Presenter
Mr. G.S. Samende
Course: Nonverbal communication
1
1. HUMAN NONVERBAL TERRITORIALITY AND
ENCROACHMENT
Territoriality refers to behaviour within a specified geographical area in a
way that indicates that it is owned and this space is often strongly
defended against perceived invaders.
People use and regulate space
Nonverbal signals used to regulate personal space
2
Types of territories
primary territory
 secondary territory
 tertiary territory/public territory
Primary territory
 area or object which is clearly the domain of the owner
 areas are carefully guarded against invaders
 important in the daily life the owner, e.g. home, bedroom,
 immediate zone around our bodies
 when a person gets too close, we feel they are invading our privacy
3
Primary territory (Continues)
 access to our body very limited
we defend strongly in the wake of an intruder
 possessed territory used for jackets, wallets, handbags and even our own
children
4
Secondary territories
 secondary territory refers to are or object which is not as central to the
daily life of the owner and refers to object we can claim temporarily, e.g.
magazine, a television remote control, a toy
 they are not limited property of the owner
 boundaries are not clear
5
Public/Tertiary territory
 refers to area or object which is available to everyone, but only for
temporary ownership
 available temporarily to everyone in the public
 example include, parks, beaches, seats on public transport, etc.
 seats in classroom have many temporary owners. Those who spent more
time in a particular class will regard it as their classroom
6
Territorial encroachment
refers to the process when someone or something takes over more and
more of a particular place
Types of territorial encroachment
violation of territory
invasion of territory
contamination of territory
violation of territory
violation refers to unwarranted use of someone’s territory
7
Territorial encroachment (Continues)
this can be done by staring at someone until the person feels
uncomfortable
talking too loudly
playing loud music
taking more space than necessary, e.g. taking two seats on a bus
Invasion of territory
refers to an attempt to take over someone’s territory
it can be done permanently
8
Territorial encroachment (continues)
in the form of armed invasion into someone’s room
invasion of another country, e.g. USA invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan
Contamination of territory
 refers to the act of leaving something behind, that spoils the territory for
another person
 it can be done temporary, for example, people do not want to find
evidence in a hotel room that someone was there before them
 people do not want to find food particles on a plate in a restaurant or
 find rubbish left by someone in a hotel room
9
2. SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE BODY AND NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
specific features of the body affect our nonverbal communication and
interaction. These include the face, body shape, height, body image, body
colour, body smell and body hair
The face of a person
beautiful woman have high forehead, fuller lips and have an average nose
and chin
 they have clear skin, glossy hair and big eyes
 face may reveal character, personality, health and intelligence
but may not reflect real character of person
10
The face of a person (continues)
 baby-face adults may be judged to be weak, submissive, honest and naïve
they may also be seen as more honest, warm and sincere than maturelooking people
these understanding may affect their lives
 in courtroom baby-faced defendants more often convicted for crimes of
negligence
Matured-looking adults’ crimes judged intentional
facial features make strong impressions on others
facial features may harm or be of benefits to us depending on existing
stereotypes
initial impressions easily changed through actual behaviour and personality
11
Body shape of person
the shape of person’s body affects interpersonal communication
 life experience, environmental factors, other people’s expectations and
self-concept can affect personality
body shape does not influence personality
Types of body shapes
endomorphic
mesomorphic
ectomorphic
12
The body shape of person(continues)
Endomorphic
refers to the fat and soft body shape of person
Mesomorphic
refers to muscular body shape of a person
Ectomorphic
refers to tall and thin body shape of person
13
The body shape of person(continues)
Body shape and personality stereotypes
stereotype refers to the general image that many believe represents a
particular type of a person
stereotypes affect interpersonal communication
people with fat and soft body are regarded by others as older, oldfashioned, weak, less attractive, talkative, warm, friendly and trusting
people with muscular body are regarded as strong, better looking,
masculine, tense, younger, mature and self-reliant
people with tall and thin body shape are seen as younger, tense and
nervous, less masculine, stubborn and difficult, negative, quieter
 body build important in judging physical appearance
14
The body shape of person(continues)
chubby kids socially avoided
as a result they have negative self-image
overweight people are discriminated in life
they are less likely to marry
may learn less and
have less education
in western culture a slender woman is desired (old-fashion)
 modern western culture a healthy body desirable for both men and
women
muscular body shape of man is ideal for many women.
