your delivery.

Contact SlideGenius today to schedule a consultation.

Popular Posts

Save your deck: methods to recover an unsaved powerpoint file.

Twitter: Lessons from Social Media

Oscar Speech Sounds A Lot Like…..

Olympians Can Teach Presenters a Thing or Two

Overcoming a Public Speaking Disaster: A Lesson from Michael Bay

The Similarities Between Presentations and Advertisments : Super Bowl Edition

How it works

Transform your enterprise with the scalable mindsets, skills, & behavior change that drive performance.

Explore how BetterUp connects to your core business systems.

We pair AI with the latest in human-centered coaching to drive powerful, lasting learning and behavior change.

Build leaders that accelerate team performance and engagement.

Unlock performance potential at scale with AI-powered curated growth journeys.

Build resilience, well-being and agility to drive performance across your entire enterprise.

Transform your business, starting with your sales leaders.

Unlock business impact from the top with executive coaching.

Foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Accelerate the performance and potential of your agencies and employees.

See how innovative organizations use BetterUp to build a thriving workforce.

Discover how BetterUp measurably impacts key business outcomes for organizations like yours.

A demo is the first step to transforming your business. Meet with us to develop a plan for attaining your goals.

• What is coaching?

Learn how 1:1 coaching works, who its for, and if it's right for you.

Accelerate your personal and professional growth with the expert guidance of a BetterUp Coach.

Types of Coaching

Navigate career transitions, accelerate your professional growth, and achieve your career goals with expert coaching.

Enhance your communication skills for better personal and professional relationships, with tailored coaching that focuses on your needs.

Find balance, resilience, and well-being in all areas of your life with holistic coaching designed to empower you.

Discover your perfect match : Take our 5-minute assessment and let us pair you with one of our top Coaches tailored just for you.

Research, expert insights, and resources to develop courageous leaders within your organization.

Best practices, research, and tools to fuel individual and business growth.

View on-demand BetterUp events and learn about upcoming live discussions.

The latest insights and ideas for building a high-performing workplace.

• BetterUp Briefing

The online magazine that helps you understand tomorrow's workforce trends, today.

Innovative research featured in peer-reviewed journals, press, and more.

Founded in 2022 to deepen the understanding of the intersection of well-being, purpose, and performance

We're on a mission to help everyone live with clarity, purpose, and passion.

Join us and create impactful change.

Read the buzz about BetterUp.

Meet the leadership that's passionate about empowering your workforce.

For Business

For Individuals

What is nonverbal communication? 10 different types (with examples)

Jump to section

What is nonverbal communication?

10 types of nonverbal communication, examples of nonverbal communication, why is nonverbal communication so important, 5 tips for understanding nonverbal communication, how to improve nonverbal communication, enjoy better interactions.

We all rely on nonverbal communication. This is true whether playing a game of charades with your family or trying to show confidence during an important interview .

There’s a reason many of us prefer face-to-face communication over phone calls. Without seeing someone’s facial expressions, posture, and body language , it can be hard to read their feelings. 

Nonverbal cues are just as important as verbalization. Nonverbal actions are key for communicating with and understanding everyone in your life. 

Understanding every type of nonverbal communication can also help your career. You can show your confidence, passion, and expertise through small nonverbal communication cues. This is true whether leading a team meeting or delivering a presentation .  

There are two primary forms of communication: verbal and nonverbal.

Verbal communication uses words to convey a message, whether that’s orally or in writing. 

Posture, facial expressions, and eye contact are examples of nonverbal messages . We all use these cues in daily conversation, even involuntarily. Nonverbal communication also involves the way we present ourselves to others. If you walk into a meeting with your back straight and your head held high, you exude power and confidence. You project nervousness and uncertainty if you’re slumped over with your eyes on the floor.

Experts believe that approximately 70% of all human communication is nonverbal , meaning we only deliver about 30% of our messages with words.  

Austrian-American author and educator Peter Drucker had it right when he said, “ The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said. ” 

We all perform and respond to nonverbal communication — and what we understand that no one says — daily. 

Here are 10 of the most common forms of nonverbal communication:

1. Facial expressions

The look on an individual’s face is often the first thing we see. A smile, frown, or grimace tells a lot about their mood and how the subsequent conversation will go. Expressions of happiness, sadness, anger and fear are universal emotions and key forms of nonverbal communication.

2. Kinesics

Kinesics, or gestures, are conscious body movements like waving, pointing, and giving a thumbs up or down. One's culture typically determines what gestures are socially acceptable and which are rude. 

For example, in Westernized countries, glancing at your watch suggests, “I need to be somewhere.” In contrast, many Middle Eastern populations consider this rude. They are more likely to believe a conversation should continue until it ends naturally.

3. Paralinguistics

Paralinguistic s (or vocalics)  refers to the aspects of verbal communication that aren’t the words themselves . Your tone of voice, loudness, and pitch are common aspects of paralanguage. 

This type of communication is powerful since altering your voice changes the meaning of a sentence. Think about all the ways you can use the phrase “I’m fine.” If you say it quietly, you might be feeling dejected, but if you say it forcefully, someone might detect your defensiveness.

4. Body language and posture

Crossing your legs or arms, a head nod, slouching, or sitting up straight are all examples of true body language. For example, you may have seen crime films focus on body language to further the narrative. It can also hint at what isn’t included in the dialogue.  

However, this type of nonverbal communication is complex and quite subtle. Just because you observe a movement doesn’t guarantee you understand the meaning.

5. Proxemics

Proximity references how near something is. Human beings take personal space seriously. They also interpret physical distances in interactions differently.

Social and cultural expectations, personal preferences, and relationships all determine the suitable proximity. For example, if you’re in a relationship with someone, you’d expect to sit close together on the couch. On the other hand, you likely wouldn’t sit that close to a coworker. 

Proxemics is an important part of interpersonal communication. Noticing when to adjust your closeness for each situation ensures you’re not making people uncomfortable. 

Scientists focused on proximity biases in North America have grouped expected space as follows :

• Intimate space: Close physical contact up to 18 inches of space, typically shared between people in an intimate relationship. 
• Personal space: Between 18 inches to 4 feet depending on whether you’re speaking to a stranger, casual acquaintance, or close friend. 
• Social space: 4 –12 feet of space provided in social settings, like a shared office space or the distance between a presenter and their audience.
• Public space: 12 feet or more, typically observed in shopping malls and airports.

It may sound cliche, but it’s true that “The eyes are the windows to the soul.”  Our eye contact is a massive factor in nonverbal communication because it can give clues to how we feel. 

When we’re scared, our pupils dilate due to a surge in adrenaline. When something excites us, we blink rapidly. Maintaining eye contact generally means that someone is comfortable and telling the truth. In contrast, avoiding eye contact might suggest that they’re nervous or hiding something.

Communication by touch is called haptics. Touch is powerful because our emotions drive it. Our social class, gender, and, of course, our upbringing all determine how we respond to touch. Women generally use touch to convey care and concern, while men are more likely to convey control. 

Psychologist Harry Harlow made a career in studying the impacts of touch on rhesus monkeys. Monkeys who were raised without physical contact from their mothers struggled with social interactions . We share this affect with our ancestors — physical contact at a young age improves our social skills when we're older.

8. Appearance

Your appearance is another thing people notice immediately. Your hairstyle, clothing, tattoos, piercings, and even body shape give off cues. This can encourage snap judgments from other people. There’s a reason your mother always told you to “dress to impress” for a presentation at school or a job interview.

9. Chronemics

Chronemics is the role time plays during communication. How people interpret time can be personal, cultural, or have to do with their power or status. 

Have you ever waited around for a friend to show up for an event? Maybe you felt annoyed or disrespected by their laziness or lack of time management . Now imagine if your boss showed up 15 minutes late to a meeting. You might be more understanding of their busy schedule. 

10. Physiological responses

Your body naturally sends out nonverbal signals that are nearly impossible to control. This includes nervous sweating, blushing, or tearing up.

Here are a few ways to practice your nonverbal communication skills personally and professionally: 

In the workplace

Tone: Use your voice to show excitement, positivity, and contentment with your work. Managers want demonstrably engaged workers. Plus, your positivity will likely rub off on coworkers. 

Distance: Maintain an appropriate distance from coworkers to respect their boundaries . Remember, an office is a professional space. Even if you enjoy comfortable work relationships , you should always respect someone’s physical boundaries . 

Posture: You got the job. You belong here . Your ideas matter. Stand up straight and speak with your head held high. 

In your personal life

Distance: Leaning in when your loved one speaks shows you’re actively listening .

Concentration: Put away distractions like video games or phones when spending time with loved ones. This shows you’re paying attention and offering them quality time. 

Touch: Hugs, hand-holding, and other forms of physical touch foster intimacy between consensual parties.

Here are four reasons why understanding nonverbal messaging matters:

1. Builds trust and clarity

Nonverbal signals are far more subtle than words, but they’re no less important.

Facial expressions, body posture, and eye contact reveal the meaning behind what someone is saying, their true feelings, and if they’re listening to your half of the conversation. Someone may be able to feign interest with their words, but their body language will often reveal if they’re paying attention. 

2. Bridges language gaps

Ever tried to interact with someone that didn’t speak your language? There was probably a lot of gesturing, facial expressions, and posturing — your nonverbal communication skills at work.

Outside of conversational cues, nonverbal behaviors are crucial to bridge language gaps. When two people don’t speak the same language, body language can help foster knowledge and understanding. 

3. Encourages inclusivity

Everybody has different communication abilities. Learning nonverbal communication skills can help create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. 

For example, people with hearing impairments might struggle to pick up on voice tone or speed. Understanding how to interpret and express nonverbal messages makes these individuals feel included and understood. 

4. Leads to success

Non-verbal communication skills can help your career. For example, teachers with these skills see more success with their students. When talking with your boss, coworkers, and clients, you can use non-verbal communication to gain a competitive edge.

Effective communication requires nonverbal messaging. Understanding the types of nonverbal communication will help you connect with people in every area of your life.

The more you practice reading cues, the better you’ll become. Some things you can do include:

1. Pay attention to inconsistencies

Nonverbal communication can either reinforce or discourage what someone is saying. Do a person’s facial expressions match their words? Their tone of voice? If they do, then great.

They’re most likely being honest about whatever they’re saying. If it’s the opposite, they may be trying to hide how they truly feel. 

2. Look at nonverbal signals as a whole

If you’re only paying attention to someone’s posture, you might miss a whole bunch of other clues. Nonverbal signals work in tandem to generate a complete picture of another human being.

3. Trust your instincts

Go with your gut . Your instincts are there to help guide and protect you about what someone is saying and what they truly mean.

4. Practice emotional awareness

Emotional intelligence is a significant part of navigating relationships. Being emotionally aware h elps you interpret people more accurately.

When you can read other people’s emotions and unspoken messages, you can reciprocate communication by responding in a way that shows you understand and care.

5. Don’t make assumptions

Nonverbal communication is nuanced and involves personal and cultural meaning. Don’t assume a person’s tone or body language is definitively what you think it is.

Someone might avoid eye contact because they’re shy, not deceptive. They may slouch because they’re stressed out , not doubtful of their work. If you can’t read the person’s body language, ask them how they feel.

Nonverbal communication is a necessary factor at home, work, and beyond. Often, these signals occur rapidly. Interpreting or noticing all of them can be challenging during a single conversation.

Fortunately, there's always room to improve upon these skills. To do so, try focusing on the below.

Manage stress

When we’re stressed , we can’t communicate as effectively. How you’re feeling rubs off on others, too. Take some deep breaths to relax and refocus. You’ll feel better, and you’ll be able to read people more accurately.  

Pay attention to your behaviors

To learn to communicate more effectively and develop stronger emotional awareness , you must understand your nonverbal communication habits. Learning your cues will also increase self-awareness . You’ll be more in tune with your feelings and be better able to express yourself.

Think before you act

Do you raise your voice when stressed or avoid eye contact when nervous? A great way to adjust nonverbal behaviors you don’t want is to think before you act. Notice situations that cause problematic behaviors and practice taking a deep breath before reacting. 

Nonverbal communication plays a prominent role in our personal and professional lives. Person-to-person contact will almost always involve some type of nonverbal communication.

Now, you know how to interpret nonverbal cues and express yourself more authentically through them. Congratulations on beginning the journey toward healthier, happier interactions.

Elevate your communication skills

Unlock the power of clear and persuasive communication. Our coaches can guide you to build strong relationships and succeed in both personal and professional life.

Allaya Cooks-Campbell

With over 15 years of content experience, Allaya Cooks Campbell has written for outlets such as ScaryMommy, HRzone, and HuffPost. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and is a certified yoga instructor as well as a certified Integrative Wellness & Life Coach. Allaya is passionate about whole-person wellness, yoga, and mental health.

Nonverbal communication in the workplace: The secret to team trust

Learn types of gestures and their meanings to improve your communication, 7-38-55 rule of communication: how to use for negotiation, how to read body language and gain deeper emotional awareness, communication is key in the workplace. here's how to improve, why face-to-face communication matters (even with remote work), foster strong communication skills to enjoy professional success, 12 great jobs for communications graduates across different industries, what is asynchronous communication, similar articles, eye contact is important (crucial really) in communication, what’s personal space learn what it means, active listening: what is it & techniques to become an active listener, how to overcome phone anxiety, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

3100 E 5th Street, Suite 350 Austin, TX 78702

• Platform Overview
• Integrations
• Powered by AI
• BetterUp Lead
• BetterUp Manage™
• BetterUp Care™
• Sales Performance
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Case Studies
• Why BetterUp?
• About Coaching
• Find your Coach
• Career Coaching
• Communication Coaching
• Life Coaching
• News and Press
• Leadership Team
• Become a BetterUp Coach
• BetterUp Labs
• Center for Purpose & Performance
• Leadership Training
• Business Coaching
• Contact Support
• Contact Sales
• Privacy Policy
• Acceptable Use Policy
• Trust & Security
• Cookie Preferences

Oral Presentations

Effective delivery: vocal & non-verbal.

Effective delivery has two aspects:  vocal delivery and non-verbal communication.

