The gaze as a means of communication. Non-verbal communication gestures
Speech is the main mechanism of communication between people. But if you want to see through the interlocutor, you need to study the features of non-verbal communication. Sign language will help you find out what the other person is not saying, what he thinks and how he really feels about you.
Non-verbal communications probably originated with the advent of mankind, but the subject study of this issue began only in the 20th century, simultaneously with the emergence of a full-fledged science of body language. The concept of non-verbal communication is usually interpreted as communication through non-speech sign systems. Sometimes a person does not think about how much information he conveys to an opponent, even started talking.
Comparative characteristics of verbal and non-verbal communications
Verbal and non-verbal means communication has a number of significant differences. The key ones are presented in the table.
| Verbal communication | Non-verbal communication |
| The transmitted message is stored in the form of a paraphrase and can be transmitted without the presence of the primary speaker. | The exchange of information occurs strictly at the moment of direct interaction between people. |
| Components (words, sentences) are strictly defined and subject to specific rules | Non-verbal messages are difficult to divide into components and subordinate to a certain pattern. |
| Verbal messages are usually , are conscious, and therefore easily amenable to analysis and control | Non-verbal manifestations are usually spontaneous and unconscious, difficult to control, and interpretation requires certain knowledge |
| Education verbal communication carried out consciously from early childhood | Non-verbal communication skills are formed by themselves or through imitation |
The main types of non-verbal communication
Not only speech helps a person to transmit and receive information. There are also a number of mediated communication mechanisms. Here are the main types of non-verbal communication:
- Kinetics - non-verbal communications carried out through bodily movements.
- Vocalics (paralinguistics) - voice effects, namely: tone, speed of speech, voice power, presence or absence of pauses, sound intensity.
- Haptika (takesika) - communication through touch.
- Proxemics - the perception and use of personal or It is about the distance between the interlocutors, as well as the organization environment.
- Artifacts - clothes, jewelry and so on.
Body Language Functions
To assess the role of the language of non-verbal communication in a person's life, it is worth understanding its functions. Here is their list:
- Duplicate. Through facial expressions, gestures, emotions and body position, the words of the speaker are confirmed.
- Regulatory. Serves to establish interpersonal relationships.
- Revealing. In most cases, gestures and facial expressions cannot be controlled, and therefore they reveal the true feelings and intentions of the speaker.
- Substitute. Sometimes sign language completely replaces oral speech (a nod of the head, an inviting gesture, and so on).
Factors affecting sign language
Features of non-verbal communication are determined by a number of factors. Here are the main ones:
- National affiliation. People living in different parts of the world can express their emotions in different ways. In addition, the same gesture of representatives different countries may be interpreted differently.
- Health status. The tone of voice, facial expressions and intensity of gestures can be affected by well-being, as well as the presence of certain diseases.
- Professional affiliation. For people who are busy different types activities, specific non-verbal mechanisms can be formed. For example, people creative professions distinguished by lively facial expressions and active gestures.
- cultural level. Determines the structure of gestures and the ability to control emotions.
- social status. As a rule, people who occupy a high social position are more restrained in their gestures.
- Belonging to a group (gender, age, traditional, social). This factor may be responsible for some non-verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication: facial expressions
The facial muscles respond to all thoughts and emotions that affect a person. Thus, facial expressions are one of the most important mechanisms of non-verbal communication. If a person is trying to hide his thoughts and emotions from you, facial expressions will give him away anyway. The table shows the correspondence of sensual manifestations of facial expressions.
| Feeling | Mimic manifestation |
| Astonishment |
|
| Fear |
|
| Anger |
|
| Disgust |
|
| Sadness |
|
| Happiness |
|
The language of views
Among the non-verbal means of communication, it is worth highlighting the views. Just in the direction of the pupils and the narrowing of the eyelids. The most common interpretations are shown in the table.
| Sight | Interpretation |
| bulging eyes |
|
| Covered eyelids |
|
| Slightly squinted eyes |
|
| "Glittering" eyes |
|
| Looking straight ahead |
|
| Look "through the interlocutor" |
|
| side view |
|
| View from below |
|
| Looking down |
|
| Look "into yourself" |
|
| calm look |
|
What will the voice say?
One of the components of non-verbal communication is the voice. Not only words are important, but also the tone, volume, intonation with which they are pronounced. Here is how you can guess the presence of certain feelings and emotions in the speaker:
- Excitement - low tone, fussy intermittent speech.
- Enthusiasm, inspiration - a high tone, a clear, well-adjusted speech.
- Fatigue - low tone, slow speech with a decrease in intonation towards the end of the phrase.
- Arrogance - monotonous slow speech.
- Uncertainty - inconsistent speech with errors and pauses.
What do the gestures say?
Non-verbal communication includes numerous gestures that we sometimes do not pay attention to during communication. Nevertheless, they can reveal a lot about the true thoughts and intentions of the interlocutor. The table shows the most common combinations of gestures.
| State | Gesture Combination |
| Concentration |
|
| Critical attitude |
|
| positive attitude |
|
| Mistrust |
|
| Boredom |
|
| Feeling of superiority |
|
| Disapproval |
|
| Uncertainty |
|
| benevolence |
|
What do the poses say
One of the key points of non-verbal communication is postures and their meaning. Depending on the position of the body of your interlocutor, you can understand what he is thinking, what are his intentions and attitude towards you and your dialogue. The table shows the decoding of some positions.
| State | Pose |
| Self-confidence or a sense of superiority |
|
| Self-confidence, aggressive attitude, readiness to defend oneself and defend one's position |
|
| Feeling insufficiently full and frank contact with the interlocutor |
|
| Aggressive demonstration of self-confidence, a signal of sexual desire (when communicating with the opposite sex) |
|
| Anxiety or distrust of the interlocutor |
|
| Impatience, haste |
|
Interpersonal space
Another important method of non-verbal communication is the observance of interpersonal distance (space). In fact, the "limits of what is permitted" may differ depending on the place of residence, type of activity, as well as individual preferences of a person. However, there are some standard parameters to follow when:
- Intimate distance (up to 50 cm) is acceptable between close friends or relatives. Also, such interpersonal distance is acceptable in sports involving the contact of the bodies of rivals or partners.
- Interpersonal distance (50-120 cm) is acceptable in this case, tactile contact may or may not occur.
- Social distance (120-370 cm) is typical for public and business relations. Tactile contacts in this case are unacceptable.
- Public distance (more than 370 cm) implies a formal exchange of courtesies or abstaining from communication.
How to get the location of a person
Non-verbal communication is a powerful weapon in the hands of someone who is familiar with its basics. Some tricks help to achieve the location of people, to convince them that they are right. Nonverbal tactics are especially important in sales and public speaking. Here are the top tips to help you succeed:
- Hands should be at the level of the belt or solar plexus, slightly apart. Their position must be open. You can make something like an inviting gesture with your palm.
- Demonstrate "active listening" when your interlocutor speaks. Look at him carefully, nod your head and periodically assent when appropriate.
- When proving your point, make your face spiritual. With all your appearance, show that your point of view is correct, you sincerely believe in it. Look closely at the interlocutor, slightly raising your eyebrows.
- If the interlocutor objects, answer him with a serious intonation, gradually flowing into a positive one. This will give the impression that you have solved the problem and reflected the remark.
- End the conversation with a positive tone and a smile. Thus, you will be remembered by the interlocutor from the positive side and leave pleasant associations with yourself.
Non-verbal "mistakes"
Even if a person is not familiar with the intricacies of non-verbal communication, he subconsciously rejects and rejects some unpleasant moments. As a rule, communication with the interlocutor does not add up if you make such mistakes:
- Hidden palms. Keeping your hands in your pockets, behind your back, or simply crossed means to close yourself from the interlocutor. This makes him think that you are insincere or afraid. If you find it difficult to maintain an open posture, pick up some object (pen or folder), but do not hide them.
- Avert your gaze. Looking at the floor, around or at foreign objects is extremely wrong. Important to install eye contact. You can look away only if you are showing something to the interlocutor (for example, a product or a document). But at the end of the presentation, be sure to look into the eyes.