15
The height of person
height important in social lives
▪people who are short are negatively judged
■tall
people positively judged
▪the following are the dominant perceptions with regard to body height:
◦ status
◦ attractiveness
◦ competence
status
▪height associated with power and prestige, for example, many presidents
are tall
▪a competitive short man often accused of “short man syndrome”.
16
The height of person (continues)
Attractiveness
tall man perceived as more attractive
they are romantic ideal
 judgment of attractiveness not based on height alone
Competence
tall man seen as more competent at work
they receive higher salaries
short man not often selected for special training
 tall man have more self-esteem
they have more money
tall people are often chosen as leader
17
The body image of person
body image important for self-image
larger than average adult males desirable
smaller than average adult females preferred
most women prefer bigger breasts
women with smaller breasts regarded as highly competent and intelligence
media promotes unrealistic standard of beauty
body image important for self-image
larger than average adult males desirable
smaller than average adult females preferred
18
The body colour of person
blushing colour change of body may be seen as a sign of embarrassment
some women in Namibia lighten their skin to look beautiful and feminine
skin colour used to easily classify social world, for example, albino, black
people and white people
albinos discriminated and killed in some culture because of skin colour
black people discriminated by the white minority in Namibia and elsewhere
because of skin colour
white people seen as superior to black people in some societies
19
The body smell of person
body smell influences interpersonal communication
body smell plays an important role in relationship development
homosexual men prefer body odours of gay men
heterosexual men react to body odour of women
they find women most attractive during ovulation
 pleasant smell used to reduce anxiety, headaches and hypertension
aromatherapy used to reduce stress
bad breaths may offend people
environmental odours affect human interaction, for example, may set the
mood for romance
20
The body hair of person
 hair length and style affect interpersonal communication
short hair may be regarded as a sign of civility in some culture such as
Indian
man with long hair discriminated and abused in South Korea, men with long
hair could be arrested
women with long hair desirable for most men
hair length and style associated with gangs, gender identity and disciplines
some men believe that baldness may make men less attractive
women with facial hair or beard discriminated in some cultures
 women are encouraged to remove underarm hair and pubic hair
21
3. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPEECH-INDEPENDENT
GESTURE AND SPEECH DEPENDENT GESTURES
Gesture refers to arms, hand movement and head gestures. Some gestures
such as head nods during conversation are universal. Gesture can replace
speech during conversation; they can regulate the flow of interaction,
maintain interaction, clarifies points during conversation and can make the
content of speech memorable.
Two types of gestures
 speech-independent gestures
 speech dependent gestures.
22
Speech-independent gestures
they are known as emblems or automous gestures
have direct verbal translation and dictionary definition
they are understood by the majority of members of a particular culture
children can understand many of these gesture by the age of 3, for example
“yes”, “no”, “quiet”, “goodbye” and “come here”.
they can be understood without using speech, for example, the thumbs-upgesture, palms up which means I do not know, the jaw drop shows surprise
and the nose wrinkle which shows that something stinks
gesture can have different meanings in different cultures, for example, the
ring sign, the v or victory sign can be an insult in Britain if the palm faces the
performer, but to some it simply means two as in Roman numerals
23
Speech-independent gestures (Continues)
they can be used together with verbal communication, for example, you can
tell a friend about someone’s strange behaviour by using a circular gesture at
the side of your head to show that s/he is crazy.
the yes or no gestures are often used by listeners during conversation
context may influence the meaning of gesture.