Vocal Delivery

You may have a well-developed presentation, one that you’re excited about, one that distills your main ideas into memorable slides, one that meets your audience’s needs while presenting your informed viewpoint, one that will advance knowledge or process within or outside of your organization.  Yet if you do not deliver that presentation well, it will not have the effects you intend.  As legendary advertising creative director William Bernbach noted, “It’s not just what you say that stirs people. It’s the way that you say it.”

Vocal presentation matters in any type of presentation: in-person, online, real-time, asynchronous.  Vocal variety affects how you are heard. Here are a few tips for effective verbal presentation from presentation skills training consultant Gavin Meikle, who identifies key elements, common errors, and good practices to develop greater vocal impact [1] .

• Volume – Develop your range and vary your volume. To help put this in perspective, consider the saying, “A good speech needs light and shade.”
• Pitch – Research suggests a general preference for lower vocal pitch, with participants ascribing more positive personality traits to lower pitched voices. That’s not to say that you should artificially lower your voice, but simply try to be conscious if your voice tends to rise when you speak, and try to modulate it.
• Resonance – Resonance refers to the fullness of the sound.  For example, when you’re nervous, your voice may tend to become “tighter.” Try deep breathing to re-establish vocal resonance before a presentation.
• Pace – Be aware of and manage your speaking speed. It’s been found that people who moderate their pace when speaking to groups are thought to have greater credibility, and authority.
• Pause – Consider well-placed pauses to emphasize information, and/or to give your audience a brief chance to absorb key information.
• Ending a spoken sentence with a rising tone indicates a question or suggestion.
• Ending a spoken sentence with a descending tone is generally interpreted as an order.
• A flat intonation is used to indicate a statement.

View the following video, which expands on these vocal presentation tips.

Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal differs from verbal communication in a few ways.

• Verbal communication uses one channel (words); non-verbal communication uses multiple channels (gestures, pauses/silence, environment, posture/stance, appearance).
• Verbal communication is usually linear (sentences, discussions, and articles start, develop, and end); non-verbal communication is continuous (in constant motion and relative to context).
• Verbal communication is conscious (you consider and choose your words); non-verbal communication can be both conscious and unconscious (you usually don’t make a conscious decision to smile or laugh, but you may make a conscious decision to dress a certain way).

Non-verbal communication – the information and cues you emit through your gestures, appearance, stance, and more – is just as important to consider as verbal communication when you present to an audience. When we first see each other, before anyone says a word, we are already sizing each other up. Within the first few seconds we have made judgments about each other based on what we wear, our physical characteristics, even our posture. Are these judgments accurate? That is hard to know without context, but we can say that nonverbal communication certainly affects first impressions, for better or worse. When a presenter and audience first meet, nonverbal communication in terms of space, dress, and even personal characteristics can contribute to assumed expectations. The expectations might not be accurate or even fair, but it is important to recognize that they will be present. There is truth in the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Since beginnings are fragile times, your attention to aspects you can control, both verbal and nonverbal, will help contribute to the first step of forming a relationship with your audience. Your eye contact with audience members, use of space, and degree of formality will continue to contribute to that relationship.

Non-verbal communication also factors into online, real-time and asynchronous presentations with pauses, silence, and/or background noise; the image you project with your identifying photograph; and your gestures, posture, appearance, and environment visible via the video option in conferencing tools.

The following videos illustrate important aspects of non-verbal communication for presentations.

One Big Presentation Tip

Practice.  It really does help you become aware of how you come across to others in terms of look and language.

The following video discusses the importance of practicing and reviews oral presentation concepts, within the context of doing a presentation for a job interview (although the tips work for any oral presentation context).

[1] Meikle, Gavin. “ Six Elements of Vocal Variety and How to Master Them. ”  Inter-Activ . 18 Jun 2017. Web. 25 Jun 2018.

• some original content and content adapted from Business Communication Skills for Managers, Introduction to Communication, and Business Communication for Success; attributions below. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Project : Communications for Professionals. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Delivery Techniques. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-businesscommunicationmgrs/chapter/delivery-techniques/ . Project : Business Communication Skills for Managers. License : CC BY: Attribution
• video Vocal Delivery. Provided by : COMMpadres Media. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ha-KUArLWc . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• Differences Between Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication. Authored by : Scott T. Paynton and Linda K. Hahn. Provided by : Humboldt State Universtiy. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introductiontocommunication/chapter/differences-between-verbal-and-nonverbal-communication/ . Project : Introduction to Communication. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• 11.1 Principles of Nonverbal Communication. Located at : https://open.lib.umn.edu/businesscommunication/chapter/11-1-principles-of-nonverbal-communication/ . Project : Business Communication for Success. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• video Body Language for Presentations. Authored by : Alex Lyon. Provided by : Communication Coach. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmbQFWBvTtY . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• video Gestures - The Business Presentation Revolution . Authored by : Michael Rickwood and Rose Bloomfield. Provided by : Ideas on Stage. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P9C8xl4RPU . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• image man holding microphone and speaking in a business environment. Authored by : PhotoMIX-Company. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/the-conference-lecture-lecture-hall-3248255/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• video How to Make an Interview Presentation. Provided by : Monster UK & Ireland. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCr7ZXNKz6A . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video

Privacy Policy

Public Speaking: Nonverbal

Criteria for success.

• You feel confident in your movements and body posture.
• You maintain eye contact and forward-facing movements during the talk.
• You incorporate power poses when necessary.
• Your body movements flow naturally with your presentation and slides.
• Any movement that doesn’t support your main message is minimized.

Identify your purpose

A public presentation is more than just presenting information, it is also about engaging the audience and captivating their attention. If it wasn’t through our physical engagement, we might as well give the audience members an audio recording or slide deck instead. As a presenter, we attempt to liven the verbal messages with nonverbal gestures. Whether through body language, movement, or stage presence, these nonverbal components are just as important as the slides and talk you have practiced and prepared for. Incorporating conscious movements that serve to enhance how your message is perceived by your audience can help you:

• Engage your audience. Posture, gestures or movements, and your physical location on the stage are all factors that can be incorporated to create a story-telling effect that will keep your audience engaged throughout your presentation.
• Feel more confident. Strong body postures (e.g., power poses) convey confidence and a sense of importance during your talk.

Analyze your audience

Many audience members will arrive with the intention of learning more about your work and gaining some insight about your field. You can do more by also delivering an impactful and engaging talk that viewers can take home and remember. Audience types will dictate how you present yourself. For example, formal talks require formal attire, and this is also true in the types of nonverbal communication you can incorporate. Defined posture and deliberate movements are a must for professional talks, whereas more dynamic movements may be appealing for more casual and friendly presentations.

Similarly, the environment in which you are presenting will also determine your style. Poster presentations can be more informal with casual movements to guide the viewer. Department talks, on the other hand, should have movements that flow fluidly with your talk to guide the audience in your longer discussions.

Use eye contact to engage your audience

Possibly one of the most intimidating aspects of a talk is to look at the audience and to see their eyes gazing back at you. It is very common to escape eye contact by looking at your notes, the floor, or turning your back on your audience to face your slides. However, to be an effective presenter it is necessary to overcome these crutches in order to engage your audience. Making eye contact will help the audience feel important, like you are actually talking to them and not just giving a rehearsed speech.

If you already feel comfortable maintaining eye contact, remember to engage the entire audience. A few suggestions are:

• If it’s a large room, turn your head or even body to talk to all corners of the room, not just the people in the middle.
• Rather than just scanning the audience, can you take time to make one-on-one eye contact with individuals? Use this as an opportunity to gauge the audience’s level of interest. Seeing how they respond to your slides, transitions, etc. can help you adjust your talk as you go.

If making eye contact is challenging for you, here are two suggestions to help you work on this skill:

• Rather than trying to make eye contact with individuals, try looking at someone’s forehead, a colorful shirt, or the cushion of someone’s seat to create the illusion that you are making eye contact with the general audience. Alternatively, if picking out details is too distracting, you can look at or just above people’s heads to give the illusion of making eye contact.
• Once you feel comfortable looking into the audience, pick one or two places and go back and forth between these places during your talk to engage the entire room.

Emphasize deliberate movements and minimize unnecessary distractions (maximize signal-to-noise)

Here, we define signal as any movements that add substance to your talk and further engages the audience, such as conveying a message with your hands, or making eye contact with the audience.

Noise, on the other hand, is any unnecessary movements that distract the viewers, such as fidgeting or repetitive motions. Move with purpose. Do not ruffle your pockets or rock back and forth. Instead, present a straight, upright posture with arm movements that match the pace and flow of your talk. Adding purposeful movement to signify changes in ideas or to emphasize important points can add another layer of engagement to your talk. Some examples include:

• If you are comparing two concepts, physically weigh them out with your hands to convey the difference as if your hands were a scale.
• Casually walk to the other side of the stage when transitioning between ideas to physically cue the viewers that there is a change in topic.
• With a straight arm, point in the direction of the slide that has an important message. Make your movement distinct to indicate that the audience should focus on the slide, and not you.

Overall, this “art form” is unique to each person based on level of comfort and ability. We highly recommend using the Communication Lab to ask about how you can best utilize body movements to further enhance your talk. Alternatively, ask a friend for feedback, film yourself, or practice in front of a mirror to get a sense at what actions you naturally do during a talk, and reflect on how to change or enhance them.

(The metaphor of “signal-to-noise ratio” comes from Jean-luc Doumont’s book Trees, Maps, and Theorems .)

Use good posture and incorporate power poses

Many of us are rarely conscious of our posture, yet this is the first impression you will make to your audience even before you speak. A straight back and a level chin with your eyes facing the audience will show that you are prepared and ready.

Power poses can help assert confidence and importance during your talk. You are, in fact, the most important person in the room, so use power poses to make it look that way! What makes power poses distinct from low-power (or submissive) poses is the control of space. Hands on the side and a slightly wider stance command space on the stage and demands attention. Of course, overly dramatic, arrogant, or otherwise off-putting stances and posture should be avoided. Use a friend or video to find a power pose that makes you feel confident but doesn’t detract from your overall talk.

How to Practice

Non-verbal engagement is part of our daily lives, so pay attention to your movements when you interact with friends or co-workers. With practice, you will be able to naturally deliver a strong presentation when the time comes. Overall, things to consider are:

• Be conscious of your posture when standing and interacting with friends.
• Look people in the eye! Attempt to make eye contact with those you talk to.
• Pay attention to your small and fidget-like movements, even while by yourself. If these unwanted habits go unnoticed during everyday life, you can expect these habits to creep into your talk without you knowing.

Finally, make an appointment with the Comm Lab if you ever want to practice one-on-one or to discuss your concerns related to your non-verbal presentation style.

Additional Resources

• Common Challenges and Fixes for Verbal and Nonverbal Communication – An extensive reference table created by the BE Communication Lab
• “The Importance of Nonverbal Communication” – A quick read with fun statistics about the importance of nonverbal communication and additional concrete suggestions for improving your skills.
• “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are” – A TED Talk on the effects of power poses and how to incorporate them into your daily life.

• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Guided Meditations
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2023 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

10 Tips for Improving Your Nonverbal Communication

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Strong communication skills can help you in both your personal and professional life. While verbal and written communication skills are important, research has shown that nonverbal behaviors make up a large percentage of our daily interpersonal communication.

How can you improve your nonverbal communication skills? Paying closer attention to your nonverbal signals is an excellent place to start. You can also focus on factors such as tone of voice, eye contact, body language, and the context in which the communication occurs.

The following tips can help you learn to read other people's nonverbal signals and enhance your ability to communicate effectively. With practice, you can become more adept at conveying meaning without saying a word.

Pay Attention to Nonverbal Signals

People can communicate information in numerous ways, so pay attention to a variety of signals including:

• Body movements
• Eye contact
• Tone of voice

All of these signals can convey important information that is not put into words. For example, eye contact can help establish how attentive a person is. Tone of voice might reveal hints about their emotional state. Even posture can help convey how interested and engaged a person is in a conversation.

By paying closer attention to other people's unspoken behaviors, you will improve your own ability to communicate nonverbally.

Look for Incongruent Behaviors

You should pay careful attention if someone's words do not match their nonverbal behaviors. For example, someone might tell you they are happy while frowning and staring at the ground.

When words fail to match up with nonverbal signals, people often ignore what has been said and focus instead on unspoken expressions of moods, thoughts, and emotions . Therapists, for example, utilize these incongruencies to look for how a client might feel during a session.

So when someone says one thing, but their body language suggests something else, it can be helpful to pay extra attention to those subtle nonverbal cues. 

Be aware that other factors might contribute to these differences. Physical challenges may affect a person's ability to convey signals, so consider other reasons why words and behaviors might not match up.

Focus on Tone of Voice

Your tone of voice can convey a wealth of information, ranging from enthusiasm to disinterest to anger. Tone can be an effective way to amplify your message.

Start noticing how your tone of voice affects how others respond to you and try using your tone to emphasize ideas that you want to communicate.

For example, if you want to show genuine interest in something, express your enthusiasm by using an animated tone of voice. Such signals not only convey your feelings about a topic; they can also help generate interest in the people listening to you speak.

Researchers have found that tone of voice can affect how people respond to healthcare practitioners. Patients report greater satisfaction when treated by surgeons who use a non-dominant tone of voice. People who use more vocal variety in tone of voice are rated as more trustworthy and attentive.

Use Good Eye Contact

Good eye contact is another essential nonverbal communication skill. When people fail to look others in the eye, it can seem as if they are evading or trying to hide something. On the other hand, too much eye contact can seem confrontational or intimidating.

While eye contact is an essential part of communication, it's important to remember that good eye contact does not mean staring fixedly into someone's eyes. How can you tell how much eye contact is appropriate?

Some communication experts recommend intervals of eye contact lasting three to four seconds. Effective eye contact should feel natural and comfortable for you and the person you are speaking with.

Ask Questions

If you are confused about another person's nonverbal signals, don't be afraid to ask questions. A good idea is to repeat back your interpretation of what has been said and ask for clarification. Some examples of this:

• "So what you are saying is that..."
• "Do you mean that we should..."
• "What I'm hearing is that you think..."

Such questions can help clarify a conversation and encourage the other person to keep talking. These questions are part of active listening and help demonstrate your interest and engagement in the conversation.