- Stoop and search for support. All this is evidence of your self-doubt. If you feel that you can not cope with emotions, it is better to invite the interlocutor to sit down.
- Violation of personal space. If the interlocutor is not your relative or close acquaintance, do not approach him closer than a meter and do not try to establish tactile contact (touches or hugs). The interlocutor may take this for tactlessness or be embarrassed.
- Do not touch your face, ears or hair. In general, do as little manipulation of body parts as possible. This speaks of your secrecy, insincerity or self-doubt.
How to recognize a liar
The key role of non-verbal communication is that you can recognize what the interlocutor wants to hide from you. In particular, there are a number of signs by which a lie can be determined. Here are the main ones:
- pauses or hesitation before the start of a speech or a new replica;
- frequent interruption of speech;
- upward gaze, which means thinking about what was said;
- freezing of facial expressions for more than five seconds;
- delayed emotions (mimic reaction occurs a few seconds after the speech is delivered);
- a strained smile, expressed by a straight narrow line of lips;
- attempts to break eye contact or look past the interlocutor;
- manipulations with any part of the body: tapping with fingers, stamping with a foot, biting a lip, touching a nose;
- poor gesticulation due to attempts at self-control;
- elevated tone of voice, uncontrolled by the speaker;
- difficulty breathing and shortness of breath that interferes with speech;
- increased sweating in the armpits, forehead and palms;
- hunchback;
- crossed position of the limbs;
- running pupils that do not stop at any one point;
- exaggerated gestures and emotions that may not correspond to the content and nature of speech;
- excessively fast and irregular blinking.
”, in which two groups of gestures were described in detail: expressive and tactile. Perhaps you recalled a number of situations in which you noticed manifestations of these gestures or certain body positions of other people. Now you can safely explain what this or that gesture meant. I believe that a number of your vague guesses have now turned into a coherent chain of logically interconnected facts.
In this article, to expand the idea of the world of non-verbal communication, MirSovetov will present two more groups of gestures: visual-contact gaze and spatial movements.
Visual-contact look
Eye contact is an undeniably important communication process. As you already know, a person receives about 80% of impressions from all senses through vision. With the help of the eyes, you can convey a variety of expressions, thanks to them we can carry out the process of managing the course of the conversation, provide feedback in human behavior. The look helps in the exchange of remarks, since most statements without the participation of the eyes would be meaningless.Remember how badly interlocutors on the Internet need a variety of emoticons, which are a substitute for such a means of non-verbal communication as an exchange of views, facial expressions. After all, without seeing, it is much more difficult to convey the feelings experienced. Developers of instant messaging programs, improving their program characteristics, are trying to include and expand the function of eye expression, general facial expressions and various hand gestures. And, as practice shows, the demand for such programs like ICQ is very high. People crave full-fledged communication on the Web. And the appearance of the video call function in cell phones and installing video equipment on a computer that allows you to communicate interactively, contemplating each other, is precisely the answer to the need for live communication at a remote distance.
Also, the look takes part in the expression of intimacy, frankness. With it, you can set the degree of proximity to a person.
In communication, the gaze, as a rule, performs an information search, for example, the listener looks at the speaker, and if he paused, silently expects to continue without interrupting eye contact; gives a signal about a free communication channel, for example, a speaker with an eye sign indicates that the conversation is over; helps to establish and maintain social relations when we are looking for a person's gaze to enter into a conversation.
In psychology, there are several types of views, each of which carries very significant information about a person’s thoughts:
- Business look - when we look at the forehead and into the eyes of the interlocutor. Often we behave this way when meeting with unfamiliar people, leaders and bosses.
- Social gaze - when we direct our eyes to the area of a person's face in the area of \u200b\u200bthe mouth, nose and eyes. It is typical in situations of easy communication with friends and acquaintances.
- Intimate look - passes through the line of the interlocutor's eyes and falls to a level below the chin, neck to other parts of the body. There may be dilation of the pupils, as a foretaste of pleasure.
In any case, for the correct interpretation of non-verbal gestures, we take into account the environment, the context of circumstances. One thing can definitely be stated for sure: the expansion or contraction of the pupils, which occurs as a response to excitation, occurs involuntarily, without taking into account consciousness, the autonomic nervous system is involved in this. If the direction of the gaze can still be somehow controlled, then changing the pupils is beyond our control. When we talk about a person: “he has expressive eyes”, “she has an evil look”, “she jinxed me”, then we mean exactly the information obtained through non-verbal communication when observing a person’s pupils. Children abandoned by their parents have a dry, distant look, filled with the pain of loneliness, which gives them an adult expression. On the contrary, beloved and caressed babies look at the world in a completely different way.
Longitude of gaze can indicate the degree of interest. Staring, inseparable will tell you about the intention to find out some information from you or force you to obey. For couples in love, such a look serves as a signal to begin active courtship. If a close look is directed at a sleeping person, subconsciously he may experience, even wake up. Interestingly, in the animal world, a gaze serves as a signal for an impending attack, so there is nothing surprising when, feeling such a signal from an unfamiliar person, you experience anxiety and a desire to hide. With peripheral (lateral) vision, we are able to see objects and the environment around us, analyze the degree of danger. At serial killers and maniacs look very different from the look of an ordinary person. All the previous behavior of a person up to a given point in time, the situations that he solves and the methods that he uses in eliminating problems - everything leaves an imprint on the expression of his eyes. A tired mother after a sleepless night with, a pensioner living on crumbs, a student who did not receive a scholarship that he was counting on - everyone has peculiar expressions in their eyes. If, for example, you are in a close relationship with such people, you will definitely understand the reason for such a view.
Spatial movements
This or that distance in contacts between individuals is determined by the social status of those communicating, their national characteristics, age, gender, as well as the nature of the relationship of partners. And this is also one of the forms of non-verbal communication that is useful to know. By the way, this knowledge about spatial orientation according to a specific situation is actively used by psychologists, sociologists, and political scientists. By the arrangement of two people at the table one can judge the nature of their communication.
- The position of the corner location is the most favorable for communication between a student and a teacher, a leader with subordinates, since both have enough space for exchanging views, gesturing. The corner of the table serves as a soothing barrier that protects against unexpected attacks. Their views do not cross, and when difficult points of discussion are touched upon, one can always direct their eyes to a stationary object and concentrate on formulating an answer.
- Competitive-defensive position - used in heated discussions, disputes, discussions. The interlocutors sit opposite each other, which allows a good overview of facial expressions, gestures made, which can change every second depending on the severity of the issues under discussion. The table-like barrier between them gives a chance of relative safety in case the peaceful discussion suddenly turns into a phase of waving arms and a desire to grab the opponent by the breasts. In this case, the position opposite each other helps not to miss the non-verbal signals of the interlocutor and respond to them in time.
- Independent position - indicates an unwillingness to communicate. The interlocutors sit at different corners of the table, which negatively affects the communication process. If you try to change the situation, sit closer, the other person can defiantly get up and leave the room. This is the most negative at the table and form of non-verbal communication in general.
- The position of directed cooperation - there are no physical barriers between the participants in the conversation, they sit side by side. Communication is confidential and intimate. In this position, almost all issues and topics can be discussed, since the interlocutors fully accept each other.
- public (the distance between them is more than 3.5 meters);
- social (from 3.5 to 1.5 meters);
- personal (from 1.5 meters to 40 cm);
- intimate and super-intimate (from 40 cm and closer).
An interesting experiment was conducted regarding the preservation of its territorial space. After the briefing, the girl was asked to sit next to the student at the table in the library. She imperceptibly tried to sit as close as possible, and with each of her attempts, the neighbor instinctively moved back to the edge. Each of you experienced a similar desire in such a situation to maintain your territory with the help of various non-verbal gestures, for example, moving your elbow away, shielding your shoulder from an annoying neighbor, pulling your head in.
Maintaining personal distance can also be seen in transport. It has been noticed that in an empty transport people sit one by one in paired places. If they are not there, they take a place next to a trustworthy neighbor, turning away in the other direction.
Another example of non-verbal communication. In the park, people like to take up all the space on the benches. If someone else comes up to someone sitting alone and asks for permission to sit down, as a rule, he receives consent. But very soon the first leaves, looking for a free shop.