giving someone “the finger” can be rude and insulting in some cases or but
may also mean humorous when used among someone’s friend
general meaning of gesture depends on the context, for example, thumbs up
sign can mean “good”, but it can also communicate understanding,
acknowledge a favour or great someone
24
Speech-independent gestures (Continues)
slight modification in performing a gesture can affect the meaning of that
gesture
gestures differ from one culture to culture, but most cultures have signs of
yes or no, stop, not knowing
some gestures and their meaning:
palm of hand facing the listener means wait a minute
palm of hand facing oneself and fingers making waving movements toward
yourself means come in
palm of hand upwards and pointing to the seat means sit down
thumbs up mean yes, ok or good
wagging index finger mean no
25
Speech-independent gestures (Continues)
palm facing up, fingers cupped and arm stretched out means give
index finger and middle finger form a V means victory
26
Speech-dependent gestures
they are called illustrator
they are directly related to speech as they are used while speaking
The following are common types of speech-dependent gestures
gestures related to the speaker’s referent (the ones which the speaker is
referring to)
gestures showing the speaker-referent relationship
gestures used as visual punctuation in a conversation
gestures that regulate and organise spoken dialogue
27
Speech-dependent gestures (Continues)
Referent-related gestures
includes concrete or abstract referents
pointing movement, for example, can indicate a specific person, place or an
item being discussed
drawing an object or indicating space is also used with concrete referents
an abstract referent can be observed, for example, when people make
circular movements with an arm to suggest that we mean more than what is
said
Speaker-referent relationship gestures
shows the speaker’s orientation to the referent, for example, palms up may
show uncertainty and palms down certainty
28
Speech-dependent gestures (Continues)
Punctuation gesture
emphasis important parts of a conversation
organise important parts of a conversation
may coincide with voice stress or eye flash
Interactive gestures
acknowledge the other conversation partner
help regulate dialogue
they include gestures such as ;
delivery, for example, “here is my point”,
citing, for example, “as you said earlier”, “what is the word for…?” and
turn taking, for example,” it’s your turn”
29
4. NONVERBAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
FACTORS BELLOW:
Context may influence the meaning of nonverbal behaviour. Context refers to
the situation in which nonverbal occurs in a social setting. Context can help
people to understand nonverbal behaviour.
1. advertising and nonverbal messages
advertising has great influence on the lives of people.
advertising motivate people to buy a product
concepts of advertising shape the values and attitude of people
advertising targets areas such as;
oour desire for success
obeauty
osocial acceptance
30
Advertising (Continues)
obehaviour and values of different groups
oself-esteem
advertising tells us what the things are that should make us happy
it supports certain stereotypes without us noticing
advertising affect our behaviour
it manipulates behaviour of customers
nonverbal information important in advertising
nonverbal information comes in the form of settings, props, clothes, make-up,
music, physical features and facial expressions, tone of voice and movements
We are less critical of nonverbal messages
advertising my unconsciously influence us
31
Advertising (Continues)
the images used in advertising penetrate our mind through constant repetition
nonverbal messages in advertising demean the status of women in
comparison to men
women play subordinate role in nonverbal messages used in advertising
advertising aimed at children show girls acting shy, cover their faces, smiles a
lot
magazine photos shows more of men’s faces and more of women’s bodies
this results in men being regarded as more intelligence and dominant
the beautiful people and exciting lives in advertisement make us feel inferior
and encourages us to buy the product to become just like them
salesperson are carefully trained in nonverbal behaviour that woks
persuasively
32
Politics and nonverbal messages
nonverbal behaviour powerful in politics
thus the image politicians portray in public and on TV affect voter choices
political candidates wish to appear attractive show energy, show confidence
and likeability, and communicate assertiveness, sincerity and caring
appearance and body language help politicians win votes
politicians are concerned with their public image
facial photos of political candidates can be doctored to look more matured
and acceptable to voters
knowledge of nonverbal behaviour can help protect you from being
manipulated
33
Education and nonverbal messages
nonverbal behaviour plays an important role in classroom
it can give us clues about the relationship between the teacher and the
learners
it help us learn about the students interest, attention and desire to learn
teacher’s dress and classroom design and arrangement of movable object
such as chairs can affect participation and learning
a teacher who smiles more, make more eye contact with the learners can
improve learner’s performance in his subject
students can detect it when the teacher treats them better or worse
34
Culture and nonverbal messages
culture influences nonverbal behaviour influence
cultures differ greatly
some people value high/low contact cultures others value
individualism/collectivism and some value high/low context cultures.