Sometimes simply asking such questions can lend a great deal of clarity to a situation.

For example, a person might be giving off certain nonverbal signals because they have something else on their mind. By inquiring further into their message and intent, you might get a better idea of what they are really trying to say.

Use Signals to Add Meaning

Remember that verbal and nonverbal communication work together to convey a message. You can improve your spoken communication by using body language that reinforces and supports what you are saying. This can be especially useful when making presentations or speaking to a large group.

For example, suppose your goal is to appear confident and prepared during a presentation. In that case, you will want to focus on sending nonverbal signals that ensure that others see you as self-assured and capable. You can strike a self-confident stance by:

• Standing firmly in one place
• Keeping your shoulders back
• Keeping your weight balanced on both feet

Matching your body language to your verbal messages can help convey greater meaning and clarify your intentions. Body movements and stance are important, but facial expressions, eye gaze, mouth movements, gestures, and personal space are also essential components.

Look at Signals as a Whole

Another important part of good nonverbal communication skills involves being able to take a more holistic approach to what a person is communicating. A single gesture can mean any number of things or maybe even nothing at all.

The key to accurately reading nonverbal behavior is looking for groups of signals reinforcing a common point.

If you place too much emphasis on just one signal out of many, you might come to an inaccurate conclusion about what a person is trying to say.

For example, imagine that a person sounds and looks confident in their words and body language, but you notice that they don't make much eye contact. If you were to base your assessment on eye gaze alone, you might conclude that they were anxious or unsure, when in reality, they are just tired or distracted.

Consider the Context

When you are communicating with others, always consider the situation and the context in which the communication occurs. Some situations require more formal behaviors that might be interpreted very differently in any other setting.

Consider whether or not nonverbal behaviors are appropriate for the context. If you are trying to improve your own nonverbal communication, concentrate on ways to make your signals match the level of formality necessitated by the situation.

For example, the body language and nonverbal communication you utilize at work are probably very different from the sort of signals you would send on a casual Friday night out with friends. Strive to match your nonverbal signals to the situation to ensure that you are conveying the message you really want to send.  

Be Aware That Signals Can be Misread

According to some, a firm handshake indicates a strong personality while a weak handshake is taken as a lack of fortitude. This example illustrates an important point about the possibility of misreading nonverbal signals. A weak handshake might actually indicate something else entirely, such as arthritis.

Always remember to look for groups of behavior. A person's overall demeanor is far more telling than a single gesture viewed in isolation.

Interpreting nonverbal communication is complex and relies on various abilities, including interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence . Understanding that situations can be misread, different factors can affect how a person comes across, and the impact of your own biases can help you better interpret different nonverbal signals.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Some people just seem to have a knack for using nonverbal communication effectively and correctly interpreting signals from others. These people are often described as being able to "read people."  

In reality, nonverbal communication is a skill you can improve. You can build this skill by paying careful attention to nonverbal behavior and practicing different types of nonverbal communication with others.

By noticing nonverbal behavior and practicing your own skills, you can dramatically improve your communication abilities.

Nonverbal communication is complex and varied. There's is no single approach or signal that is appropriate in every context. Being more aware of how nonverbal signals impact interpersonal relationships can help you learn to use nonverbal communication more effectively 

A Word From Verywell

Nonverbal communication skills are essential and can make it easier to convey your point and to read what others are trying to tell you. Some people seem to come by these skills quite naturally, but anyone can improve their nonverbal skills with practice.

Park SG, Park KH. Correlation between nonverbal communication and objective structured clinical examination score in medical students .  Korean J Med Educ . 2018;30(3):199-208. doi:10.3946/kjme.2018.94

Foley GN, Gentile JP. Nonverbal communication in psychotherapy .  Psychiatry (Edgmont) . 2010;7(6):38-44.

Hietanen JK. Affective eye contact: an integrative review .  Front Psychol . 2018;9:1587. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01587

Jarick M, Bencic R. Eye contact is a two-way street: arousal is elicited by the sending and receiving of eye gaze information.   Front Psychol . 2019;10:1262. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01262

Scientific American. Eye contact: how long is too long ?

Pádua Júnior FP, Prado PH, Roeder SS, Andrade EB. What a smile means: contextual beliefs and facial emotion expressions in a non-verbal zero-sum game .  Front Psychol . 2016;7:534. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00534

Tipper CM, Signorini G, Grafton ST.  Body language in the brain: constructing meaning from expressive movement .  Front Hum Neurosci . 2015;9:450. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00450

Foley GN, Gentile JP. Nonverbal communication in psychotherapy.   Psychiatry (Edgmont) . 2010;7(6):38–44.

Kret ME. Emotional expressions beyond facial muscle actions. A call for studying autonomic signals and their impact on social perception.   Front Psychol . 2015;6:711. Published 2015 May 27. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00711

Evola V, Skubisz J. Coordinated Collaboration and Nonverbal Social Interactions: A Formal and Functional Analysis of Gaze, Gestures, and Other Body Movements in a Contemporary Dance Improvisation Performance.   J Nonverbal Behav . 2019;43(4):451–479. doi:10.1007/s10919-019-00313-2

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

4.1 Principles and Functions of Nonverbal Communication

Learning objectives.

• Define nonverbal communication.
• Compare and contrast verbal communication and nonverbal communication.
• Discuss the principles of nonverbal communication.
• Provide examples of the functions of nonverbal communication.

As you’ll recall from our introductory chapter, a channel is the sensory route on which a message travels. Oral communication only relies on one channel, because spoken language is transmitted through sound and picked up by our ears. Nonverbal communication, on the other hand, can be taken in by all five of our senses. Since most of our communication relies on visual and auditory channels, those will be the focus of this chapter. But we can also receive messages and generate meaning through touch, taste, and smell. Touch is an especially powerful form of nonverbal communication that we will discuss in this chapter, but we will not get into taste and smell, which have not received as much scholarly attention in relation to nonverbal communication as the other senses.

To further define nonverbal communication, we need to distinguish between vocal and verbal aspects of communication. Verbal and nonverbal communication include both vocal and nonvocal elements, and Table 4.1 “Vocal and Nonvocal Elements of Communication” shows the relationship among vocal, nonvocal, verbal, and nonverbal aspects of communication. A vocal element of verbal communication is spoken words—for example, “Come back here.” A vocal element of nonverbal communication is paralanguage , which is the vocalized but not verbal part of a spoken message, such as speaking rate, volume, and pitch. Nonvocal elements of verbal communication include the use of unspoken symbols to convey meaning. Writing and American Sign Language (ASL) are nonvocal examples of verbal communication and are not considered nonverbal communication. Nonvocal elements of nonverbal communication include body language such as gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact. Gestures are nonvocal and nonverbal since most of them do not refer to a specific word like a written or signed symbol does.

Table 4.1 Vocal and Nonvocal Elements of Communication

Source: Adapted from Owen Hargie, Skilled Interpersonal Interaction: Research, Theory, and Practice (London: Routledge, 2011), 45.

Principles of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication has a distinct history and serves separate evolutionary functions from verbal communication. For example, nonverbal communication is primarily biologically based while verbal communication is primarily culturally based. This is evidenced by the fact that some nonverbal communication has the same meaning across cultures while no verbal communication systems share that same universal recognizability (Andersen, 1999). Nonverbal communication also evolved earlier than verbal communication and served an early and important survival function that helped humans later develop verbal communication. While some of our nonverbal communication abilities, like our sense of smell, lost strength as our verbal capacities increased, other abilities like paralanguage and movement have grown alongside verbal complexity. The fact that nonverbal communication is processed by an older part of our brain makes it more instinctual and involuntary than verbal communication.

Nonverbal Communication Conveys Important Interpersonal and Emotional Messages

You’ve probably heard that more meaning is generated from nonverbal communication than from verbal. Some studies have claimed that 90 percent of our meaning is derived from nonverbal signals, but more recent and reliable findings claim that it is closer to 65 percent (Guerrero & Floyd, 2006). We may rely more on nonverbal signals in situations where verbal and nonverbal messages conflict and in situations where emotional or relational communication is taking place (Hargie, 2011). For example, when someone asks a question and we’re not sure about the “angle” they are taking, we may hone in on nonverbal cues to fill in the meaning. For example, the question “What are you doing tonight?” could mean any number of things, but we could rely on posture, tone of voice, and eye contact to see if the person is just curious, suspicious, or hinting that they would like company for the evening. We also put more weight on nonverbal communication when determining a person’s credibility. For example, if a classmate delivers a speech in class and her verbal content seems well-researched and unbiased, but her nonverbal communication is poor (her voice is monotone, she avoids eye contact, she fidgets), she will likely not be viewed as credible. Conversely, in some situations, verbal communication might carry more meaning than nonverbal. In interactions where information exchange is the focus, at a briefing at work, for example, verbal communication likely accounts for much more of the meaning generated. Despite this exception, a key principle of nonverbal communication is that it often takes on more meaning in interpersonal and/or emotional exchanges.

About 65 percent of the meaning we derive during interactions comes from nonverbal communication.

Gideon – In Perfect Congruence – CC BY 2.0.

Nonverbal Communication Is More Involuntary than Verbal

There are some instances in which we verbally communicate involuntarily. These types of exclamations are often verbal responses to a surprising stimulus. For example, we say “owww!” when we stub our toe or scream “stop!” when we see someone heading toward danger. Involuntary nonverbal signals are much more common, and although most nonverbal communication isn’t completely involuntary, it is more below our consciousness than verbal communication and therefore more difficult to control.

The involuntary nature of much nonverbal communication makes it more difficult to control or “fake.” For example, although you can consciously smile a little and shake hands with someone when you first see them, it’s difficult to fake that you’re “happy” to meet someone. Nonverbal communication leaks out in ways that expose our underlying thoughts or feelings. Spokespeople, lawyers, or other public representatives who are the “face” of a politician, celebrity, corporation, or organization must learn to control their facial expressions and other nonverbal communication so they can effectively convey the message of their employer or client without having their personal thoughts and feelings leak through. Poker players, therapists, police officers, doctors, teachers, and actors are also in professions that often require them to have more awareness of and control over their nonverbal communication.

Have you ever tried to conceal your surprise, suppress your anger, or act joyful even when you weren’t? Most people whose careers don’t involve conscious manipulation of nonverbal signals find it difficult to control or suppress them. While we can consciously decide to stop sending verbal messages, our nonverbal communication always has the potential of generating meaning for another person. The teenager who decides to shut out his dad and not communicate with him still sends a message with his “blank” stare (still a facial expression) and lack of movement (still a gesture). In this sense, nonverbal communication is “irrepressible” (Andersen, 1999).

Nonverbal Communication Is More Ambiguous

In Chapter 3 “Verbal Communication” , we learn that the symbolic and abstract nature of language can lead to misunderstandings, but nonverbal communication is even more ambiguous. As with verbal communication, most of our nonverbal signals can be linked to multiple meanings, but unlike words, many nonverbal signals do not have any one specific meaning. If you’ve ever had someone wink at you and didn’t know why, you’ve probably experienced this uncertainty. Did they wink to express their affection for you, their pleasure with something you just did, or because you share some inside knowledge or joke?

Just as we look at context clues in a sentence or paragraph to derive meaning from a particular word, we can look for context clues in various sources of information like the physical environment, other nonverbal signals, or verbal communication to make sense of a particular nonverbal cue. Unlike verbal communication, however, nonverbal communication doesn’t have explicit rules of grammar that bring structure, order, and agreed-on patterns of usage. Instead, we implicitly learn norms of nonverbal communication, which leads to greater variance. In general, we exhibit more idiosyncrasies in our usage of nonverbal communication than we do with verbal communication, which also increases the ambiguity of nonverbal communication.

Nonverbal Communication Is More Credible

Although we can rely on verbal communication to fill in the blanks sometimes left by nonverbal expressions, we often put more trust into what people do over what they say. This is especially true in times of stress or danger when our behaviors become more instinctual and we rely on older systems of thinking and acting that evolved before our ability to speak and write (Andersen, 1999). This innateness creates intuitive feelings about the genuineness of nonverbal communication, and this genuineness relates back to our earlier discussion about the sometimes involuntary and often subconscious nature of nonverbal communication. An example of the innateness of nonverbal signals can be found in children who have been blind since birth but still exhibit the same facial expressions as other children. In short, the involuntary or subconscious nature of nonverbal communication makes it less easy to fake, which makes it seem more honest and credible. We will learn more about the role that nonverbal communication plays in deception later in this chapter.

Functions of Nonverbal Communication

A primary function of nonverbal communication is to convey meaning by reinforcing, substituting for, or contradicting verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is also used to influence others and regulate conversational flow. Perhaps even more important are the ways in which nonverbal communication functions as a central part of relational communication and identity expression.

Nonverbal Communication Conveys Meaning

Nonverbal communication conveys meaning by reinforcing, substituting for, or contradicting verbal communication. As we’ve already learned, verbal and nonverbal communication are two parts of the same system that often work side by side, helping us generate meaning. In terms of reinforcing verbal communication, gestures can help describe a space or shape that another person is unfamiliar with in ways that words alone cannot. Gestures also reinforce basic meaning—for example, pointing to the door when you tell someone to leave. Facial expressions reinforce the emotional states we convey through verbal communication. For example, smiling while telling a funny story better conveys your emotions (Hargie, 2011). Vocal variation can help us emphasize a particular part of a message, which helps reinforce a word or sentence’s meaning. For example, saying “How was your weekend?” conveys a different meaning than “How was your weekend ?”

Nonverbal communication can substitute for verbal communication in a variety of ways. Nonverbal communication can convey much meaning when verbal communication isn’t effective because of language barriers. Language barriers are present when a person hasn’t yet learned to speak or loses the ability to speak. For example, babies who have not yet developed language skills make facial expressions, at a few months old, that are similar to those of adults and therefore can generate meaning (Oster, Hegley, & Nagel, 1992). People who have developed language skills but can’t use them because they have temporarily or permanently lost them or because they are using incompatible language codes, like in some cross-cultural encounters, can still communicate nonverbally. Although it’s always a good idea to learn some of the local language when you travel, gestures such as pointing or demonstrating the size or shape of something may suffice in basic interactions.