In rural areas, the concept of personal space is much broader than in the city. The interlocutors can talk at a distance of 2-5 meters, and this is not a problem or inconvenience. In the city, where there is a fairly high population density, personal territorial space is narrowed to a minimum, and again, this does not interfere with free communication. The greatest discomfort is experienced by a rural resident while in the city. He will literally physically feel the lack of air and space. There is evidence of how many adaptation problems they had when moving to the city, how they experienced an agonizing longing for the expanses of fields and meadows, silence and freshness of the air, saturated with the peculiar aromas of earth and grass. What can we say about psychological suffering in dealing with a large number of absolutely indifferent people who are always in a hurry on important matters. An intimate distance is secretly established between close people, in which everyone feels comfortable. A change in the previously established boundaries of personal space may indicate the emergence of a different type of relationship. A vivid example of such non-verbal communication: a guy and a girl who have just met each other establish a social distance. As the relationship deepens and develops, the distance is replaced by a personal and intimate one.
By the spatial arrangement of several people in a room, you can determine who sympathizes with whom, even if they do not advertise their feelings. Their benevolent attitude towards the neighbor is expressed in the body turned towards him, the head and the toes of the shoes directed at him. If a boring person is caught in communication, but you want to talk with an interesting girl, the toes of your feet are in her direction, although the body continues to be turned towards the boring person.
Once in a certain room, people often break into small groups and begin their discussions inside them. It is interesting to trace the means of non-verbal communication in such a situation. For example, when an outsider tries to join the group. He first comes closer. The group looks back at him, and if he arouses antipathy, the circle of conversation imperceptibly closes, so that he is on the sidelines. If he attracted the attention of the interlocutors, a small passage is formed, where he wedges new member. In case of loss of interest in the newcomer, the circle imperceptibly pushes him out, forming a chain of active members of the group. Concluding this review, MirSovetov will allow himself to note that the above classification of non-verbal means of communication is by no means complete and complete. It reflects only one side of the variety of ways a person enters society. After all, no matter how long a person lives, he constantly brings new and new options for communication, which are the most relevant in specific circumstances.The ability to correctly interpret non-verbal signals will greatly facilitate attempts to integrate into any sphere of human relations and will serve you well more than once in critical situations.
We wish you success!
Sometimes the words of people do not correspond to their true beliefs and intentions. To figure out what your interlocutor is really thinking about, non-verbal gestures will help. Be a little more careful while communicating. This will allow you to get much more information than your opponent would like to convey.
Many people are skeptical about such an issue as non-verbal communication. Gestures, facial expressions are perceived as something natural and mechanical. But precisely given this fact, we can talk about the objectivity of the non-verbal mechanism. Psychologists have dedicated many scientific works this issue. But if for skeptics this is not an argument, it is enough to conduct an independent observation. So, for example, having learned to decipher the thoughts and feelings of your relatives and friends, later you will be able to see through outsiders.
It is not uncommon to notice how a person keeps his hands in his pockets during a conversation. Someone considers this a manifestation of bad manners. Also, do not reject the likelihood that a person simply froze, being in uncomfortable temperature conditions. However, if we consider non-verbal sign language, we can come to the following conclusions:
Knowing non-verbal gestures, you can make your life much easier, because they can be used to understand the true intentions and attitude of the interlocutor towards you. So, for example, if someone is trying to demonstrate self-confidence, as well as superiority and power over you, this can be understood by the following signs:
- The person puts his hands behind his back, sticking his chest forward. Thus, he tries to show his fearlessness.
- Hands casually lowered into pockets, and the body is imposingly relaxed. Thus, a person is trying to show that you are indifferent to him and uninteresting.
- Sometimes a bossy person can take a defensive stance with their arms crossed over their chest and thumbs outstretched. The latter means that although he is trying to defend himself, he feels superior to you.
Considering non-verbal gestures, it is worth paying special attention to tactile interaction with the interlocutor. So, we can talk about the following:
One of the main problems in relationships between opposite sexes is distrust. Sometimes non-verbal communication can tell more than words. Gestures that indicate sympathy are as follows:
Sometimes a person continues the story, not suspecting that the interlocutor is absolutely uninteresting. Non-verbal communication will come to the rescue. Gestures indicating indifference are as follows:
- If your interlocutor crosses his arms over his chest, he instinctively closes himself from you. You are either indifferent to him or unpleasant.
- Pay attention to where the gaze of the interlocutor is directed. If he looks anywhere but in your direction, then you should end the conversation.
- If a person wants to end the conversation and leave, his constant glance at his watch will give him away. Also, the toes of his shoes may point towards the door.
Much can be said about a person and his mood, his facial expressions. Non-verbal gestures reflected on the face may indicate the following:
- narrowed eyes and pursed lips indicate an angry mood;
- raised eyebrows and wide-open eyes mean surprise;
- in a state of fear, the lips are widely stretched, and their corners are lowered down;
- happiness is characterized by a calm look and slightly raised corners of the mouth;
- a sad person draws his eyebrows together and lowers the corners of his lips.
The main ways of transmitting information are verbal. Non-verbal gestures can demonstrate what the interlocutor is trying to hide. No less informative may be intonation, which can tell about the following:
- fast and confused speech in low tones indicates strong excitement;
- confident and loud conversation indicates active enthusiasm;
- if a person speaks sluggishly, lowering the tone towards the end of the phrase, we are talking about fatigue;
- measured and slow speech, which is characterized by a constant tone, testifies to the arrogance of the interlocutor;
- constant pauses in speech, unintentional mistakes indicate nervousness and self-doubt.
Knowing the meaning of non-verbal gestures, you can recognize the lies of the interlocutors. So, you should pay attention to the following points:
- a long pause before the beginning of a phrase or frequent pauses;
- asymmetry in the work of facial muscles;
- facial expression does not change for more than 10 seconds;
- emotions arise late and do not correspond to the content of speech;
- a forced smile that creates not a curved, but a narrow lip line;
- lack of visual contact;
- manipulation of hands and feet (tapping, twitching), as well as biting the lips;
- attempts to keep gestures under control;
- heavy breathing and a constant increase in the tone of the voice;
- a closed posture with crossed arms and legs, as well as a hunched back;
- rubbing of the nose or eyelid (it can be automatic and barely noticeable);
- the right side (in terms of gestures and facial expressions) is more active than the left;
- exaggerated emotions and gestures;
- frequent blinking.
Considering the non-verbal means of gestures, one cannot fail to say about the distance that is maintained between people in certain conditions. Thus, the following indicators are generally accepted:
- up to half a meter - this is an intimate distance between close people who are in a trusting relationship;
- from 0.5 to 1.5 m - this is the interpersonal distance for friendly communication;
- 1.5-3.5 m - social distance, which is comfortable for interaction between unfamiliar people, as well as on business issues;
- 3.7 m is a public distance from which a performance is performed in front of a large audience.
Max Egger has an invaluable merit in the study of such an issue as non-verbal means of gestures. He developed a system of 75 signals, the main of which can be considered the following:
- the movement of the Adam's apple indicates the excitement of the interlocutor or that he is telling a lie;
- if the hands are in contact with any object, this indicates uncertainty;
- if a person strokes his chin, he is considering the proposal;
- biting a finger, pencil or glasses means that a person is evaluating you;
- stroking the back of the neck means anger or a sense of threat from you;
- if a person rubs his palms, he expects to receive benefits;
- if the toes of the feet are spread apart, the person feels superior to you.
If you want to know more than you're told, it's worth learning sign language. Non-verbal communication is difficult to control, and therefore it can be considered the most objective. Nevertheless, you should never forget that certain gestures can be associated with well-being or external influences.
Non-verbal means of communication, h
Which of us has not encountered a feeling of vague anxiety when communicating with a person when he claimed one thing, but subconsciously you felt his falsity. You will say that this is intuition and good for those who have it. In fact, it is easy to develop intuition by observing the interlocutor and, knowing the specific meaning of gestures, draw the right conclusions.
This case also explains why it is difficult for the stronger sex to tell a lie to his wife, who seems to read the real state of affairs in her eyes.
