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Non-verbal communication

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We communicate a lot without words. Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, eye contact, body language and personal space.

Faces and eyes

Facial expressions: show emotions. Research by Ekman suggests six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust) are recognised across many cultures.
Eye contact: shows interest and attention, and helps regulate conversation: we look up to signal 'your turn'. Too little can seem shy or dishonest; too much can feel threatening.
There are cultural differences: in some cultures, such as Japan, avoiding direct eye contact with someone of higher status can be a sign of respect.

Body language

Postures: the way we sit or stand. An open posture (arms uncrossed, facing the person) suggests friendliness; a closed posture (arms folded, turned away) can suggest defensiveness. Postural echo (mirroring) happens when people copy each other's posture, often showing rapport.
Gestures: movements of the hands, arms or head that carry meaning, such as waving or nodding. Some gestures mean different things in different cultures: a thumbs-up is positive in the UK but can be rude in some other countries.

Personal space and proxemics

Personal space is the area around us we treat as our own. Proxemics is the study of how people use space when communicating. Hall described zones:
Worked example

Two friends from different cultures chat; one keeps stepping closer and the other keeps stepping back. Explain this using proxemics.

  1. People from different cultures have different norms for personal space.
  2. One friend is used to a smaller comfortable distance; the other feels their personal space is invaded.

Answer: Cultural differences in proxemics mean they have different comfortable distances.

Key idea

Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions (some recognised across cultures), eye contact (shows interest and regulates conversation), body language (open or closed postures, gestures) and personal space. Proxemics varies with relationship and culture.

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