Nonverbal communication is also useful in a quiet situation where verbal communication would be disturbing; for example, you may use a gesture to signal to a friend that you’re ready to leave the library. Crowded or loud places can also impede verbal communication and lead people to rely more on nonverbal messages. Getting a server or bartender’s attention with a hand gesture is definitely more polite than yelling, “Hey you!” Finally, there are just times when we know it’s better not to say something aloud. If you want to point out a person’s unusual outfit or signal to a friend that you think his or her date is a loser, you’re probably more likely to do that nonverbally.

Last, nonverbal communication can convey meaning by contradicting verbal communication. As we learned earlier, we often perceive nonverbal communication to be more credible than verbal communication. This is especially true when we receive mixed messages , or messages in which verbal and nonverbal signals contradict each other. For example, a person may say, “You can’t do anything right!” in a mean tone but follow that up with a wink, which could indicate the person is teasing or joking. Mixed messages lead to uncertainty and confusion on the part of receivers, which leads us to look for more information to try to determine which message is more credible. If we are unable to resolve the discrepancy, we are likely to react negatively and potentially withdraw from the interaction (Hargie, 2011). Persistent mixed messages can lead to relational distress and hurt a person’s credibility in professional settings.

We send mixed messages when our verbal and nonverbal communication contradict each other. If this woman said she was excited about seeing you, would you believe her?

Helena Peixoto – bored – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Nonverbal Communication Influences Others

Nonverbal communication can be used to influence people in a variety of ways, but the most common way is through deception. Deception is typically thought of as the intentional act of altering information to influence another person, which means that it extends beyond lying to include concealing, omitting, or exaggerating information. While verbal communication is to blame for the content of the deception, nonverbal communication partners with the language through deceptive acts to be more convincing. Since most of us intuitively believe that nonverbal communication is more credible than verbal communication, we often intentionally try to control our nonverbal communication when we are engaging in deception. Likewise, we try to evaluate other people’s nonverbal communication to determine the veracity of their messages. Students initially seem surprised when we discuss the prevalence of deception, but their surprise diminishes once they realize that deception isn’t always malevolent, mean, or hurtful. Deception obviously has negative connotations, but people engage in deception for many reasons, including to excuse our own mistakes, to be polite to others, or to influence others’ behaviors or perceptions.

The fact that deception served an important evolutionary purpose helps explain its prevalence among humans today. Species that are capable of deception have a higher survival rate. Other animals engage in nonverbal deception that helps them attract mates, hide from predators, and trap prey (Andersen, 1999). To put it bluntly, the better at deception a creature is, the more likely it is to survive. So, over time, the humans that were better liars were the ones that got their genes passed on. But the fact that lying played a part in our survival as a species doesn’t give us a license to lie.

Aside from deception, we can use nonverbal communication to “take the edge off” a critical or unpleasant message in an attempt to influence the reaction of the other person. We can also use eye contact and proximity to get someone to move or leave an area. For example, hungry diners waiting to snag a first-come-first-serve table in a crowded restaurant send messages to the people who have already eaten and paid that it’s time to go. People on competition reality television shows like Survivor and Big Brother play what they’ve come to term a “social game.” The social aspects of the game involve the manipulation of verbal and nonverbal cues to send strategic messages about oneself in an attempt to influence others. Nonverbal cues such as length of conversational turn, volume, posture, touch, eye contact, and choices of clothing and accessories can become part of a player’s social game strategy. Although reality television isn’t a reflection of real life, people still engage in competition and strategically change their communication to influence others, making it important to be aware of how we nonverbally influence others and how they may try to influence us.

Nonverbal Communication Regulates Conversational Flow

Conversational interaction has been likened to a dance, where each person has to make moves and take turns without stepping on the other’s toes. Nonverbal communication helps us regulate our conversations so we don’t end up constantly interrupting each other or waiting in awkward silences between speaker turns. Pitch, which is a part of vocalics, helps us cue others into our conversational intentions. A rising pitch typically indicates a question and a falling pitch indicates the end of a thought or the end of a conversational turn. We can also use a falling pitch to indicate closure, which can be very useful at the end of a speech to signal to the audience that you are finished, which cues the applause and prevents an awkward silence that the speaker ends up filling with “That’s it” or “Thank you.” We also signal our turn is coming to an end by stopping hand gestures and shifting our eye contact to the person who we think will speak next (Hargie, 2011). Conversely, we can “hold the floor” with nonverbal signals even when we’re not exactly sure what we’re going to say next. Repeating a hand gesture or using one or more verbal fillers can extend our turn even though we are not verbally communicating at the moment.

Nonverbal Communication Affects Relationships

To successfully relate to other people, we must possess some skill at encoding and decoding nonverbal communication. The nonverbal messages we send and receive influence our relationships in positive and negative ways and can work to bring people together or push them apart. Nonverbal communication in the form of tie signs, immediacy behaviors, and expressions of emotion are just three of many examples that illustrate how nonverbal communication affects our relationships.

Tie signs are nonverbal cues that communicate intimacy and signal the connection between two people. These relational indicators can be objects such as wedding rings or tattoos that are symbolic of another person or the relationship, actions such as sharing the same drinking glass, or touch behaviors such as hand-holding (Afifi & Johnson, 2005). Touch behaviors are the most frequently studied tie signs and can communicate much about a relationship based on the area being touched, the length of time, and the intensity of the touch. Kisses and hugs, for example, are considered tie signs, but a kiss on the cheek is different from a kiss on the mouth and a full embrace is different from a half embrace. If you consider yourself a “people watcher,” take note of the various tie signs you see people use and what they might say about the relationship.

Immediacy behaviors play a central role in bringing people together and have been identified by some scholars as the most important function of nonverbal communication (Andersen & Andersen, 2005). Immediacy behaviors are verbal and nonverbal behaviors that lessen real or perceived physical and psychological distance between communicators and include things like smiling, nodding, making eye contact, and occasionally engaging in social, polite, or professional touch (Comadena, Hunt, & Simonds, 2007). Immediacy behaviors are a good way of creating rapport, or a friendly and positive connection between people. Skilled nonverbal communicators are more likely to be able to create rapport with others due to attention-getting expressiveness, warm initial greetings, and an ability to get “in tune” with others, which conveys empathy (Riggio, 1992). These skills are important to help initiate and maintain relationships.

While verbal communication is our primary tool for solving problems and providing detailed instructions, nonverbal communication is our primary tool for communicating emotions. This makes sense when we remember that nonverbal communication emerged before verbal communication and was the channel through which we expressed anger, fear, and love for thousands of years of human history (Andersen, 1999). Touch and facial expressions are two primary ways we express emotions nonverbally. Love is a primary emotion that we express nonverbally and that forms the basis of our close relationships. Although no single facial expression for love has been identified, it is expressed through prolonged eye contact, close interpersonal distances, increased touch, and increased time spent together, among other things. Given many people’s limited emotional vocabulary, nonverbal expressions of emotion are central to our relationships.

“Getting Real”

Teachers and Immediacy Behaviors

A considerable amount of research has been done on teachers’ use of immediacy behaviors, which points to the importance of this communication concept in teaching professions (Richmond, Lane, & McCroskey, 2006). Immediacy behaviors are verbal and nonverbal behaviors that lessen real or perceived physical and psychological distance between communicators (Comadena, Hunt, & Simonds, 2007). Specific nonverbal behaviors have been found to increase or decrease perceived levels of immediacy, and such behaviors impact student learning, teacher’s evaluations, and the teacher-student relationship (Richmond, Lane, & McCroskey, 2006). Even those who do not plan on going into teaching as a career can benefit from learning about immediacy behaviors, as they can also be used productively in other interpersonal contexts such as between a manager and employee, a salesperson and a client, or a politician and constituent. Much of this research in teaching contexts has focused on the relationship between immediacy behaviors and student learning, and research consistently shows that effective use of immediacy behaviors increases learning in various contexts and at various levels. Aside from enhancing student learning, the effective use of immediacy behaviors also leads to better evaluations by students, which can have a direct impact on a teacher’s career. While student evaluations of teachers take various factors into consideration, judgments of personality may be formed, as we learned in Chapter 2 “Communication and Perception” , after only brief initial impressions. Research shows that students make character assumptions about teachers after only brief exposure to their nonverbal behaviors. Based on nonverbal cues such as frowning, head nodding, pointing, sitting, smiling, standing, strong gestures, weak gestures, and walking, students may or may not evaluate a teacher as open, attentive, confident, dominant, honest, likable, anxious, professional, supportive, or enthusiastic. The following are examples of immediacy behaviors that can be effectively used by teachers:

• Moving around the classroom during class activities, lectures, and discussions (reduces physical distance)
• Keeping the line of sight open between the teacher’s body and the students by avoiding or only briefly standing behind lecterns / computer tables or sitting behind a desk while directly interacting with students (reduces physical distance)
• Being expressive and animated with facial expressions, gestures, and voice (demonstrates enthusiasm)
• Smiling (creates a positive and open climate)
• Making frequent eye contact with students (communicates attentiveness and interest)
• Calling students by name (reduces perceived psychological distance)
• Making appropriate self-disclosures to students about personal thoughts, feelings, or experiences (reduces perceived psychological distance, creates open climate)

Teachers who are judged as less immediate are more likely to sit, touch their heads, shake instead of nod their heads, use sarcasm, avoid eye contact, and use less expressive nonverbal behaviors. Finally, immediacy behaviors affect the teacher-student relationship. Immediacy behaviors help establish rapport, which is a personal connection that increases students’ investment in the class and material, increases motivation, increases communication between teacher and student, increases liking, creates a sense of mutual respect, reduces challenging behavior by students, and reduces anxiety.

• Recall a teacher you have had that exhibited effective immediacy behaviors. Recall a teacher you have had that didn’t exhibit immediacy behaviors. Make a column for each teacher and note examples of specific behaviors of each. Discuss your list with a classmate and compare and contrast your lists.
• Think about the teachers that you listed in the previous question. Discuss how their behaviors affected your learning and your relationship.
• How much should immediacy behaviors, relative to other characteristics such as professionalism, experience, training, and content knowledge, factor into the evaluation of teachers by their students, peers, and supervisors? What, if anything, should schools do to enhance teachers’ knowledge of immediacy behaviors?

Nonverbal Communication Expresses Our Identities

Nonverbal communication expresses who we are. Our identities (the groups to which we belong, our cultures, our hobbies and interests, etc.) are conveyed nonverbally through the way we set up our living and working spaces, the clothes we wear, the way we carry ourselves, and the accents and tones of our voices. Our physical bodies give others impressions about who we are, and some of these features are more under our control than others. Height, for example, has been shown to influence how people are treated and perceived in various contexts. Our level of attractiveness also influences our identities and how people perceive us. Although we can temporarily alter our height or looks—for example, with different shoes or different color contact lenses—we can only permanently alter these features using more invasive and costly measures such as cosmetic surgery. We have more control over some other aspects of nonverbal communication in terms of how we communicate our identities. For example, the way we carry and present ourselves through posture, eye contact, and tone of voice can be altered to present ourselves as warm or distant depending on the context.

Aside from our physical body, artifacts , which are the objects and possessions that surround us, also communicate our identities. Examples of artifacts include our clothes, jewelry, and space decorations. In all the previous examples, implicit norms or explicit rules can affect how we nonverbally present ourselves. For example, in a particular workplace it may be a norm (implicit) for people in management positions to dress casually, or it may be a rule (explicit) that different levels of employees wear different uniforms or follow particular dress codes. We can also use nonverbal communication to express identity characteristics that do not match up with who we actually think we are. Through changes to nonverbal signals, a capable person can try to appear helpless, a guilty person can try to appear innocent, or an uninformed person can try to appear credible.

Key Takeaways

• Nonverbal communication is a process of generating meaning using behavior other than words. Nonverbal communication includes vocal elements, which is referred to as paralanguage and includes pitch, volume, and rate, and nonvocal elements, which are usually referred to as body language and includes gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact, among other things.
• Although verbal communication and nonverbal communication work side by side as part of a larger language system, there are some important differences between the two. They are processed by different hemispheres of the brain, nonverbal communication conveys more emotional and affective meaning than does verbal communication, nonverbal communication isn’t governed by an explicit system of rules in the same way that grammar guides verbal communication, and while verbal communication is a uniquely human ability, many creatures including plants, birds, and mammals communicate nonverbally.
• Nonverbal communication operates on the following principles: nonverbal communication typically conveys more meaning than verbal communication, nonverbal communication is more involuntary than verbal communication, nonverbal communication is often more ambiguous than verbal communication, and nonverbal communication is often more credible than verbal communication.
• Nonverbal communication serves several functions.
• Nonverbal communication affects verbal communication in that it can complement, reinforce, substitute, or contradict verbal messages.
• Nonverbal communication influences others, as it is a key component of deception and can be used to assert dominance or to engage in compliance gaining.
• Nonverbal communication regulates conversational flow, as it provides important cues that signal the beginning and end of conversational turns and facilitates the beginning and end of an interaction.
• Nonverbal communication affects relationships, as it is a primary means through which we communicate emotions, establish social bonds, and engage in relational maintenance.
• Nonverbal communication expresses our identities, as who we are is conveyed through the way we set up our living and working spaces, the clothes we wear, our personal presentation, and the tones in our voices.
• Getting integrated: To better understand nonverbal communication, try to think of an example to illustrate each of the four principles discussed in the chapter. Be integrative in your approach by including at least one example from an academic, professional, civic, and personal context.
• When someone sends you a mixed message in which the verbal and nonverbal messages contradict each other, which one do you place more meaning on? Why?
• Our personal presentation, style of dress, and surroundings such as a dorm room, apartment, car, or office send nonverbal messages about our identities. Analyze some of the nonverbal signals that your personal presentation or environment send. What do they say about who you are? Do they create the impression that you desire?

Afifi, W. A. and Michelle L. Johnson, “The Nature and Function of Tie-Signs,” in The Sourcebook of Nonverbal Measures: Going beyond Words , ed. Valerie Manusov (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005): 190.

Andersen, P. A., Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Functions (Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1999), 17.