So, consider non-verbal means of communication. To clearly understand their diverse structure, we present their classification:
- Movements are expressive and expressive (body posture, facial expressions, gestures, gait).
- Tactile movements (handshake, patting on the back or shoulder, touching, kissing).
- Visual-contact gaze (direction of gaze, its duration, frequency of contact).
- Spatial movements (orientation, distance, table placement).
In this part of the article, we will dwell on the first two groups of means of non-verbal communication and try to characterize their meaning. It should be remembered that to interpret a single gesture without a combination of other body signals means to mislead oneself. Therefore, before drawing specific conclusions, it is necessary to take into account all the nuances of the behavior of the interlocutor, as well as his physical and psychological state.
In non-verbal communication, there is the concept of mental contact, which is expressed in involuntary copying of each other's gestures or the entire behavior. A signal is sent to each other: "I understand you perfectly." And indeed, if you take a look at the peacefully talking couple at the table, we will see similar poses, the same arrangement of hands up to the mirror. If you want to convince another person of unconditional sharing of his opinion, just copy his body position.
If we observe the gait of a happy man in love, we note the flying gait, which is very striking. It is also characteristic of self-confident, energetic people. It seems that they do not care about all the problems.
Have you seen how someone hides their hands in a conversation? It is likely that he is telling a lie, since the human brain subconsciously sends signals to the body and when a lie is told, there is a strong desire to put his hands in his pocket, scratch his nose, rub his eyes. All these are typical signs, however, as MirSovetov has already said, it is necessary to explain the meaning of non-verbal gestures in the aggregate. A person suffering from a runny nose can scratch his nose, rub his eyes - a child who has just woken up, etc.
Arms crossed on the chest, legs crossed in standing and sitting positions - a classic gesture of closeness, inaccessibility. Frequent blinking is a sign of protection, confusion. The emotional status of a person does not allow you to feel free and at ease. If you try to negotiate something with such an interlocutor, it is likely that you will be refused. To “melt the ice”, MirSovetov advises using the means of non-verbal communication already described above, try to take an open pose with palms up.
It is expressed in tingling of the bridge of the nose with closed eyes. When the person with whom you communicate decides what to do or what to do, in general thinks about solving a certain issue, at this time he can rub his chin.
If a person holds his hand at his chin, with his index finger stretched along his cheek, and with the other hand he supports his elbow, his left eyebrow is lowered - you will understand that he has matured a negative assessment of what is happening.
It is interpreted as a slight tilt of the head forward and a slight touch of the cheek with the hand. The body is tilted forward. Here is a person who is interested in what is happening, positively related to information.
You probably noticed how some students, listening to the speaker, cover their mouths with their palms? This gesture indicates disagreement with the lecturer's opinion. They seem to hold back their statements, suppress true feelings and experiences. If your friend suddenly makes a gesture of disbelief in a conversation, stop and think about what words caused such a reaction from him? Observing the behavior of the boss, the subordinate will understand what needs to be said, and what is better to remain silent. Distrust quickly turns into rejection, and then into rejection.
A non-verbal gesture such as scratching or rubbing the back of the ear or neck may indicate that the person does not fully understand what they want from him or what you mean in a conversation. How to interpret such a gesture if you were told about full understanding? Here, preference should be given to the non-verbal signal of the body. In this case, the person did not understand anything. The hand clasping the other behind the elbow also speaks of uncertainty, probably its owner is in an unfamiliar society.
The interlocutor props up his head with his hand. It is clear that he is indifferent to what is happening. If he is sitting in the audience, we can say with confidence: the material presented by the lecturer is completely uninteresting. In such cases, MirSovetov recommends changing the topic of conversation to one that excites him or “shake him up” with an unexpected question. Be sure that he wakes up, and this is exactly what you need.
Shaking off non-existent hairs, straightening the folds of clothes, pulling down a skirt in non-verbal communication is a sign of your opponent's disagreement with the stated point of view. You will quickly realize the need to switch to neutral topics. However, if a thread really sticks to the sleeve of the jacket, the clothes are wrinkled, you should not regard this as a gesture of disapproval.
Can be identified by signs such as drooping of the eyelids (loss of interest), scratching the ear (fencing off the flow of speech), sipping the earlobe (does not want to speak out), turning the whole body towards the door or pointing the leg in this direction. The gesture in the form of removing glasses also gives a signal to end the conversation.
When a person tells a blatant lie and realizes that you have seen through him, he will experience irritation from your rightness, which may manifest itself in an involuntary loosening of a tie or collar. In non-verbal communication, this can also manifest itself in rubbing the neck, unnecessary hand movements, pinching a lady's handbag, mechanical drawing on paper.
A similar gesture is used by almost all men, women are much less. The nature of the handshake can say a lot, first of all, it will reveal the intentions of the other person. If at the moment of connecting two hands one is higher with the back side, its owner demonstrates his leading position. You can check how firmly he defends his status as a leader in a simple way: turn your hand up. If you feel resistance, then you will not be able to convince him to take equality between you.
When man
he likes a woman, shows his thumbs in his belt, puts his hands on his hips, or spreads his legs wide. Gazing at a woman is usually intimate, and can linger on selected parts of the body for a long time. A man can involuntarily straighten his tie or collar with his hand.
If woman seeks to interest, she unconsciously tosses her head, straightens her hair, straightens her blouse. A more subtle art of seduction through non-verbal communication consists of exposing the wrists, spreading the legs in a sitting or standing position. If a woman demonstrates an intimate look in combination with an accidentally slipped shoulder strap, half-dressed shoes on a crossed leg, be sure that she wants to start flirting. A parted mouth and wet lips are typical of sexual appeal.
These include hugs, handshakes, pats on the shoulder or back, touching, kissing.
By the nature of the hugs, their strength, duration, they determine the meaning of the feelings expressed by a person.
Bosom friends, who were in a long separation, at the meeting almost strangle each other in a strong embrace. Lovers linger in gentle embrace for a long time. Hugs between distant relatives, depending on previously maintained contacts, can be both restrained, cold, and ardent. Between close people, they have a soft sincere meaning. In wrestling matches, for example, the competitors briefly hug and part ways.
Such a means of non-verbal communication as hugs is more common among representatives of the strong half of humanity, between women they are a little less common. Now you can see two teenage girls on the streets running towards each other with open arms. At this age, the frequency of such contacts, both between boys and girls, is expressive, when you want to throw out an excess of joy, delight and admiration for the meeting. If you see same-sex couples walking slowly down the sidewalk in an intertwined embrace, it can unwittingly suggest homosexuality.
Handshakes, as one of the means of non-verbal communication, also differ in the way they are performed, strength and duration. A strong, energetic shaking of the interlocutor's hand, coupled with a joyful exclamation, speaks of the sincerity of the partner, his desire to continue the conversation. The girth of one's hand in the form of a "glove" also speaks of friendliness. But if an inanimate hand is extended to you, like a dead fish, they do not want to contact you.
A cold hand in a shake can signal that its owner is either cold or very worried. Sweaty palms speak of a nervous experience. A hand shaking palm down indicates a desire to dominate another person. If, on the contrary, it is turned palm up, its owner unconsciously recognizes himself as a subordinate to the interlocutor.
Patting on the back or shoulder
Patting on the back or shoulder is mostly characteristic of men. These non-verbal gestures are often interpreted as a sign of friendship, concern, or encouragement. They can be seen in almost all age categories. Patting, as it were, demonstrates masculine strength and the readiness of its owner to come to the rescue.
By the way, this gesture should not be confused with that used in medical practice. A newborn child is slapped on the back to make him scream and expand his lungs, a choking person is slapped from behind. Patting is a type of technique in massage practice. That is, the specific meaning of this gesture depends on the current situation.
Touch is widely used in the world of non-verbal communication. IN learning activities it helps to stop a naughty naughty person, in the case of a deaf person - to attract his attention, in medical practice, with the help of this gesture, a state of health is diagnosed, the massage technique is built on a combination of methods of touching the body, in the intimate sphere between spouses they serve as a prelude to connection. different character touching is an indicator of a partner's unspoken feelings. They can be gentle, affectionate, light, strong, rough, hurting, etc.
