Nonverbal Communication

The various types of nonverbal communication are basically forms of communication without words. You might be led into thinking that this form is rather inhibiting, but the types of nonverbal communication are perhaps the most pervasive and can even become unconscious habits. In addition, enhancement of the messages that the sender intends to deliver can be achieved with the various types of nonverbal communication, not to mention that they comprise the highest percentage of communication.

You may not know that you are employing different types of nonverbal communication in your everyday life. Even seemingly nonsensical sounds can fall under one of the types of nonverbal communication. Specifically, the types of nonverbal communication are facial expressions, gestures, paralanguage, body language, distance, eye contact, touch and appearance. These can all be done through the use of the different senses.

Facial expressions are the most common among the types of nonverbal communication. A lot of messages can be sent through a smile, a frown, a twitch of the eyebrow, a purse of the lips, and many more. Feelings and emotions which are harder to put into words are better made known with the different types of nonverbal communication, specifically this type, such as bliss, melancholy, rancor, dread, and many more.

The wave of a hand, the point of a finger, and other conscious body movements are called gestures. The messages associated with each gesture may vary, depending on location and culture; so sticking your tongue out at somebody may not always mean the same thing to every person that you meet. This is among the types of nonverbal communication that people have to be wary of when using.

Paralanguage has a thin line separating it from verbal communication that makes itself one of the types of noverbal communcation. The inflection, loudness, pitch, and tone of voice make up paralanguage. These are all used to stress a point, to give disapproval, to show disinterest, and others that can either make or break the flow of conversations.

Body language such as posture and stance can give away a lot to people around you, making it another of the types of nonverbal communication. This is important because it defines the level of relationship that you have with others. The distance you maintain adjusts according to situation, personality and familiarity.

The way you look can also convey a lot of signals and messages. Eye contact is very similar to facial expressions, giving away more emotions than you think are possible with the way you blink, stare, and with the way your pupils dilate.

Touch can mean a lot of things, but in this aspect, it is yet again another type of nonverbal communication. Touch can be therapeutic, meaning a single tap of encouragement can mean a lot to distressed persons. More so, lack of touch can cause problems in the development of a child, affecting his or her social and psychological spheres.

The final type of nonverbal communication is appearance. Your choice of clothing and hairstyle can say a lot about your personality and who you are in general. Other people may interpret and judge you by merely looking at your appearance. Furthermore, some people resort to this type in order to deliberately send a message to everyone, which is more commonly termed "fashion statements."

Taken from Typesof-communication.com