Andersen, P. A. and Janis F. Andersen, “Measures of Perceived Nonverbal Immediacy,” in The Sourcebook of Nonverbal Measures: Going beyond Words , ed. Valerie Manusov (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005): 113–26.

Comadena, M. E., Stephen K. Hunt, and Cheri J. Simonds, “The Effects of Teacher Clarity, Nonverbal Immediacy, and Caring on Student Motivation, Affective and Cognitive Learning,” Communication Research Reports 24, no. 3 (2007): 241.

Hargie, O., Skilled Interpersonal Interaction: Research, Theory, and Practice , 5th ed. (London: Routledge, 2011), 47.

Guerrero, L. K. and Kory Floyd, Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006): 2.

Oster, H., Douglas Hegley, and Linda Nagel, “Adult Judgments and Fine-Grained Analysis of Infant Facial Expressions: Testing the Validity of A Priori Coding Formulas,” Developmental Psychology 28, no. 6 (1992): 1115–31.

Richmond, V. P., Derek R. Lane, and James C. McCroskey, “Teacher Immediacy and the Teacher-Student Relationship,” in Handbook of Instructional Communication: Rhetorical and Relational Perspectives , eds. Timothy P. Mottet, Virginia P. Richmond, and James C. McCroskey (Boston, MA: Pearson, 2006), 168.

Riggio, R. E., “Social Interaction Skills and Nonverbal Behavior,” in Applications of Nonverbal Behavior Theories and Research , ed. Robert S. Feldman (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1992), 12.

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Delivering your speech: the power of nonverbal communication

When I say “public speaking” what comes to mind? Dread? Nervousness? Excitement? “Public speaking” often brings uneasy feelings to first year students, as standing in front of a classroom ranging from first year to fourth years may seem a lot more intimidating than one full of your long-time high school classmates. You have a well-written and researched speech and you have already sought out a peer review from the Writing and Communication Centre, but the easy part is over. Delivering your speech involves more than a professional tone and a confident voice; you will convey the real impact of your message through nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is the communication we engage in that isn’t written or spoken language, but still creates meaning.

Eye contact, one of the most important nonverbal cues, keeps your audience engaged, makes you believable, and opens up communication. Looking at individual members of the audience establishes an interpersonal connection with them. While maintaining eye contact is important, gestures are useful when emphasizing certain points. Gestures are an excellent way to channel your nerves into movement, as long as you ensure they are not repetitive or taking away from your message.  Using immediacy behaviours, that is, literally or psychologically making your audience members feel closer to you, can establish more relationships as a speaker. Moving closer to your audience or smiling are simple ways to create a closer relationship between you and your listeners.

The audience sees your face before they are going to hear your voice and thus, you have the opportunity to set an emotional tone before you even start speaking. As a speaker, you can decide how your facial expression can alter the atmosphere of your speech in a meaningful way. In many instances, audience members will mimic your emotions, so if you want your audience to feel a certain emotion, its best to express that emotion yourself. Although your face and voice play a major role in communicating a specific emotion, your posture will communicate the intensity of that emotion.

You might be overwhelmed at the long list of unconscious habits to consider when delivering a speech. Delivering a hard hitting, persuasive or informative speech is not easy, but it is an important and useful skill for your post-secondary education and beyond. If you need ideas, feedback, or strategies in creating and delivering a speech, the Writing and Communication Centre is a hub for practice, development and collaboration that can work with you to help develop your individual voice in your academic work. With practice, knowledge and a bit of help, public speaking does not have to be a daunting task, but an opportunity to share your ideas and leave a memorable impression as a speaker.

• communication ,
• public speaking ,
• nonverbal communication ,
• Writing and Communication Centre ,
• Current students ,
• Current undergraduate students ,
• Current graduate students ,
• Future students ,
• Future undergraduate students

Improve your practice.

Enhance your soft skills with a range of award-winning courses.

10 Simple Tips for a Great Presentation

January 10, 2022 - Dom Barnard

The way you speak to someone in private is not the same as addressing an audience during a presentation. Not least as that presentation may involve a diverse range of people, with differing interests and attention spans.

Nerves may take over, or at the very least you may realise that not everyone is listening, understanding or agreeing, and you need to work harder to engage them.

Elsewhere in our resources for effective business communications, we have stressed how important it is to either speak or write in a purposeful way. To be clear on your goals, whether that’s to inform, educate, seek approval/opinions, persuade, influence or sell. Communications can often have a mixture of those aims.

The only way to be purposeful and successful in presentations is to invest in the necessary communication skills. However, in this article, we list 10 simple tips for delivering a confident presentation, that achieves results.

1. See yourself as others see you. Hear yourself as others hear you

Visual elements of your presentation are crucial. Humans use visual references to process immeasurable amounts of information. We can reach opinions about a situation or person with a glance.

That makes it essential to focus on non-verbal communication.

To gain immediate credibility with your audience, think carefully about such factors as:

• Is your  body language positive ?
• Are your  presentation slides clear ?
• Are you dressed appropriately for the situation?

What does positive body language look like? It’s things such as smiling and standing or sitting straight, with your arms resting on a lectern, table or by your side. Lean slightly forward and use as much eye contact as possible. No slouching, hands in pockets, crossed arms, or constantly looking down!

Also, consider how you sound to the audience:

• Do you need to speak louder because the room is large?
• Are the audience native English speakers?
• Are you  talking quickly  because you are nervous?
• Are you amplifying your breathing and mouth noises by being too close to the microphone?

2. Know your objectives

There’s a widely accepted principle of presentations:

• Tell them what you are going to say
• Remind them what you just said

This is an oversimplification. However, it indicates how important it is to be 100% clear on what response you want from your audience and to communicate your desired outcome brilliantly.

If your presentation has no core purpose or ‘call to action’, it’s just a random string of words. Think about:

• What would a positive outcome be for you?
• Are you looking for new clients or funding?
• What message do you want your audience to take away with them?

Much depends on the nature of your audience of course. Take time to consider who you are talking to. Think about what is most likely to influence their behaviour and decision-making, and whether that are facts, figures or even words and phrases that support your presentation objective.

Also, to get the best results from presentations, consider what your audience will need to know about you. What expertise and insights should you mention, adding weight to your credibility?

3. Have an overall picture in mind before starting on details

Once you have focused on your audience and the purpose of your presentation, the planning continues. That’s because successful presentations rely on extensive preparation.

Planning would need to include the nuts-and-bolts aspects of this task, such as:

• How long does the presentation need to be?
• What is the audience size and demographic?
• The  audience size and demographic
• Are you part of a panel, solo or some other format?
• Is there a  Question and Answer session  at the end?
• Would it be better to have questions throughout?
• What technology will you need?

4. Work out the framework for your presentation

That doesn’t mean hammering away on your keyboard and wildly jotting down everything you want to say though. The best presentations are succinct, well structured and hold the audience’s attention by design (more on this below).

You could start by considering factors such as:

• What three things do you want your audience to remember?
• How can you design your presentation around these points?
• How can you explain these points in the  introduction  and  conclusion
• Should you cover the three points together or in a logical order?

5. Lead the audience along with you

You need to make sure your audience is engaged throughout your presentation. You are talking to them, not over or around them. The central pillar of this is  effective presentation content that speaks directly to them , and which is varied and interesting.

Keep facts, figures and technical jargon to a minimum, and explain it (never assume they understand). Weave in  storytelling techniques , anecdotes, audience questions and pauses to ‘punctuate’ your presentation.

Visual aids  are a superb way to hold attention during presentations and can add to your confidence and flow. When used correctly!

They should not contain a massive amount of detail, especially information that expands on what you are saying. If your audience is trying to read and understand your media content or handouts, they are not listening to you.

You can use presentation folders or follow-up emails and website links to add more information. For now, use slides/handouts to structure your content and move your audience from topic to topic.

Or, to reinforce especially important messages.

Breaking up the presentation into a small number of sections – with the current section stated on each slide – helps you to stay focused too.

The following tips will help:

• Whether to include a table of contents to help the audience follow along?
• Breaking up the presentation into a small number of sections, with the current section stated on each slide
• After each section, show which sections have been completed and which are coming up
• How much time will you leave for questions? Will you allow questions throughout the presentation or only at the end?

6. Rehearse aloud and get feedback

Practice is the key to a great presentation.

If possible, rehearse with a colleague or friend. This can be in person, using video conferencing simulator or online meeting tools. Ask them for honest feedback.

• Practice Exercises for Presentations

At the very least, record yourself using your preferred technology, so you can play it back and look for ways to improve your presentation skills.

When you practice, avoid distractions that could throw you off, and do it as realistically as possible, including any time constraints.

Things to look for include:

• Content that is complex and trips you up. Can you simply it?
• Places where you ad-lib too much and go off track
• Lack of clarity on your purpose and call to action
• Visual materials that don’t synch with your spoken content
• Physical habits that can be distracting, such as rocking, touching your face or filling hesitations with errs and umms

7. Win hearts then minds

The reason that  eye contact is important  in presentations is that it creates a vital connection between you and your audience. This is also reinforced by asking rhetorical questions, pausing to look around, smiling when appropriate and adding the human touch to your content.

This links to the contemporary emphasis on emotional intelligence – showing understanding and empathy, staying calm and positive and managing your own reactions. Both your verbal and non-verbal communications should be warm, responsive and sincere.

This includes valued gestures in the art of presentations. Such as:

• Greeting your audience and introducing yourself with humility.
• Thanking them for their attention.
• Making yourself available for questions or post-presentation discussions.
• Using your hands in a controlled way for non-verbal communications.
• If you are standing, move around the stage to engage all areas of the presentation space.

It also means that you should be polite when answering audience questions, no matter how hostile they are.

8. Keep it simple

When drafting and practising a successful presentation, put yourself in the audience! This connects to the empathy mentioned above, and the need to choose impactful content to create the right outcome. If you were listening to this presentation, would you be engaged and informed?

No matter how complex your presentation is, use words and analogies everyone in the audience will understand.

Keep to the following:

• Clarity of narrative with an easy-to-understand  presentation structure
• No (or few) acronyms or technical terms if possible
• Explain your visual aids, especially diagrams and graphs

However, keep an eye on your audience too. Do they look like they are losing attention or getting confused? You may need to go back over something, or even ask for a show of hands to indicate something that needs additional explanation.

Try to read body language without losing the thread of your presentation. This is especially relevant if you are addressing smaller groups, and you can see a decision-maker slumping, checking the time or looking blank. You may need to address a question directly to them or highlight something that draws their attention back.

9. Be enthusiastic

If you’re not interested in your own speech, why should the audience be?

It’s particularly important to start and end with a flourish. So, make sure when you prepare that you really focus on your introduction and conclusion, finishing with a strong call to action.

Also, modulate your tone and emphasis regularly. A  monotone voice  can send an audience to sleep even when the content is outstanding!

Sustain energy throughout the speech, but don’t race through your presentation. Pauses help you keep on track, boost audience attention and make the flow more natural.

10. Be yourself

That may seem like a long list of ways to make presentations more successful and productive.

However, it can all be summed up by doing as much preparation and planning as possible, so you feel confident and relaxed.

Especially focusing on:

• Where you are
• What you are doing
• Why you are saying what you are saying
• Why the audience needs to hear what you are saying

If you follow these simple tips for a great presentation, you should be able to deliver your spoken communication in a responsive and effective way.

• FlashLine Login
• Phone Directory
• Maps & Directions
• Find the Right Program
• Case Studies
• Our Clients
• What Our Clients Say About Us
• Calendar of Program Offerings
• Certificate for Emerging Leaders
• Lean Six Sigma Training and Certificate Programs
• Online Certificate Programs
• Online Training Offerings
• Certificate in Project Management
• SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Certificate Preparation Course
• Supervision And Management Fundamentals Certificate
• Supervision And Management Advanced Certificate
• Certificate of Training and Development
• Certified Digital Marketing Professional + Professional Certified Marketer
• Webinar Series
• Full Program Listing
• Participant Testimonials
• Corporate Partnership Subscription Program
• Advisory Board
• Client Testimonials
• Meet Our Facilitators
• Request More Information
• Golden Insights Blog

When Delivering a Presentation, Look at Both Sides of Nonverbal Language

It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.

Part of the “how” is nonverbal language.

When you deliver a presentation, people observe two things: Your verbal language – the words you use – and your nonverbal language – what your body language says about you.

In this article, I will present nonverbal language from two different perspectives: Your own nonverbal language that you use while delivering a presentation to others and the nonverbal language that your audience shows to you while you’re presenting. Both forms of communication are beneficial to you as you prepare, deliver and improve upon your presentation style.

First, let’s talk about you, the presenter.

Be Aware of Your Nonverbal Behavior as a Presenter

The most powerful nonverbal cues that you can give to your audience are these:

Walk with confidence. Have good posture. Stand tall. Walk confidently to the presentation area.

Engage in direct eye contact. Look into the eyes of your audience. Don’t look at the walls, floor or ceiling. Definitely do not read your notes to the audience. That will disconnect you from the audience.

Use hand gestures to reinforce your message. This is an important one. When using hand gestures, make sure they look natural. When they are natural, you appear to be authentic, genuine and real. I have seen speakers over-rehearse their hand gestures. It sounds silly, doesn’t it? Yet it happens to be true. Over-rehearsing gestures creates a speaker who is artificial and robotic. Gestures, when they come from the heart, are interpreted as being true and honest. With that said, be careful of a few things: Don’t over-exaggerate. If the fish was just this big, then don’t say it was THIS BIG! Don’t use repeated gestures because they can distract the audience from your message. An example: If you have a tendency to “roll” your right hand when you are talking, then you don’t want to continue rolling and rolling and rolling. Pretty soon, the audience looks at your rolling hand gesture and doesn’t listen to your message.

Move a little. Movement is good for presenters. Too much movement is distracting. If you walk from the front of the room to the back of the room, that’s fine. If you move all around the entire room during your entire presentation, your audience will get tired of adjusting their necks or their chairs. A little movement is fine. Avoid repetitive movement. An example: Pacing. When you begin to pace, it creates a rhythm that has an almost hypnotic effect. Think of your pacing body as a pendulum, “you’re getting sleepy, very sleepy.” Before you know it, your audience will be anticipating your next pivot or turn to return to the other side of the room rather than listening to your message. Robotic pacing is a death knell to any presenter.