Kissing, as a kind of tactile gesture, is widely used in all aspects of human life. In relation to a specific object, the nature of kisses changes. The mother kisses the child tenderly and with love, between loving people they can vary from a light touch of the lips to a passionate kiss. MirSovetov in a separate article reveals the whole gamut of this type of gesture in courting the opposite sex. Here we note that kisses can be both sincere manifestations of feelings, and formal, cold, traditional. Kiss at a meeting and goodbye, kiss at the time of birth.
It helps a person to convey his feelings and thoughts to others orally or written speech. In the first case, not only voice transmission of text is used, but also non-verbal means of communication, such as gestures or facial expressions. They enliven speech, giving it a more emotional coloring. The ability to correctly read non-verbal signals allows you to understand the true motives of the interlocutor, since it is facial expressions in communication that express a direct relationship to what is happening.
The value of facial expressions in human life
Non-verbal communication does not involve the use of speech, only sensory or bodily contacts: facial expressions, touch, gestures, glance. They help people reach mutual understanding at the level of emotions. Studies have found that only 35% of the information we transmit to each other through speech. The rest 65% is accounted for by non-verbal signals: body movements, gestures, gaze, facial expressions. They complement spoken phrases, enhancing their significance.
In fact, non-verbal means of communication are quite capable of replacing themselves. This is what happens to deaf-dumb people. For them, speechless communication through gestures and facial expressions is a common way of communicating with others. The same can be said about children who have not yet learned to speak. People use non-verbal communication techniques to establish communication links with representatives of the animal world.
The importance of facial expressions in the process of communication cannot be underestimated. Indeed, sometimes facial expressions, coupled with other non-verbal signals, carry more information about the feelings or mood of the interlocutor than words. People are used to being in control of what they say. However, non-verbal manifestations are difficult to hide. Many movements occur reflexively, before the emotion is evaluated by the brain. By learning to capture and interpret facial expressions and other non-verbal signals, you can understand not only what the interlocutor wants to say, but also what he is trying to hide.
Manifestations of feelings and emotions through non-verbal signals
Gestures, pantomime and facial expressions are means of communication that are related to optical-kinetic. This system of non-verbal cues includes appearance, voice timbre, hand or head movements, body position in space. The successful establishment of contact depends not only on what the interlocutor says, but also how confident his facial expressions, voice, look are. This is the reason for the interest in studying the meaning of non-verbal signals on the part of psychologists, businessmen and people who want to build a career.
What will the facial expression say?
The most important element of non-verbal communication is facial expressions. American psychologist Paul Ekman developed Facial Affect Scoring Technique, or FAST for short, which allows you to determine the emotional state of the patient visually. The professor suggested conditionally dividing a person's face into three zones:
- forehead and eyes
- nose and area around it,
- mouth and chin.
According to the FAST methodology, the value of non-verbal facial expressions is considered only in the totality of changes in at least two of these areas. Such a simple analysis of a non-verbal signal makes it possible, for example, to distinguish a feigned smile from sincere joy.
There are six basic emotions that are most vividly expressed through facial expressions:
- joy,
- anger,
- astonishment,
- disgust,
- horror,
- sadness.
Involuntary or reflex facial expressions these are non-verbal manifestations that the person himself does not control. It is she who reflects the true emotional state.
We propose to consider the most significant non-verbal manifestations of feelings reflected in facial expressions, which are schematically shown in the picture:
- Emotion joy reflected in the area of the forehead and mouth. The corners of the lips are raised, the teeth are parted. There are slight wrinkles around the eyes. Eyebrows are also slightly raised in relation to the bridge of the nose.
- The face of a person experiencing happiness, relaxed. This is expressed by half-closed upper eyelids, while the eyebrows are slightly raised, the look is radiant. The corners of the lips are drawn to the auricles.
- For surprise characterized by raised eyebrows, rounded eyes, slightly open mouth.
- Doubt expressed in a person's gaze shifted to the left. It is the left hemisphere of the brain that is responsible for analyzing the situation. The position of the lips resembles a sarcastic smirk, that is, only one edge of the lips is raised.
- Gloominess or despondency express lowered eyebrows and corners of the mouth. The look is dull, indifferent.
- The face of the frightened man is tense. Fear expressed in raised eyebrows, wide-open eyes. Teeth are partially visible through parted lips.
- Rounded eyes, parted mouth, raised eyebrows - this is how facial expressions express shock.
- A one-sided grin, a sideways glance, squinted eyes and a raised eyebrow - this is what it looks like mistrust.
- man's gaze, thinking about a problem, directed upwards. The corners of the lips are slightly lowered.
- Wide-open, recklessly shining eyes, raised "house" eyebrows and a parted mouth, express joy over came up with a brilliant idea.
- Human, self-satisfied, looks relaxed. His eyebrows and eyelids are lowered, and his lips are folded into a half smile.
- ABOUT insidious plans will tell the look with a squint, the raised outer corners of the eyebrows, the lips compressed into a thread, folding into a forced smile.
- cunning narrows his eyes, looks away. The left or right corner of his mouth rises.
- demonstrating determination, a man compresses his lips, tightly clenches his jaw, looks from under his brows. His pupils can narrow sharply, his gaze becomes menacing.
- embarrassed, people fix their eyes down, smile with closed lips so that one edge of the mouth rises. The inner tips of the eyebrows creep up.
- Resentment expressed in pursed lips, low lowered eyebrows and eyelids. The gaze is taken away from the interlocutor.
- Concentrated when thinking, most people move their eyebrows so that a crease forms on the bridge of the nose. At the same time, the gaze seems to be directed into itself, the chin is tense, the mouth is motionless.
- Uncertainty expressed in a slightly bewildered, wandering look, raised eyebrows. The corners of the lips are lowered.
- Expression daydreaming on the face is characterized by highly raised inner corners of the eyebrows. The gaze is directed upwards, the corners of the mouth are asymmetrical.
- Fatigue expressed in complete relaxation of the facial muscles, including the eyelids. The lips take on the shape of a horseshoe, with the tips pointing down.
To accurately determine the emotional state by facial expressions or by a combination of non-verbal signs, it is necessary to take into account such details as the direction of gaze, the state of the pupils. If a person experiences strong antipathy towards the interlocutor, he involuntarily squints. The liar averts his eyes to the side, he is betrayed by frequent blinking or, on the contrary, by an unblinking look. Insincerity is evidenced by the asymmetry of the face, too mobile facial expressions.
Conclusion
The interpretation of non-verbal behavior of people by facial expressions or gestures depends on many factors. These are the cultural traditions of the country, gender, age of the interlocutor, the situation in which it occurs. It is worth remembering that non-verbal gestures and facial expressions among the inhabitants of Europe or Asia are different. In addition, most adults have good control over their non-verbal reactions. To capture genuine emotions from the facial expressions that flashed across the face in a matter of fractions of a second, a certain skill, observation is required.
There is a diverse division of functions between verbal and non-verbal means of communication: pure information is transmitted through the verbal channel, and the attitude towards the communication partner is transmitted through the verbal channel.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION - communication through gestures (sign language), facial expressions, body movements and a number of other means, excluding speech. Non-verbal communication in different peoples has its own specific characteristics. .
In psychology, there are four forms of non-verbal communication: kinesics, paralinguistics, proxemics, and visual communication. Each of the forms of communication uses its sign system.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS - These are nonverbal means of communication. They are needed in order to:
a) regulate the course of the communication process, create psychological contact between partners;
b) enrich the meanings conveyed by words, guide the interpretation of the verbal text; express emotions and reflect the interpretation of the situation.
Non-verbal means, as a rule, cannot accurately convey meanings on their own (with the exception of some gestures). Usually they turn out to be coordinated in one way or another with each other and with verbal texts. The totality of these means can be compared with a symphony orchestra, and the word - with a soloist against its background. The mismatch of individual non-verbal means significantly complicates interpersonal communication. Unlike speech, non-verbal means of communication are not fully understood by both speakers and listeners. No one can fully control all of their non-verbal means.
