Non-Verbal Communication Essay

A number of people pay more attention on what they want to say,however,how to say it means more important. â€Å"In fact, studies suggest that during face-to-face communication, only 7% of meaning comes from the verbal content of the message —38% comes from tone of voice and 55% comes from body language. † Obviously, non-verbal communication refers to the process of the communication by means of receiving and sending the messages which are wordless. As an important tool of communication, non-verbal communication plays an important part in job interviews, medical care and social interactions. The process of a job interview is full of communication, including both verbal and nonverbal communications; however, nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication in some ways. When people do the interview, it is critical for people to send the right messages and receive the good responses as well as maintaining eye contact, using facial expressions and making proper postures. Eye contact is essential when people are talking to the interviewer. The sustained eye contact could be respectful which show your confidence and trust. Also, this makes sure that you are listening and understanding about what you are communicating with each other. However, it’s not good to stare at interviewers constantly, which make them uncomfortable. The best way is to maintain the eye contact for several seconds, and then change your vision away from the interviewers briefly, finally put the eye contact on the interviewers. Meanwhile, facial expression is a necessary component in a job interview. Commonly, smile is a powerful communication tool, which is able to deliver the friendliness, happiness and interests. It helps people relieve nervous tension in order to make a good performance in the front of the interviewers. Also, it’s better to add a smile with your eyes so that you can show a real smile in your face, which makes your interview more successful. Additionally, making good postures can affect the quality of the job interview. The way of standing, sitting or talking shows the level of our attitude and manners, particularly in a job interview. For example, first, sit on the edge of the chair is a signal of nervousness and express you’re uncomfortable. Second, stand in the space belonging to the others and cross the arm, which can be hostile. In order to make your job interview extremely successfully, you’d better prepare eye contact, facial expressions and right postures. Furthermore, nonverbal communication is related to the development of medical care. Usually, most people are getting involved with each other through verbal communication. However, when people are getting older, they are lacking the functions of social network and body function degradation so that they need to depend on nurses’ care— nonverbal behavior,which establish the relationship between nurses and patients, such as, smiling, body positioning and touch. Smiling may be one of the most important characteristics of a nurse who wishes to establish good rapport with patients (Schabracq 1987; Heintzman et al. 1993). Smiling is positively judged by other people and is considered as a sign of good humour, warmth and immediacy (Mehrabian 1972, Reece & Whitman 1962). † The body positioning points out whether the person is caring and listening. In the process of nonverbal behavior, the forward leaning indicates that nurse pay attention and care about the condition of the patients. In earlier research Reece & Whitman (1962) showed that leaning forward conveys warmth and friendliness. Forward leaning combined with smiling, eye contact and verbal attentiveness (‘hm-hm’) communicates an attitude of involvement. † Additionally, touch is an essential part in the medical care, which is a significant connection between nurses and patients. Touch can deliver the feeling of comfort, identification and encouragement in order to give patients a strong response to be optimistic through the medical process. In the medical way, touch can be divided into two parts; one is â€Å"instrumental touch†, another is â€Å"expressive† touch. Instrumental touch refers to the physical touch, such as bind up a wound. Expressive touch is more emotionally and spontaneous. Hence, touch is a key tool in the medical care; it makes patients more positive to face the medical treatment. What’s more, social interactions are a significant form of nonverbal communication. Symbolic stands for religious and status. On one hand, status can be a symbol of social level with person through his uniform, the brand of the car, and the size of the house. On the other hand, religious belief is equal to the culture, which makes certain people have unique communication. However, comparing to the difference between cultures, it’s pretty obviously that we can see the difference in the nonverbal communication. For example, physical space is a main difference. The acceptable physical distance in Latin America and Middle East is much shorter than it in America and Europe. Commonly, that’s why people often leave enough space for each other when they are standing online to buy the food. Besides, in terms of physical postures, the common example is the habit of many Americans who prefer to have a rest with their feet on the desk, but in Asia, Europe, and Middle East is unrespectable behavior. Additionally, hand and arm gestures means different between cultures. In some cases, for instance the â€Å"OK† sign, commonly it means everything is all right perfect. However, it means worthless in France and is money in Japan. Also, it even means rude in Germany. Another gesture â€Å"thumbs up†, usually it indicated all things are OK. But, in Nigeria, it means very offensive, while in Turkey, it means political rightist party. To sum up, nonverbal communication affects the way of people’s daily life, which tends to add more value to our communication. It makes our job review perfectly, promotes the development of the medical care, and enhances the progress of social interactions. As a result, nonverbal communication, as an essential communication skill, is getting more important and brings people the powerful communication with each other in different areas.