Express yourself! With more than 100 muscles in your face alone, you have the amazing capacity to share six primary emotions (fear, joy, love, sadness, surprise and anger) and more than 60 emotional expressions. All of that power comes from less than one square foot of space! What are you doing with it? If you are sharing declining numbers, show it. If you are delighted that you exceeded year-end quotas, show it. If you are sharing a sad story, show it. Your facial expressions reinforce your message. Just make sure that they are not in conflict with your message. If you say, “I’m delighted to be here today to deliver this presentation” and your face shows no emotion, your audience will believe your face. They will say, “She’s not really delighted. She looks angry.”

Enhance your image. Your appearance is the first thing people notice when you enter a room. It speaks volumes about who you are as a person and about your level of professionalism. Take a long, hard look at your professional attire. Are you wearing the same suits that you have been wearing since the 1980s? If so, throw them out! Nobody wants to see someone with larger-than-life padded shoulders (just think of the suits that David Byrne of the rock group The Talking Heads wore in the 1980s). Look at the colors you wear. You want to look current, not dated.

A few years ago, I was asked to coach a man on his professional style. The moment he walked into the room, my first impression was set. After we chatted a while, I shared with him those initial thoughts. You see, he was a “mousy” man and everything about him was “mousy.” He wore glasses, a light beige pullover sweater, a light beige shirt and brown pants. His communication style was on the quiet, shy side. Nothing about him stood out or communicated power. He was essentially invisible. I recommended navy blue as a more professional base color for him. Now when he walks into a room, he looks more businesslike and commands attention. A simple wardrobe adjustment has tremendous impact on how others see you.

Pause and be silent. Effective pausing, or silence, is one of the most powerful nonverbal cues that you can use while presenting. Yet, most Americans are accustomed to filling every second with sound. Within a presentation, there are certain portions that you want to emphasize. Let silence help you. You have the option of either saying “Our year-end sales were up 25%” OR “Our year-end sales (pause) were up (pause) twenty (pause) five (pause) percent .” This is much more powerful.

As you can see, your nonverbal language communicates a great deal to your audience.

The more you present, the more confident and comfortable you will feel.

Now, let’s talk about the nonverbal cues of your audience.

Analyze Your Audience’s Nonverbal Language

There is nothing more unnerving to a presenter than standing in front of a group of people for the first time. It could be 50, 500 or 1,000 people. What’s different is that you are often put outside your comfort zone. So why not treat that presentation to a larger group just like you would a one-on-one conversation?

Here are some nonverbal cues for you to be aware of during your presentation that could help improve your future presentations:

The energy level in the room drops. You have a feeling that your audience isn’t energized by your content. Unfortunately, sometimes a presenter can begin to lose energy or interest in his or her own presentation because of how they are interpreting the audience’s behavior. Now would be a good time to use a different approach. Share a short anecdote. Tell a story. Ask a powerful, thought-provoking question. Give a startling statistic. Anything that shakes up your audience will do. If they were with you all along, they’ll be with you even more. If they weren’t with you, they certainly will be now. The more energy you put out to your audience, the more energy they will return to you. It all begins with you.

One person in the audience is distracting you. What happens when you begin focusing on one person who you think is not interested in what you have to say? You make that judgment as a presenter rather quickly. The person’s nonverbal language is “speaking” to you. Sometimes you are right. And sometimes you are wrong. Don’t get distracted by that one person…who may have been up all night with a colicky baby and is falling asleep because of that rather than your content. Here’s my personal experience:

Several years ago, while delivering a full-day training program, I noticed a woman who – to me – seemed disengaged. She was looking down a lot. She wasn’t smiling or laughing at my humor. I was convinced that she wasn’t enjoying my program. (This is what we call “negative self-talk”). After the program ended, as I reviewed the evaluation sheets, I came across hers. I was fully expecting her to give me a 1 or 2 out of 5 points. Instead, she gave me all 5’s and added the comment, “I would attend any future programs facilitated by Christine.” Whoa. That was not the response I expected. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. When we try to read other people’s nonverbal cues, sometimes we are right and sometimes we are wrong. Remember that the next time you try to read one person in your audience.

You are seeing a bored look on everyone’s faces. If you are using a PowerPoint presentation to accompany your remarks, click on the B button on your computer to go to black screen. That alone will get your audience’s attention. What going to black screen allows you to do is focus on a conversation with your audience. There is no other distraction. PowerPoint images, which are visually interesting to look at (sometimes) can also lull your audience to sleep! Take a break. Have a conversation with your audience about your topic for a few minutes. Then eventually click on the B button again to return to your slide presentation. This simple trick provides a simple visual mental shift. Now, if people truly are bored by your presentation, then it’s time for you to give that presentation a complete overhaul.

The next time you prepare for and deliver a presentation, think carefully about your own nonverbal cues and the nonverbal cues you are picking up from your audience. Being aware of both could mean the difference between delivering an average presentation or a stellar one.

Subscribe to Our Blog

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• " class="social-sharing-google" title="Share on Google+"> Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Email
• Communication
• Presenting Information

Street Address

Mailing address.

• Accessibility
• Annual Security Reports
• Emergency Information
• For Our Alumni
• For the Media
• Health Services
• Jobs & Employment
• Privacy Statement
• HEERF CARES/CRRSAA/ARP Act Reporting and Disclosure
• Website Feedback

• Top Courses
• Online Degrees
• Find your New Career
• Join for Free

Verbal Communications and Presentation Skills

Taught in English

Financial aid available

3,283 already enrolled

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Instructor: Tj Walker

Included with Coursera Plus

(16 reviews)

Recommended experience

Beginner level

To be successful in this course, no specific skills are required. The course is open to anyone looking to improve verbal communication skills.

What you'll learn

Express ideas clearly and persuasively

Engage audiences effectively

Deliver impactful presentations 

Develop effective speaking skills

Skills you'll gain

• Communication
• verbal communication
• Public Speaking

Details to know

Add to your LinkedIn profile

5 quizzes, 1 assignment

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

There is 1 module in this course

Welcome to the " Verbal Communications and Presentation Skills" course! Effective communication skills are vital in both professional and personal spheres. Imagine the confidence and comfort you would feel when communicating with colleagues, bosses, customers, prospects, or clients. This course empowers you to develop the necessary skills to become a proficient communicator.

Designed with hyper-efficient methods, this course equips you with all the essential tools to interact confidently with customers, clients, colleagues, and bosses in today's modern workplace. Within just 90 minutes, you will grasp the basics of communication skills, ensuring that you never feel awkward or uncomfortable in professional settings again. Whether you are conducting a meeting on Skype video or delivering a keynote presentation, this course enables you to exude confidence and ease, as if you were conversing with your best friend. It is designed for anyone seeking to communicate confidently and clearly in all business and personal situations. To fully participate in this course, you will need a cell phone, tablet, or computer with a webcam. Additionally, a willingness to practice speaking and communicating via video is crucial for enhancing your verbal communication skills. Embrace this opportunity to become a compelling and influential communicator in every aspect of your life.

Verbal Communication and Presentation Skills

Communication skills are essential in business and in life. Imagine yourself feeling comfortable and confident anytime you have to communicate with colleagues, bosses, customers, prospects, or clients. You can quickly walk and talk like someone who has experienced communication skills. This verbal communication course will give you all the tools you need to interact with customers, clients, colleagues, and bosses in the modern workplace. The course is designed with hyper-efficient methods so that you can learn all communication skills basics in 90min.

What's included

19 videos 3 readings 5 quizzes 1 assignment

19 videos • Total 79 minutes

• Introduction to the course and the instructor • 0 minutes • Preview module
• Quick Wins! The Secret to Using Speaker Notes Effectively • 1 minute
• You Are In Great Company - Find Out Who • 2 minutes
• Never Waste Time Starting a Presentation Again • 1 minute
• You Will Be Motivating, Not Data Dumping • 4 minutes
• Good news, the problems we think we have, aren't real • 5 minutes
• Direct versus indirect communication • 2 minutes
• Your Stories Will Make Your Ideas Unforgettable • 6 minutes
• Your PowerPoint Will Create Engagement, Not Slumber • 6 minutes
• Building an Ethical Cheat Sheet Just for You • 5 minutes
• This Is The Do Or Die Moment For Your Speaking Improvement • 5 minutes
• There Is a Perfect Test for Your Speech Or Presentation • 4 minutes
• It's Easy to pass a Test when the Answer Is right in front of you • 4 minutes
• You Are Normal to Fear Communicating In Some Circumstances • 3 minutes
• The Power of the Positive • 5 minutes
• Debunking the Myth of Charisma • 2 minutes
• Never Fall for These Communication Gimmicks Again! • 5 minutes
• Tips on how to Get Over Nervousness and Being Scared • 8 minutes
• You have Now Mastered Basic and Beyond Communication Skills • 1 minute

3 readings • Total 30 minutes

• Welcome to the Course • 10 minutes
• Public Speaking Success by TJ Walker • 10 minutes
• Secret to Foolproof Presentations by TJ Walker • 10 minutes

5 quizzes • Total 150 minutes

• Beginning your communication skills journey • 30 minutes
• Refining and testing your verbal skills • 30 minutes
• Speech, presentation and testing • 30 minutes
• More fundamentals, power of positive and myths • 30 minutes
• Overcoming nervousness and beyond communication skills • 30 minutes

1 assignment • Total 60 minutes

• Final Assessment • 60 minutes

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

Our purpose at Starweaver is to empower individuals and organizations with practical knowledge and skills for a rapidly transforming world. By collaborating with an extensive, global network of proven expert educators, we deliver engaging, information-rich learning experiences that work to revolutionize lives and careers. Committed to our belief that people are the most valuable asset, we focus on building capabilities to navigate ever evolving challenges in technology, business, and design.

Recommended if you're interested in Business Essentials

Alfaisal University | KLD

الاعتراف بالإيراد | Revenue Recognition

تقييم واستحواذ الشركات | Valuing and Acquiring a Business

University of California San Diego

Communicating with the Public

نماذج الاستراتيجيات والمؤسسات

Why people choose coursera for their career.

Learner reviews

Showing 3 of 16

Reviewed on Sep 21, 2023

T J Walker is a master. Course developed by him is to the point and uncovers the common misunderstanding we have about preparation for a good presentation.

Reviewed on Nov 17, 2023

GENIUS EXCELLENT TEACHER AND CLASS! you will gain confidence!

Reviewed on Nov 3, 2023

I really have a lot of him I hope I will attend another course with him also I will be grateful if he receive my comment.

New to Business Essentials? Start here.

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription

Advance your career with an online degree

Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy

Frequently asked questions

When will i have access to the lectures and assignments.

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.

The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

What is the refund policy?

You will be eligible for a full refund until two weeks after your payment date, or (for courses that have just launched) until two weeks after the first session of the course begins, whichever is later. You cannot receive a refund once you’ve earned a Course Certificate, even if you complete the course within the two-week refund period. See our full refund policy Opens in a new tab .

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions

Aesthetics and Delivery

Learning Objectives

Have you played charades? Many of you have likely “acted out” a person, place, or a thing for an audience, using only your body and no words. Charades, like many games, demonstrates the heightened or exaggerated use of nonverbals – through acting out, the game highlights how powerful nonverbal communication can be for communicating with an audience.

When speaking, similar to charades, your job is to create a captivating experience for your audience that leads them to new information or to consider a new argument. Nonverbals provide an important facet of that experience by accentuating your content and contributing to the aesthetic experience.

The nonverbal part of your speech is a presentation of yourself as well as your message. Like we discussed in Chapter 7, public speaking is embodied, and your nonverbals are a key part of living and communicating in and through your body. Through the use of eye contact, vocals, body posture, gestures, and facial expression, you enhance your message and invite your audience to give their serious attention to it—and to you. Your credibility, your sincerity, and your knowledge of your speech become apparent through your nonverbal behaviors.

In this chapter, we explore various nonverbal components that influence your message to create an aesthetic experience for your audience. Rather than a check-list of skillsets, we invite you to read these as a series of inter-related behaviors and practices, beginning with eye contact.

Eye Contact

Imagine bringing in 2 qualified applicants for a job opening that you were responsible to fill. The interview is intimate, and each applicant sits directly across from you and 3 other colleagues who are assisting.

While answering questions, applicant 1 never breaks eye contact with you. It’s likely that, as the interview progresses, you begin to feel uncomfortable, even threatened, and begin shifting your own eyes around the room awkwardly. When the applicant leaves, you finally take a deep breath but realize that you can’t remember anything the applicant said.

The second applicant enters and, unlike the first, looks down at their notes, and they never make direct eye contact. As you try to focus on their answers, they seem so uncomfortable that you aren’t able to concentrate on the exchange.

Both approaches are common mistakes when integrating eye contact into a speech. We have likely all seen speakers who read their presentation from notes and never look up. It’s also common for a speaker to zoom in on one audience member (like the teacher!) and never break their gaze.

Eye contact creates an intimate and interpersonal experience for individual audience members and it assists in maintaining rapport. Part of creating a meaningful aesthetic experience is through eye contact, and the general rule of thumb is that 80% of your total speech time should be spent making eye contact with your audience (Lucas, 2015, p. 250). When you’re able to connect by using eye contact, you create a more intimate, trusting, and transparent experience.

It’s important to note that you want to establish genuine eye contact with your audience, and not “fake” eye contact. There have been a lot of techniques generated for “faking” eye contact, and none of them look natural. For example, these aren’t great:

• Three points on the back wall – You may have heard that instead of making eye contact, you can just pick three points on the back wall and look at each point. What ends up happening, though, is you look like you are staring off into space and your audience will spend the majority of your speech trying to figure out what you are looking at. This technique may work better for a larger audience, but in a more intimate space (like the classroom), the audience is close enough to be suspicious. Put simply: we can tell you aren’t looking at us.
• The swimming method – This happens when someone is reading their speech and looks up quickly and briefly, not unlike a swimmer who pops their head out of the water for a breath before going back under. Eye contact is more than just physically moving your head; it is about looking at your audience and establishing a connection.