Non-verbal means of communication are divided into:
· visual(kinesics - movements of the arms, legs, head, torso; direction of gaze and visual contact; eye expression; facial expression; postures, in particular, localization, changes of postures relative to the verbal text);
visual communication- this is eye contact, the initial study of which was associated with intimate communication. However, now the range of such studies has become much wider: the signs represented by eye movements are included in a wider range of communication situations.
Kinesics- a system of means of communication, including gestures, facial expressions, pantomime. The kinetic system appears as a clearly perceived property of general motor skills, various parts of the body (hands - gestures; faces - facial expressions; postures - pantomime). This general motility of various parts of the body reflects the emotional reactions of a person. The inclusion of the optical-kinetic system in the situation of communication gives nuances to communication. These nuances turn out to be ambiguous when using the same gestures in different national cultures. For example, a nod of the head among Russians and Bulgarians has exactly the opposite meaning: agreement among Russians and denial among Bulgarians. Expressive movements represent a kind of "subtext" to some text that you need to know in order to correctly reveal the meaning of what is happening. The language of movement reveals the inner content in the outer action. “This language,” wrote S. L. Rubinshtein, “has the most refined means of speech. Our expressive movements are very often metaphors. etc., he depicts in his own person an image to which a figurative meaning is attached.Expressive movement ceases to be simply an organic reaction; in the process of communication, it itself becomes an action, and, moreover, public action, the most significant act of influencing people".
skin reactions (redness, sweating);
· reflecting the distance(distance to the interlocutor, angle of rotation to him, personal space); aids communication, including body features (sex, age) and means of their transformation (clothing, cosmetics, glasses, jewelry, tattoos, mustaches, beards, cigarettes, etc.); Proxemics- a special area of psychology dealing with the norms of the spatial and temporal organization of communication. The space and time of the organization of the process act as a special sign system, carry a semantic load, are components of communicative situations. Thus, the placement of partners facing each other contributes to the emergence of contact, symbolizes attention to the speaker; shouting in the back can have a negative value. The advantage of some spatial forms of organization of communication both for two communication partners and in mass audiences has been experimentally proven. In the same way, some norms developed in different cultures regarding the temporal characteristics of communication act as a kind of supplement to semantically significant information.
· acoustic or sound(paralinguistic, that is, related to speech - intonation, loudness, timbre, tone, rhythm, pitch, speech pauses and their localization in the text); Paralinguistic system- this is a vocalization system, i.e. voice quality, its range, tonality.
· extralinguistic, that is, not related to speech - laughter, crying, coughing, sighing, gnashing of teeth, sniffing, etc.; Paralinguistic and extralinguistic systems of signs are also "additions" to verbal communication.
· tactile-kinesthetic(physical impact - leading the blind by the hand, contact dance, etc.; takeshika - shaking hands, clapping on the shoulder) and olfactory (pleasant and unpleasant smells of the environment; natural and artificial smells of a person).
Each specific culture leaves a strong imprint on non-verbal means, therefore there are no general norms for all mankind. The non-verbal language of another country has to be learned in the same way as the verbal one.
A number of studies in the field of proxemics are associated with the study of specific sets of spatial and temporal constants of communicative situations. These isolated sets are called "chronotopes". For example, such chronotopes as the chronotope of a "carriage fellow" and others are described.
Types of non-verbal means of communication
There are three main types of non-verbal means of information transmission (or they are also called paralinguistic means of communication): phonation, kinetic and graphic.
Phonational non-verbal means include the timbre of the voice, the pace and volume of speech, stable intonations, features of pronouncing sounds, filling pauses (e, me ...). The kinetic components of speech include gestures, postures, facial expressions. Graphic non-verbal means of communication stand out in written speech.
facial expressions
Special Role in the transfer of information is given facial expressions - movements of the muscles of the face, which is not without reason called the mirror of the soul. The main characteristics of facial expressions are its integrity and dynamism. This means that in the mimic expression of the six basic emotional states (anger, joy, fear, suffering, surprise and contempt), all facial muscle movements are coordinated.
Psychological research has shown that all people, regardless of the nationality and culture in which they grew up, with sufficient accuracy and consistency, interpret these mimic configurations as an expression of the corresponding emotions. And although each mine is an expression of the configuration of the entire face, nevertheless, the main informative load is borne by the eyebrows and the area around the mouth (lips). By facial expressions we mean the movements of the muscles of the face. It should not be confused with physiognomy (the science by which the shape of the face can be used to judge the mental properties of a person).
As established by Darwin, human facial expressions are rooted in the animal world. Animals and humans have many common facial expressions - facial expressions of fear, fright, anxiety, etc. However, a person has specific feelings and their facial expressions - a state of inspiration, admiration, sympathy, enthusiasm, etc. Many human expressive means developed from movements, which in the animal world had an adaptive value. Thus, the expression of hatred in a person by lifting the upper lip is phylogenetically connected with the frightening exposure of fangs in an animal preparing for a fight.
Mimicry is associated with the spread of an intense excitatory process to the motor zone of the cerebral cortex - hence its involuntary character. At the same time, a corresponding excitation of the entire sympathetic nervous system occurs. Expressing dissatisfaction, we compress our lips and stretch them forward, wrinkling our face - all these movements are also made in cases where the rejection reflex of unsuitable food is triggered. This indicates that many of our facial expressions are genetically related to organic sensations.
Mimicry is different:
Strongly mobile facial expressions . Strongly mobile facial expressions indicate a liveliness and rapid change in the perception of impressions and internal experiences, a slight excitability from external stimuli. Such excitability can reach manic proportions.
Slow mimicry. Indicates, in principle, the constancy of mental processes. It indicates a rarely changing stable mood. Such facial expressions are associated with calmness, constancy, prudence, reliability, superiority and balance. A sedentary mimic game can, with reduced activity (motor strength and temperament), also give the impression of contemplation and comfort.
Monotony and rare change of forms. If such behavior is accompanied by slowness and weak tension, then we can conclude not only about mental monotony, but also about weak impulsivity. The reason for this may be melancholic movement disorders, stiffness or paralysis. Such behavior is characteristic of exclusively monotonous mental states, boredom, sadness, indifference, stupefaction, emotional poverty, melancholy, and a depressive stupor (complete stiffness) resulting from an exaggeratedly dull dominant feeling.
Associated facial expressions . Most facial expressions are made up of many individual expressions. Statements like “he opened his mouth and opened his eyes”, “cold eyes contradict a laughing mouth”, and others indicate that analysis is possible only by observing individual expressions and based on the conclusions obtained by doing so.
Also, facial movements are divided into:
1) aggressive-offensive facial expressions - anger, anger, cruelty, etc .;
2) active-defensive - disgust, contempt, hatred, etc.;
3) passive-defensive - humility, humiliation, etc.;
4) facial expressions of an orienting-research orientation;
5) facial expressions of pleasure-displeasure;
6) camouflage expressions - facial expressions of hiding the truth, ambiguity, dishonesty, etc.
Sight
Very closely related to facial expressions. sight, or visual contact, constituting an extremely important part of communication. When communicating, people strive for reciprocity and experience discomfort if it is absent.
One of the most important elements of facial expressions is the look. The look of a living being, and especially the look of a person, is one of the most powerful stimuli that carries a lot of information. In the process of communication, the views of people perform a synchronizing function - the rhythm of the views forms a certain channel of communication.
American psychologists R. Axline and L. Winters found that the gaze is associated with the process of forming an utterance and with the difficulty of this process. When a person is just forming a thought, he most often looks to the side ("into space"), when the thought is completely ready - at the interlocutor. But about a second before the end of a separate speech block, the speaker shifts his gaze to the listener's face, as if giving a signal about the onset of his turn to speak and evaluating the impression he made. The partner who has taken the floor, in turn, looks away, delving into his thoughts. The listener, on the other hand, gives with his eyes signals of his attitude to the content of the speaker's statements - these can be approval and censure, agreement and disagreement, joy and sadness, delight and anger. Eyes express the whole gamut of human feelings. And not only the eyes themselves, but the entire eye area.
When it comes to difficult things, they look at the interlocutor less, when the difficulty is overcome, more. In general, the one who this moment says, looks less at the partner - only to check his reaction and interest. The listener, on the other hand, looks more towards the speaker and “sends” feedback signals to him.