High/low contact cultures
high-contact cultures like close interaction distances and frequent
touching
common in Central and South America, Southern Europe and the Middle
East
Asia and Northern Europe are low-contact cultures
35
High/low contact cultures (Continues)
some cultures may communicate intimacy with a lot of touching while
others not
the meaning of touch may be different form one culture to another
Value individualism/collectivism
individualist cultures emphasise personal rights, responsibility, privacy,
self-expression, individual initiative and achievement
this behaviour is common in Northern Europe, North America, Australia
and New Zealand
nonverbal signals include private environments, confident and dynamic
behaviour
the collective cultures values membership
36
Value individualism/collectivism
sharing and collaboration is important in this culture
harmony and maintaining traditions is important
this behaviour is common South America
they support familiar routines, rituals, respectful behaviour, and avoid
attention-seeking behaviour
this is common among Africans
high/low context cultures
low context-context culture use verbal messages to give information in a
direct, explicit and unambiguous way.
high-context cultures rely on indirect messages and nonverbal behaviour
messages gain meaning through knowledge of the context
37
High/low context cultures
its about what everyone knows
tolerate ambiguity
high-context cultures found in Asia and
other countries with low racial diversity
lack of cultural knowledge may lead to misunderstanding
Cultural similarities
there are many similarities in nonverbal across cultures
firstly because nonverbal behaviour is becoming a multicultural
phenomenon
internet, travel, magazines and films used to exchange nonverbal
information
38
Cultural similarities
secondly because people have an inherited, universal neurological
programme
neurological programme is part of all members of the human species
therefore people can recognise certain facial expressions
people tend to agree about facial attractiveness
there are similarities with regard to gaze, touch, territorial needs, refusal
and greeting behaviour
39
Therapy and nonverbal messages
doctors study patient’s nonverbal behaviour to understand some illnesses
and disorders
for examples, depression can be reflected in sadness
alcoholics and people suffering from autism find it hard to judge emotional
expressions
nonverbal behaviour is important during the doctor’s interaction with
patients
psychotherapists study nonverbal behaviour of their patients to detect
problems that patients do not want to discuss
40
Therapy and nonverbal messages (Continues)
nonverbal behaviour can be used to as warning of the risk of heart attack in
person
nonverbal facial cues help doctors to detect pain in patients
doctors needs more training in nonverbal communication and
interpretations of nonverbal behaviour of patients
41
Technology and nonverbal messages
technology lack nonverbal communication
technology can communicate nonverbal messages through visual images
people add vocal and visual cues to computer-generated messages
some people use emoticons, capital letters, quotation marks to convey
nonverbal messages to others, for example, people use emoticons to
convey nonverbal messages such as :-) Smile; I’m kidding , :-( Frown; I’m
feeling down, * Kiss, ^ o ^ Happy etc. (De Vito, R.A. 2002).
it’s important to have the ability to decode nonverbal cues in computergenerated messages
42
Reference
Hunter, J. (2014). Nonverbal Communication: Study Guide. Windhoek,
Polytechnic of Namibia: Centre for External Studies.
Chawla, p., Chen, Y. & kraus, R. (1991). Nonverbal behavior and nonverbal
communication: What do conversational hang gestures tell us? San Diego, CA:
Colombia University Academic Press
De Vito, R. A. (2002). Human Communication: The basic course. Boston:
Pearson
43