Instead, work to maintain approximately 3 seconds of eye contact with audience members throughout the room. You are, after all, speaking to them, so use your eyes to make contact. This may also reduce some anxiety because you can envision yourself speaking directly to one person at a time, rather than a room full of strangers.

Remember: you have done the work. You are prepared. You have something to say. People want to listen.

When you (and your body) move, you communicate. You may, for example, have a friend who, when telling exciting stories, frantically gestures and paces the room—their movement is part of how they communicate their story. They likely do this unconsciously, and that’s often how much of our informal movement occurs.

Many of us, like your friend, have certain elements of movement that we comfortably integrate into our daily interactions. It’s important to know your go-to movements to ask: how can I utilize these (or put them in check) to enhance the audience’s experience? In this section, we will introduce how and why movement should be purposefully integrated into your public speech. We’ll focus on your hands, your feet, and how to move around the space.

Gestures and Hands

Everyone who gives a speech in public gets scared or nervous. Even professionals who do this for a living feel that way, but they have learned how to combat those nerves through experience and practice. When we get scared or nervous, our bodies emit adrenaline into our systems so we can deal with whatever problem is causing us to feel that way. In a speech, you are asked to speak for a specific duration of time, so that burst of adrenaline is going to try to work its way out of your body and manifest itself somehow. One of the main ways is through your hands.

3 common reactions to this adrenaline rush are:

• Jazz hands! It may sound funny, but nervous speakers can unknowingly incorporate “jazz hands”—shaking your hands at your sides with fingers opened wide— at various points in their speech. While certainly an extreme example, this and behaviors like it can easily becoming distracting.
• Stiff as a board . At the other end of the scale, people who don’t know what to do with their hands or use them “too little” sometimes hold their arms stiffly at their sides, behind their backs, or in their pockets, all of which can also look unnatural and distracting.
• Hold on for dear life! Finally, some speakers might grip their notes or a podium tightly with their hands. This might also result in tapping on a podium, table, or another object nearby.

It’s important to remember that just because you aren’t sure what your hands are doing does not mean they aren’t doing something . Fidgeting, jazz hands, gripping the podium, or hands in pockets are all common and result in speakers asking, “did I really do that? I don’t even remember!”

Like we mentioned in this section’s introduction, the key for knowing what to do with your hands is to know your own embodied movement and to trust or adjust your natural style as needed.

Are you someone who uses gestures when speaking? If so, great! Use your natural gestures to create purposeful aesthetic emphasis for your audience. If you were standing around talking to your friends and wanted to list three reasons why you should all take a road trip this weekend, you would probably hold up your fingers as you counted off the reasons (“First, we hardly ever get this opportunity. Second, we can…”). Try to pay attention to what you do with your hands in regular conversations and incorporate that into your delivery. Be conscious, though, of being over the top and gesturing at every other word. Remember that gestures highlight and punctuate information for the audience, so too many gestures (like jazz hands) can be distracting.

Similarly, are you someone who generally rests your arms at your sides? That’s OK, too! Work to keep a natural (and not stiff) look, but challenge yourself to integrate a few additional gestures throughout the speech.

Feet and Posture

Just like your hands, nervous energy might try to work its way out of your body through your feet. Common difficulties include:

• The side-to-side. You may feel awkward standing without a podium and try to shift your weight back and forth. On the “too much” end, this is most common when people start “dancing” or stepping side to side.
• The twisty-leg. Another variation is twisting feet around each other or the lower leg.
• Stiff-as-a-board. On the other end are speakers who put their feet together, lock their knees, and never move from that position. Locked knees can restrict oxygen to your brain, so there are many reasons to avoid this difficulty.

These options look unnatural, and therefore will prove to be distracting to your audience.

The default position for your feet, then, is to have them shoulder-width apart, with your knees slightly bent. Since public speaking often results in some degree of physical exertion, you need to treat speaking as a physical activity. Public speaking is too often viewed as merely the transmission of information or a message rather than a fully body experience. Being in-tune and attuned to your body will allow you to speak in a way that’s both comfortable for you and the audience.

In addition to keeping your feet shoulder-width apart, you’ll also want to focus on your posture. As an audience member, you may have witnessed speakers with slumped shoulders or leaning into the podium (if there is one) with their entire body.

Difficulty with good posture is not just a public speaking problem. Think about how often you sit down in a coffee shop, pull out your laptop and, after some time, you realize that you are leaning over and your lower back is wincing in pain. You likely pull your shoulders back and straighten your spine in response. If you don’t focus on this posture (and practice reminding yourself to “sit up straight”), your body may slump back into old habits. So, you guessed it: focusing on good posture is just that – something that you must focus on, over time, so that it becomes habitual.

Focusing on good posture and solid grounding will, in addition to increasing your confidence, assist you in maintaining your eye contact and focusing on projecting your voice throughout the space.

Moving in the Space

We know that likely you’re wondering, “Should I do any other movement around the room?”

Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer. Movement depends on two overarching considerations: 1) What’s the space? And, 2) What’s the message?

First, movement is always informed by the space in which you’ll speak. We’ll cover this more in tips on rehearsal (see Chapter 11), but we’ll highlight a few important details here. Consider the two following examples:

• You’ll be a giving a presentation at a university where a podium is set up with a stable microphone.
• You’re speaking at a local TedTalk event with an open stage.

Both scenarios provide constraints and opportunities for movement.

In the university space, the microphone may constrain your movement if you determine that vocal projection is insufficient to guarantee a level of speaking that can be heard throughout the space.

In other words, you need to stay planted behind the microphone to guarantee sound. Partially constraining, this does allow a stable location to place your notes, a microphone to assist in projecting, and allows you to focus on other verbal and nonverbal techniques.

In the TedTalk example, you are not constrained by a stable microphone and you have a stage for bodily movement. The open stage means that the entire space becomes part of the aesthetic experience for the audience. However, if you are less comfortable with movement, the open space may feel intimidating because audiences may assume that you’ll use the entire space.

In addition to the space, your message and content assist in deciding how or why you might move around the space. It’s necessary to ask, “how does movement support, enhance or detract from the message?” and “how might movement support, enhance, or detract from the aesthetic experience for the audience?”

Remember that most public speeches are ephemeral, where the audience is attempting to comprehend your message in one shot or run through. Given these circumstances, it can be tricky for an audience to track the argument progression, especially since you may be dealing with an audience of varying levels of experience with your topic. Similar to the space, thinking through where your movement can assist in translating your information is paramount.

Once you have knowledge of the speaking space and completed speech content, you can start using movement to add dimension to the aesthetic experience for your audience.

One benefit of movement is that it allows you to engage with different sections of the audience. If you are not constrained to one spot (in the case of a podium or a seat, for example), then you are able to use movement to engage with the audience by adjusting your spatial dynamic. You can literally move your body to different sides of the stage and audience. This allows for each side of a room to be pulled in to the content because you close the physical distance and create clear pathways for eye contact.

Without these changes, sections of the audience may feel lost or forgotten. Consider your role as a student. Have you experienced a professor or teacher who stays solitary and does not move to different sides of the room? It can be difficult to stay motivated to listen or take notes if a speaker is dominating one area of the space.

Changing the spatial dynamics goes beyond moving from side-to-side. You can also move forward and backward (or what theater practitioners might call down or up stage). This allows you to move closer to the audience or back away—depending on what experience you’re trying to create.

In addition to engaging with the audience, movement often signals a transition between ideas or an attempt to visually enunciate an important component of your information. You may want to signal a change in time or mark progression. If you’re walking your audience through information chronologically, movement can mark that temporal progression where your body becomes the visual marker of time passing.

You may also want to signal a transition between main ideas, and movement can assist with that, too! Moving as main point transitions embodies the connections between your ideas while letting the audience know that “we are going to progress in the argument.” If integrating movement as a transition feels odd, choppy, or awkward, those feelings help signal that the organization of your main points may need some re-working.

Thus, using purposeful movement can enhanced your aesthetics, but purposeful is the key word here. While movement can enhance, it can also distract and constrain. Keep these common pitfalls in mind:

• The pace-master. We all know this distracting pitfall where (likely due to nervousness), a speaker paces back and forth without any clear reason for the movement. “What in the world are they doing?” you might wonder as an audience member. Unfortunately, if you’re internally asking that question, you’re likely not focusing on the speaker’s content. While it’s OK to “walk and talk” so to speak, avoid constant walking-and-talking. As a speaker, maintain a solid footing when you aren’t moving.
• Obstructing the view: It’s likely that, at some point, you’ll use objects or other presentation enhancements like a PowerPoint or a video during your speech. Make sure you aren’t moving directly in front of the audience’s line of sight. Even if you aren’t referencing something, it can be awkward to walk in front of a projection light.
• The robot : As a dance, the robot can be great, but in public speaking, it’s usually not as effective. We commonly experience students who use “the triangle” method, where each main point in the speech is mapped onto an invisible triangle. This can be done well, but it can also lead to movement looking unnatural. Work to strike a balance between pre-planned and robotic.

When you speak, moving in the space can be beneficial. As you plan your purposeful movement, be aware of the message you’re providing and the space in which you’re speaking.

Facial Expressions

Picture being out to dinner with a friend and, as you finish telling a story about a joke you played on your partner, you look up to a grimacing face.

“What?” you ask. But their face says it all.

“Oh, nothing,” they reply. Realizing that their face has “spilled the beans” so to speak, they might correct their expression by shrugging and biting their lip – a move that may insinuate nervousness or anxiety. You perceive that they didn’t find your story as humorous as you’d hoped.

Facial expressions communicate to others (and audiences) in ways that are congruent or incongruent with your message. In the example above, your friend’s feedback of “oh, nothing” was inconcruent with their facial exressions. Their verbal words didn’t trump their facial expressions, however, and their nonverbal feedback was part of the communication.

Facial expressions are generally categorized as one of the following: happy, sad, angry, fearful, surprised and disgusted. Your facial expressions matter; your audience will be looking at your face to guide them through the speech, so they’re an integral part of communicating meaning and demonstrating to your audience a felt sense.

In fact, if your facial expressions seem incongruent or contradictory from the tone of the argument, an audience may go so far as to feel distrust toward you as a speaker. Children might, for example, say, “I’m fine” or “It doesn’t hurt” after falling and scraping their knee, but their face often communicates a level of discomfort. In this case, their facial expression is incongruent with their verbal message. If you’re frowning while presenting information that the audience perceives to be positive, they may feel uneasy or unsure how to process that information. So, congruency can increase your ethos.

Instead, work to create congruence between your message and expressions. In class discussions on pathos, we often joke about the ASPCA commercials with the Sarah McLachlan song “In the Arms of an Angel” playing in the background. The music is meant to, of course, communicate feelings of sadness around animal cruelty, and rightfully so. In a speech, similar to using music, your facial expressions can assist in setting the aesthetic tone; they are part of developing pathos.

Given the amount of information that we all encounter daily, including information about global injustices, it’s often insufficient to merely state the problem and how to solve it. Audience members need buy in from you as the speaker. Using facial expressions to communicate emotions, for example, can demonstrate your commitment and overall feelings around an issue.

To be clear: facial expressions, like other forms of nonverbal communication, can greatly impact an audience member’s perception of the speaker, but not all audiences may interpret your expressions the same. Re-visit Chapter 2 on audiences.

What you wear, similar to other aesthetic components, can either enhance or detract from the audience’s experience. Like facial expressions, you want your attire to be congruent with the message that you’re delivering. In Chapter 7, we noted that aesthetics are often dicated by certain contextual norms. Context is relevant here, too, as the purpose and audience will inform appropriate attire.

We recommend considering two questions when selecting your attire:

First, “what attire matches the occasion?” Is this a casual occasion? Does it warrant a more professional or business-casual approach? If you’re speaking at an organization’s rally, for example, you may decide to wear attire with the organization’s logo and jeans. Other occasions, like a classroom or city council meeting, may require a higher level of professional attire.

Second, “have I selected any attire that could be distracting while I’m speaking?” Certain kinds of jewelry, for example, might make additional noise or move around your arm, and audiences can focus too much on the jewelry. In addition to noise-makers, some attire can have prints that might distract, including letters, wording, or pictures.

Your attire can influence how the audience perceives you as a speaker (ahem: your credibility) which, as we’ve discussed, is key to influencing listeners. Before we conclude this chapter, we return to credibility and reflexivity.

Aesthetics and Credibility

So far in Part 3 on aesthetics, we’ve discussed how to deliver an aesthetic experience for your audience. As a speaker, it’s important to remember that the audience remains a central component of public speaking and is central to consider when making aesthetic choices.

Yes, this means that you should think about your audience (as Chapter 2 discussed at length) when you are a speaker. These aesthetic choices will influence your audience and assist them in determining if you are credible and, frankly, if they want to listen to your message.

For example, an audience may view vocalized pauses as evidence that a speaker lacks confidence around their topic or does not know the material as well. Similarly, you may consider your attire before presenting, assuming that your audience will respect and view you professionally if you select business casual clothing.

Aesthetic choices are also important when you are in the audience, and it is imperative to be critical and reflect (or practice reflexivity) on how you are filtering a speaker’s information through their aesthetics. The filter that informs our willingness to view a speaker as credible is often based on a mythical norm , or what Audre Lorde (1984) defines generally as young, white, thin, middle-class men. This classification certainly does not fit all speakers, and if you are part of this classification, that’s OK! The mythical norm warns us to be conscious of holding these categories as “the best” or preferred, especially around what counts as credibility. In other words, are these categories unconsciously facilitating a more positive aesthetic experience?

For example, you may decide to wear business casual clothing to increase the likelihood that your audience views you as credible, but as an audience member, be careful assuming that someone is not credible because of their attire. Business attire can be a privilege that everyone cannot afford.

Eye contact can also be investigated. We’ve alluded that eye contact increases trust amongst your audience, and it often does; however, the connection between eye contact and higher levels of credibility is specific to a U.S. American cultural context. Culture thus defines how we interpret and understand certain aesthetic choices, including eye contact. Remember that culture is always a core component of communication. As an audience member, be careful of presumptively judging a speaker based on your own cultural expectations, identities, or positions.