Visual contact indicates a disposition to communicate. It can be said that if they look at us a little, then we have every reason to believe that they treat us or what we say and do badly, and if there is too much, then this is either a challenge to us or a good attitude towards us.
With the help of the eyes, the most accurate signals about the state of a person are transmitted, since the expansion or contraction of the pupils is not amenable to conscious control. With constant light, the pupils may dilate or constrict depending on the mood. If a person is excited or interested in something, or is in high spirits, his pupils dilate four times as normal. On the contrary, an angry, gloomy mood causes the pupils to constrict.
Thus, not only facial expression carries information about a person, but also his gaze.
The impression made by the gaze depends on the lumen of the pupils, the position of the eyelids and eyebrows, the configuration of the mouth and nose, and the general outline of the face. According to anthropologist Edward T. Hall, PLO leader Yasser Arafat wears dark glasses to prevent people from watching his pupils dilate. Scientists have recently found that the pupils dilate when you are interested in something. According to Hall, pupil reactions have been known in the Arab world for hundreds of years. The combination of these features is varied. Positive emotions increase the number of exchanges of views, negative - reduce this number.
Thus, the analysis of all systems of non-verbal communication shows that they undoubtedly play a large auxiliary (and sometimes independent) role in the communicative process. Possessing the ability not only to strengthen or weaken the verbal impact, all systems of non-verbal communication help to identify such an essential parameter of the communicative process as the intentions of its participants. Together with the verbal communication system, these systems provide the exchange of information that people need to organize joint activities.
Although the face is reputedly the main source of information about a person's psychological states, it is in many situations much less informative than his body, since facial expressions are consciously controlled many times better than body movements. Under certain circumstances, when a person, for example, wants to hide his feelings or transmits deliberately false information, the face becomes uninformative, and the body becomes the main source of information for the partner. Therefore, in communication it is important to know what information can be obtained if the focus of observation is shifted from a person’s face to his body and movements, since gestures, postures, and style of expressive behavior contain a lot of information. Information is carried by such movements of the human body as posture, gesture, gait.
Gestures
Gestures are expressive movements of the head, hand or hand that are made for the purpose of communication, and which may accompany reflection or state. We distinguish:
index;
they are directed towards objects or people in order to draw attention to them.
Emphasizing (enhancing);
Emphasizing gestures serve to reinforce statements. Decisive importance is attached to the position of the hand.
demonstrative; Demonstrative gestures explain the state of affairs.
Touch gestures. With the help of touch gestures, they want to establish social contact or receive a sign of attention from a partner. They are also used to weaken the meaning of statements.
From the information that carries gesture, quite a lot is known. First of all, the amount of gesture is important. No matter how different cultures differ, everywhere along with an increase in a person’s emotional excitation, his excitement, the intensity of gesticulation grows, as well as if you want to achieve a more complete understanding between partners, especially if for some reason it is difficult.
The specific meaning of individual gestures is different in different cultures. However, in all cultures there are similar gestures, among which are:
1) communicative(gestures of greeting, farewell, attracting attention, prohibitions, satisfactory, negative, interrogative, etc.);
2) modal, i.e. expressing assessment and attitude (gestures of approval, dissatisfaction, trust and distrust, confusion, etc.);
3) descriptive gestures that make sense only in the context of speech utterance.
There are also:
Arbitrary
involuntary gestures.
Arbitrary gestures are movements of the head, arms or hands that are made consciously. Such movements, if made frequently, may turn into involuntary gestures. Involuntary gestures are movements made unconsciously. Often they are also referred to as reflex movements. These gestures do not need to be learned. As a rule, they are congenital (defensive reflex) or acquired.
All these types of gestures can accompany, complement or replace any statement. The gesture accompanying the statement is in most cases emphasizing and clarifying.
One of the biggest mistakes newcomers to learning body language can make is trying to single out one gesture and treat it in isolation from other gestures and circumstances. For example, scratching the back of the head can mean a thousand things - dandruff, fleas, sweating, insecurity, forgetfulness, or telling a lie - depending on what other gestures accompany this scratching, so for a correct interpretation, we must take into account the whole complex of accompanying gestures.
Like any language, body language is made up of words, sentences, and punctuation. Each gesture is like one word, and a word can have several different meanings. You can fully understand the meaning of this word only when you insert this word into a sentence along with other words. Gestures come in the form of "sentences" and accurately speak of the actual state, mood and attitude of a person. An observant person can read these non-verbal sentences and compare them with the speaker's verbal sentences.
Non-verbal cues can also be congruent , those. corresponding to the verbal expression, and incongruent . For example, you asked your interlocutor to express an opinion about what you just said. At the same time, he is in a pose that generally expresses a critically evaluative attitude.
The main thing here is the gesture of "supporting the cheek with the index finger", while the other finger covers the mouth, and the thumb lies under the chin. The next confirmation that the listener is critical of you is that his legs are firmly crossed, and the second hand lies across the body, as if protecting him, and his head and chin are tilted (hostilely). This non-verbal sentence tells you something like, "I don't like what you're saying and I don't agree with you."
If your interlocutor told you that he did not agree with you, then his non-verbal signals would be congruent , i.e., would correspond to his verbal statements. If he says that he really likes everything you say, he will lie, because his words and gestures will incongruent. Studies show that non-verbal signals carry 5 times more information than verbal ones, and if the signals are incongruent, people rely on non-verbal information, preferring it to verbal.
Pose – this is the position of the human body, typical for a given culture, an elementary unit of a person's spatial behavior. The total number of different stable positions that the human body can take is about 1000. Of these, due to the cultural tradition of each nation, some positions are prohibited, while others are fixed. The posture clearly shows how this person perceives his status in relation to the status of others. persons present. Individuals of higher status adopt more relaxed postures than their subordinates.
One of the first to point out the role of a person's posture as one of the non-verbal means of communication was psychologist A. Sheflen. In further studies conducted by V. Schubts, it was revealed that the main semantic content of the posture is the individual's placement of his body in relation to the interlocutor. This placement indicates either closeness or a disposition for communication.
Shown, that " closed" postures (when a person somehow tries to close the front of the body and take up as little space as possible in space; “Napoleonic” posture - standing: arms crossed on the chest, and sitting: both hands rest on the chin, etc.) are perceived as postures of distrust, disagreement, opposition, criticism. "Open" the same postures (standing: arms open with palms up, sitting: arms outstretched, legs extended) are perceived as postures of trust, consent, goodwill, psychological comfort.
Is clear readable poses reflections (pose of the Rodin thinker), postures of critical evaluation (hand under the chin, index finger extended to the temple). It is known that if a person is interested in communication, he will focus on the interlocutor and lean towards him, if he is not very interested, on the contrary, orient himself to the side, lean back. A person who wants to declare himself, “set himself up”, will stand straight, in a tense state, with his shoulders turned, sometimes resting his hands on his hips; a person who does not need to emphasize his status and position will be relaxed, calm, and be in a free, relaxed position. Almost all people know how to “read” poses well, although, of course, not everyone understands how they do it.
Cloth
One of the non-verbal means of receiving information is also our clothes. In clothes and in how a person would like to look, the role that he would like to play in society, and his inner position, is manifested. The catchphrase “They meet by clothes ...” implies that a person, his inner essence such as his clothes. Clothing is a convention. An explanation can be given not by fashion, but by the direction of style and its level.
I. Goethe in Wilhelm Meister's Years of Wandering tells how a wanderer asks a school warden about the reasons for such a difference in the clothes of pupils. “The answer here is this,” the warden answered, “for us, this is a means to find out the character of each boy ... From our stock of fabrics and trimmings, pupils have the right to choose any color, as well as any style and cut from a limited number of them. We are closely following this choice, since any color allows us to judge the warehouse of feelings, and the cut - about the way of life of a person ... ".
The fact that certain patterns really lie in this observation is evidenced, in particular, by the Luscher test.
The Swiss psychologist M. Luscher proposed in our time a color test, which was not only a method for studying personality, but also a whole direction in the science of color.
The essence of color tests lies in the fact that the subject is asked to choose from a set of multi-colored cards the ones he likes the most and rank them, and then do the same with those that he does not like. Studies have shown that color tests can reveal some personality traits.
