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The Importance Of Nonverbal Communication

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Throughout the world people use numerous types of communication; However, not many realize how often they use nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is the act of speaking with facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, and posture (body language). This type of communication is just as important as any other, as it can portray the wrong message. The more aware you become of nonverbal communication, the more aware you become at noticing you are utilizing nonverbal communication and can alter your body language, facial expressions, and eyes to portray the message you intended to from the beginning. Body language is a strong purveyor of nonverbal communication. Whether you notice it or not, your body speaks just as loud as you do. It expresses emotions, feelings, and attitudes, sometimes even contradicting the messages conveyed by spoken language. “Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously” according to Johns (2008). He attested that human communication consists of 93 percent body language and paralinguistic cues, while only seven percent of communication consists of words themselves. However, in many different cultures, nonverbal communication is a part of daily life and is expected. In Japan, people tend to bow at the waist as a formal gesture expressing appreciation and respect towards a person. It can also be used as a greeting accompanied by “ohayo gozaimasu” meaning “good morning” or “konnichi wa” meaning “hello, good afternoon”. In America, service men and women salute the flag or someone of higher power/rank as a sign of respect or admiration. This is where nonverbals contain the entire message. Nonverbal communication also includes our posture, how we carry ourselves. Bad posture can ultimately alter the message we are creating non verbally. When you walk into a room of people you don’t know, look around at how many people are sprawled and how many are isolated. People who cross their arms over the chest are often keeping something to themselves, or they may even be protecting themselves from something. Of course, this must be related to the situation. If the people speaking are very comfortable with one another, the crossed arms could signify that one person is

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