Your nonverbal delivery assists in setting an aesthetic tone for the audience by providing embodied insight into how the audience should think, act, or feel. The space – or literal context in which you’ll speak – also contributes nonverbally to the message. We’ll discuss space in more detail during Chapter 11 on rehearsal.

Up next: presentation aids.

Media Attributions

• Al Gore gestures 1992 © Kenneth C. Zirkel is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license

Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy Copyright © 2019 by Meggie Mapes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Complimentary 1-hour tutoring consultation Schedule Now

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Two of the primary vehicles for communication are verbal and non-verbal.

Oral communication describes the verbal exchange of information, emotions, thoughts, and perceptions. It includes speeches, presentations, conversations, and discussions. Body language and tone of voice play a significant role in how oral communication is perceived. Since verbal communication almost always involves the simultaneous transmission and receipt of a message, feedback from the audience is immediate.

Social psychologist Michael Argyle said that while spoken language is usually used to communicate information about external events that impact the speakers, non-verbal codes establish and maintain interpersonal relationships. Argyle concluded there are five primary functions of non-verbal bodily behavior in human communication:

• Express emotions
• Express interpersonal attitudes
• Work with speech to manage the cues of interaction between speakers and listeners.
• Present one’s personality
• Conduct rituals (greetings)

Humans communicate interpersonal closeness through a series of non-verbal actions known as immediacy behaviors. Examples of immediacy behaviors are smiling, touching, open body positions, and eye contact. Cultures that display these immediacy behaviors are considered high-contact cultures.

Practice Questions 

  MCAT Official Prep (AAMC)

Sample Test P/S Section Question 27

• Types of communication include verbal and nonverbal.

• Verbal communication provides immediate feedback, and so it is best for conveying emotions and maintaining interpersonal relationships; it can involve storytelling and crucial conversations.

• Non-verbal communication is the process of sending and receiving wordless (mostly visual) cues.

nonverbal : a form other than written or spoken words, like gestures, facial expressions, or body language

verbal communication:  the use of sounds and words to express yourself

Michael Argyle:  developed theories on social communication

Your Notifications Live Here

{{ notification.creator.name }} Spark

{{ announcement.creator.name }}

Trial Session Enrollment

Live trial session waiting list.

Next Trial Session:

{{ nextFTS.remaining.months }} {{ nextFTS.remaining.months > 1 ? 'months' : 'month' }} {{ nextFTS.remaining.days }} {{ nextFTS.remaining.days > 1 ? 'days' : 'day' }} {{ nextFTS.remaining.days === 0 ? 'Starts Today' : 'remaining' }} Starts Today

Recorded Trial Session

This is a recorded trial for students who missed the last live session.

Waiting List Details:

Due to high demand and limited spots there is a waiting list. You will be notified when your spot in the Trial Session is available.

• Learn Basic Strategy for CARS
• Full Jack Westin Experience
• Interactive Online Classroom
• Emphasis on Timing

Next Trial:

Free Trial Session Enrollment

Daily mcat cars practice.

New MCAT CARS passage every morning.

You are subscribed.

{{ nextFTS.remaining.months }} {{ nextFTS.remaining.months > 1 ? 'months' : 'month' }} {{ nextFTS.remaining.days }} {{ nextFTS.remaining.days > 1 ? 'days' : 'day' }} remaining Starts Today

Welcome Back!

Please sign in to continue..

Please sign up to continue.

{{ detailingplan.name }}.

• {{ feature }}

Nonverbal Communication

Oct 10, 2014

4.03k likes | 11.88k Views

Nonverbal Communication. We speak only with our mouths, but we communicate with our whole bodies. 80% of Communication is Nonverbal. Gestures Body Position Facial Expressions Tone of Voice. Nonverbal Communication

Share Presentation

• body language
• eye contact
• verbal message
• nonverbal supports verbal
• affect displays nonverbal behaviors

Presentation Transcript

Nonverbal Communication We speak only with our mouths, but we communicate with our whole bodies.

80% of Communication is Nonverbal • Gestures • Body Position • Facial Expressions • Tone of Voice

Nonverbal Communication Communication without words; a process by which an individual stimulates meaning in the mind of another person through intentional and unintentional messages through use of the body and voice

Functions of Nonverbal Behavior

Repeat Nonverbal message conveys the same idea as the verbal; can take either verbal or nonverbal message away and it still gives the same message Examples: saying “Hello” while waving or saying “Be quiet” while holding indexfinger up to your mouth

Substitute nonverbal message replaces verbal message; (also called emblems) Examples: waving to say hello, thumbs up for “good job,” clapping at a concert, hitchhiker thumb

"I'm fine." Contradict Nonverbal goes against verbal; they do not match up; ALSO called a mixed message Examples: saying “I’m fine” when your head is hanging down with slumped shoulders, etc. Note: Which is more believable when verbal and nonverbal behaviors are contradictory? Why?

Complement Nonverbal supports verbal; used to show how to do something, show sizes, or emphasize emotional feelings; we complement the verbal message with the nonverbal message when demonstrating something or giving directions & pointing (also called illustrators) Examples: “The fish was this big” while holding hands out to indicate size or “I’m so frustrated!” while shaking fists

AccentUse of gestures & facial expressions to emphasize or punctuate spoken words (also called illustrators)Examples: yelling “That’s it!” while pounding fist, emphasizing words through tone of voice, saying “My first point…” while holding up one finger

Regulate Nonverbal cues that control or regulate the interaction of flow of communication between ourselves and another person (Called regulators) Examples: nodding head and saying “uh huh,” giving eye contact, opening mouth to speak, leaning forward, raising eyebrows, or raising index finger

Vocalics Communication through voice (vocal cues other than words = paralanguage) such as… • Tone of voice-vocal quality, raspy or nasally creates interference with message • Pitch-highness or lowness of voice • Volume-loudness or softness of voice • Rate-how rapidly or slowly one talks • Accent/ dialect-pronunciation

Kinesics: The study of human movement and gesture, including facial expression & eye contact

Affect displaysNonverbal behaviors used to communicate emotions Examples: hugging someone to express love or shaking fist at someone to show anger

Adaptors Nonverbal behaviors that help us to satisfy a personal need and adapt to the immediate situation; not really intending to communicate meaning Examples: scratching mosquito bite, adjusting glasses, combing hair, pulling hanging thread of clothing, etc.

Proxemics: Communication through the use of space Territoriality- fixed area that is occupied, controlled and defended by a person or group as their exclusive domain; regulates social interaction; can be source of conflict; indicates ownership (permanent or temporary)

Why is it important to understand body language? • See how people react to us and our ideas • You can control nervous habits and negative signals. • People respond and remember more of what they see than hear.

Facial Expressions • Six emotions are the foundation • Surprise • Fear • Anger • Disgust • Happiness • Sadness

Facial Expressions • Different Facial Areas for different emotions • Disgust - nose, cheek, mouth • Sadness - brows and forehead • Happiness - cheeks and mouth • Fear - eyes and eyelids

Tone of Voice • The pitch and timbre (distinctive tone) show the true feelings • “Oh” can mean… • "You surprised me." • "I made a mistake." • "You're a pain in the neck!" • "You made me so happy!" • "I'm bored." • "I'm fascinated." • "I don't understand."

How to Tell Lying • Decreased hand activity • Concerned subconsciously, hands will give you away • Hide them, sit on them, clasp them together • Increased Facial touching • Earlobe pull • Hand on brow • Mouth cover • Lip Press • Hair Groom • Stiff and rigid posture • Increased body shifting

Multicultural Messages Frame of reference is important in understanding symbols. • What means “Hook ‘em Horns” in Texas, means… • Italy - insult • Brazil - good luck • Hindus - cow • In business, body language wins out over verbal communication.

Greetings are different around the world • Latinos hug • Japanese bow • The French kiss both cheeks • English & Americans shake hands • Romans clasped forearms • Arab citizens say “Salaam” • Eskimos slap hands on heads or shoulders • Maoris rub noses • Polynesians embrace each other and rub backs

How Countries Feel About Distance • Don't Like Touching • Japan • U.S. and Canada • England • Australia • Enjoy Touching • Middle East • Latin America • Italy • Greece • Russia • Middle Ground • France • China • Ireland • India

Women vs. Men • Women respond to touch differently than men

Types of Space • Personal • 1-1/2 to 4 feet • Intimate • Under 18 inches Confidential Exchanges Conversations withfriends & colleagues • Public • Over 12 feet • Social • 4 to 12 feet Social & BusinessExchanges Public Spaces likeShopping Malls

"We talk with our vocal chords, but we communicate with our facial expressions, our tone of voice, our whole body,” Psychologist Paul Ekman Nonverbal Communication in the Workplace

Steps to a Professional Personality • To be successful, you have to look successful. • Have confident posture- shoulders erect (it shows interest) • Don't smile constantly • Cocking your head suggests hesitation • Touching your face makes you look nervous • Be the first to interact • Keep body position open • Be in command when seated • Forearms on the table • Don't slouch or jiggle your foot • Work on your handshake • Maintain good eye contact

What is Positive Body Language? • Relaxed posture • Relaxed arms • Good eye contact • Nodding agreement • Smiling at humor • Leaning closer • Using gestures

What is Negative Body Language? • Body tension • Arms folded • Speaking hand to mouth • Fidgeting • Yawning

Interpreting Nonverbal Messages • Don't just look - see • Consider person's normal physical behavior • Look for clusters of signals, not just one

Nonverbal message Body language Tone of voice Gesture Personal space Intimate distance Personal distance Social distance Eye contact Vocabulary

• More by User

Nonverbal Communication. “The World Beyond Words”. What is Nonverbal Communication?. “Messages expressed by nonlinguistic means.” Includes silent behaviors, environment, artifacts, and vocal intonation Is a powerful mode of communication.

1.51k views • 27 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Objectives. Understand the definition of nonverbal communication Understand different types of nonverbal communication Understand the functions of nonverbal behavior Understand differences in nonverbal behavior between Chinese culture and American culture.

629 views • 29 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Tamara S. Arrington University of Kentucky COM 252. Nonverbal Communication. A system of symbolic behaviors that includes all forms of communication except words. -- Waving can mean, “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Go ahead,” “I’m over here,” etc.

1.32k views • 33 slides

Nonverbal Communication. COM 372 Theory and Research in Intercultural Communication. Defining Nonverbal Communication.

667 views • 20 slides

Nonverbal Communication. “ The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” Confucius. Research. Albert Mehrabian 7% words 38% tone and inflection 55% facial expression, body position and gestures. Nonverbal Communication. Unwritten and unspoken messages

703 views • 18 slides

What is nonverbal communication?. ?Oral and nonoral messages expressed by other than linguistic means."Messages transmitted by vocal means that do not involve languageSign language and written words are not considered nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is powerful. 60% of all communi

764 views • 29 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Communication without words; communication by means of space, gestures, facial expressions, touching, vocal variation, and silence for example (DeVito). Importance of Nonverbal Communication.

868 views • 49 slides

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. OBJECTIVES. Define the term non-verbal communication and its concepts Explain the nature of non-verbal behaviors Illustrate non-verbal behaviors Differentiate the three primary elements of non-verbal communication

1.25k views • 12 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Nonverbal communication: A message expressed by nonlinguistic means. How does nonverbal communication work for us? Against us? Does all nonverbal behavior have communicative value? Can we control our nonverbals? Research:

408 views • 7 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Definition Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication Functions of Nonverbal Communication Types of Nonverbal Communication. Nonverbal Communication Defined. Def- Messages expressed by nonlinguistic means.

1.34k views • 24 slides

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. Def: Is the sending and receiving of messages without the use of words. Between 65-90% of messages are nonverbal. Non-verbal Communication. Are the messages that are sent through body language and facial expressions

579 views • 24 slides

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. What is Nonverbal Communication and What I s I ts S ignificance ?. It is a form of communication which is symbolic, meaningful and governed by societal or cultural rules Our facial expressions, eye gaze, posture and tone of voice.

923 views • 10 slides

Nonverbal Communication. SWBAT. Recognize nonverbal communication cues Identify the positive and negative effects of nonverbal communication Identify cultural differences in nonverbal communication. Nonverbal Communication. Expressing yourself without the use of words

981 views • 9 slides

Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication. Communication without words. Nonverbal communication. All forms of communication except words . It includes sounds , body language , and environmental factors . Types of NV Comm. Kinesics Vocalics Haptics Proxemics Chronemics Environmental Factors.

761 views • 18 slides

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. Accounts for 80% of all Communication Nonverbal is body language Nonverbal messages often overpower verbal messages Body language is not a universal language. NONVERBAL BEHAVIORS. Posture and body orientation Eye contact Facial expressions Gestures Touch

1.25k views • 11 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Messages Beyond Words Chapter 5. Quiz. 1. Gesturing has little bearing on persuasiveness False 2. Cognitively complex people are better at decoding nonverbal behavior than are those who are less cognitively complex. True

1.65k views • 30 slides

Nonverbal Communication. GAO Yongchen Suzhou University. Warm-up Questions. Why may you be communicating even if you don’t speak? How many modes of communication do you know? What is verbal communication and what is nonverbal communication? Amd how much do you know about them?.

907 views • 32 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Mrs. Curry Lecture Notes Ch. 5. Understanding NV comm. Nonverbal Communication : a system of symbolic behaviors that includes all form of communication except words. Wave= goodbye, hello, go ahead, I’m over here

379 views • 8 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Muhammad Ayub Attari Course Coordinator. What Does It Mean?. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have potential to turn a life around.

1.22k views • 56 slides

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. THE IMPORTANCE OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. As much as 93 % of communication is nonverbal, with 55% sent through facial expression, posture, and gestures and 38% through tone of voice. Nonverbal Communication as a Transaction.

592 views • 9 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Nonverbal Communication. Is it possible to communicate without words? Studies show that over half of your message is carried through nonverbal elements: Your appearance Your body language The tone and the pace of your voice. Forms of Nonverbal Communication.

681 views • 41 slides

Nonverbal Communication. Definition Components Power and functions of nonverbal Types of nonverbal comm. Definition. “Oral or nonoral messages expressed by other than linguistic means” (Adler & Rodman, 2003, p. 150). Nonverbal can be…. Perceived by sender or receiver, or

841 views • 23 slides