Red color is usually preferred by physically healthy, strong people, they live for today and feel the desire to get everything they want, also today. Children who choose red from a palette of pencils are easily excitable and love noisy outdoor games. Red has long been a symbol of love and strength. And, apparently, it was not by chance that in 1337 a decree was issued in France forbidding commoners to wear red clothes. This privilege was used only by kings, cardinals and senators. They reject the red color, as a rule, astenized, tired people.
Children who choose yellow are distinguished by the fact that they often go into the world of their fantasies. Having matured, they can, under certain circumstances, become dreamers "out of this world", such people do not adapt well to life. Dislike for yellow can mean unfulfilled hopes ("broken dreams"), exhaustion of the nervous system.
People who choose green color, usually characterized by self-confidence, perseverance. They seek security.
The preference for blue reflects a person's need for stability, order. Blue color is more often chosen by phlegmatic people.
Brown is often preferred by people who are unsettled in life.
Color tests allow you to clearly record the dynamics of emotional states in a particular extreme situation.
But back to I. Goethe. “True,” the warden continues, “there is a feature in human nature that makes it somewhat difficult to make accurate judgments: it is the spirit of imitation, the tendency to join the majority.”
Although the tendency to follow fashion is very strong in people, but by the way a person dresses, one can judge to what extent he is subject to mental contagion, group pressure, and how independent in self-esteem. Some dress as inconspicuously as possible, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Others prefer to wear bright, catchy, extravagant outfits. Still others are moderate in following fashion.
So, clothing is able to "speak" a lot about the content of the spiritual essence of people. But, of course, it is impossible to draw final conclusions about personality only from it.
Decorations
Jewelery is an important part of clothing.
The means to decorate oneself include the following: tattoos, coloring and tattooing, hair, perfumes, manicures, makeup, accessories.
With the help of jewelry, social status, readiness to make contact, aggressiveness, adaptability, adventurous nature, and personal characteristics are flaunted. Decorations in the form of cosmetics, wigs and perfumes serve in most cases as additional outfits.
Prestigious jewelry. Such decorations are often evidence of claims to the possession of a certain prestige. Thus, you can demonstrate to your environment what you are by wiping your nose and putting it back in place.
Membership badge of an organization . Anyone who does not hide his belonging to a particular group of people wears a membership badge. For such a person, a membership badge is a kind of evidence of prestige, with the help of which he expresses his belonging to certain group. At the same time, membership badges from various metals give an idea of the social scale of ranks within the association.
Cross. Due to its design (horizontal - height, vertically - stability, and a right angle - fixedness), the cross expresses precisely these properties. Due to the religious sense of security, it gives a sense of security. Moreover, the choice of this decoration is not really demonstrated behavior, but the need.
Leather bracelets . Such decoration is also worn in the absence of a direct need (for athletes). It should express an accentuated strong nature and serve as a decorative strap on the wrist.
Pieces of fur and other trophies. If they are worn on the wrist or around the neck, then they signal endurance, and, judging by them, the winner can be determined.
Fur and tinsel. They make a feminine impression. The direct contact of the fur with the skin indicates a desire to experience gentle handling.
Small and delicate jewelry. They express that their owner feels small and weak man in need of participation and careful handling. One who wears small and delicate jewelry would like to appear amiable and sincere.
Large jewelry . They are usually conspicuous and express a desire to gain recognition for their social status. “I am more than you, I have more than you, I surpass you” - this is the meaning of such jewelry.
Gait person, i.e., the style of movement, by which it is quite easy to recognize his emotional state. So, in the studies of psychologists, the subjects with great accuracy recognized by their gait such emotions as anger, suffering, pride, happiness. Moreover, it turned out that the heaviest gait with anger, the lightest - with joy, sluggish, depressed gait - with suffering, the longest stride - with pride.
With attempts to find a connection between gait and personality quality, the situation is more complicated. Conclusions about what gait can express are made on the basis of a comparison of the physical characteristics of gait and personality traits revealed by tests.
31. Features of the content of each of the components and stages of the communicative process are most fully reflected in the requirements for "good communication" (in the principles and rules for the implementation of the communicative function), as well as in the most typical mistakes and communication "barriers" for them. Difficulties and sources of errors (“barriers”) of communications are as diverse as the psyche itself is diverse. However, among them are the most typical and repetitive. Overcoming them is an integral part of the communicative function of the leader's activity.
Perceptual-interpretative errors(due to perception). People perceive the same situations in different ways, distinguish in them the main, in their opinion, features. They are usually convinced that their individual point of view is the correct one. Depending on experience, areas professional competence, interests and much more, the same information will be perceived and interpreted with very large differences, or not understood at all and even actively rejected.
Dispositional errors due to differences in social, professional and life attitudes of people entering into a communicative exchange. If, for example, a manager in past experience has developed a persistent negative attitude towards the perception of any member of the organization, it will be extremely difficult to overcome it even if the subordinate reports really important and necessary information. This information will either be rejected, or misunderstood, or at least perceived with increased distrust.
Status errors possible due to large differences in the organizational status of communicants. It is well known how difficult it can be to understand big leader» the needs of the «simple worker». The general rule here is that the greater the status differences, the higher the probability of such errors.
Semantic barriers arise due to the fact that the concepts of natural language have the property of polysemy, that is, polysemy and the presence of a number of semantic shades. Therefore, they allow for the possibility of ambiguous understanding by the speaker and listener, which is enhanced by differences in their attitudes, goals, status, and also depends on the general context of communications. Everyone has their own personal context, which leads to semantic differences and errors. They can affect not only a different understanding of individual words, but also entire statements. For example, if the manager says: “Do this as soon as you have free time”, then the question immediately arises of how he understands this “free time” and how the subordinate interprets it.
In general, all the noted types of errors can be summarized if we recall the well-known aphorism: "A thought uttered is a lie." Paraphrasing it, we can say that the thought uttered and perceived is a lie doubly. In this regard, in the psychology of communication, the rule is formulated: "The truth lies not in the mouth of the speaker, but in the ears of the listener."
nonverbal barriers.
Ineffective reverse communication is also one of the sources of communication errors, which, as well as another error - the inability to listen, will be discussed in more detail below.
Poorly worded message. The "vagueness" of orders, their ambiguity, the presence of vague concepts in them, the poverty of lexical means, the use of words in a figurative sense, repetitions, the use of jargon and "everydayisms", just tongue-tied tongue - all these are immediate, very common and quite obvious reasons for communication errors.
Losses of information in communication cycles include the bottom of the main types of errors. First, if the communicative message is too long, cumbersome and complex, and often florid, then the listener manages to forget what was said to him at the beginning of the message. In this case, the short-term memory of the listener is overloaded, and information losses occur (hence the requirement for brevity of messages). Studies show that up to 50% of all communicative information is lost because of this.
Secondly, descending vertical communications, most typical for a leader, form a chain, they are transmitted from the top leader to the next level in the hierarchy, from there to an even lower level, and so on - to the level of direct execution. It is shown that about 10% of information is lost or distorted with each subsequent transmission. According to studies, only 63% of the information sent by the board of directors reached the vice presidents; 40% - to heads of shops; 20% - to workers.
Fake mistakes. Upward communication flows have their sources not from "impartial" transmitters, but from specific people. However, no other “transmitter” is capable of distorting (consciously or not) information so clearly and strongly, and sometimes so subtly, than a person. The most typical is the provision of information by a subordinate to a superior in a light that is favorable both for him and for the sender himself. Falsified errors are therefore one of the main sources of distrust for information information and, as a result, uncertainty in his activities.
Premature evaluation. This error is due to the fact that the listener makes a premature emotional assessment of the message without waiting for it to end. This emotional assessment forms an inadequate perception setting, and ultimately leads to a misunderstanding of the entire message. A radical variant of this error is the situation when such an attitude blocks the perception of information.
"Mistakes of Fear". Often the leader does not receive true information from subordinates or receives it in a distorted and embellished form due to the fear of subordinates in front of him.
Overcoming rules.
The most general rule is that one should not start communicating an idea if it is not understandable or incomprehensible.
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