BODY LANGUAGE INFLUENCE COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION?

HOW DOES OUR BODY LANGUAGE INFLUENCE COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION?

Christine Riley, Dr Laurie Prosser.

Communication is not limited to the spoken language. Our non-verbal behaviour which is called body language, conveys much of our message, particularly i’ts emotional content. Non-verbal communication is usually more powerful in communicating feelings than are verbal messages ; however, they are often more difficult to interpret. We can communicate through our postures, facial expressions, gestures, clothing, spatial distance and tone of voice as well as by words.

A psychologist, Albert Mehralian, who studies kinesis (the study of body language) believes that the total impact of a message is about 7% verbal (words only), 38% voice, and 55% facial. These percentages stress the importance of non-verbal factors and the relative lack of importance of words alone in communication. “What we do and how we do it speak: more loudly than what we say!” (Sathreetal.)
People are generally unaware of much of their own body language, but they continuously communicate attitudes and feelings which can be accurately read by the sensitive observer. In fact, watching people can be fun and informative as well as valuable and interesting, as the variety of non-verbal clues is limitless. Body language is often used by therapists in psychotherapy to help people become aware of their feelings, clarify their hang-ups and relate more openly and honestly. The following basic non-verbal clues may help us enhance our interactions and open up communication with others.
Mannerisms change from person to person and culture to cuIture, and we are continually trying to interpret various gestures and mannerisms. This is particularly so when travelling in a foreign country where language difference shows us the importance of gestures in communication. Gestures are an important means of communication in all cuItures. Among people of the same culture, gestures are a means of reinforcing or substituting for the spoken word. Affection is displayed in Eskimos by rubbing noses, while the Mongols smell heads. Europeans and Americans show approval by back slapping. Some North American Indians show satisfaction by massaging their stomachs, while people of Tibet show it by pinching the cheek.
Differing tones of voice clearly communicate such things as excitement, fear, love and other strong emotions. Long silences can be another means of communication. They may reflect strong anxiety, fear of disclosure, intimacy or they may mask other feelings. Thus, if words are only 7% of the message, we should learn to “listen” to the other 93% and become more effective communicators .
The most immediate and obvious information that we obtain about others is from their observable physical appearance. Our first impression of a person often communicates much to us about what we think that person is like. However, you should avoid jumping to conclusions about people on the basis of physical appearance alone.

Clothing can influence the way we perceive others, especially people we don’t know. Clothes can communicate economic status, occupation, personality and values.
An important concept in non-verbal communication is that of territoriality. Each of us have a type of personal territory or comfortable distance when communicating with others. How we handle our personal territorial zones and how we approach other people’ s zones is a very important part of how we relate with others. For example, most or all of us have our favourite place, a preferred space at home or in the classroom, for example. Many authorities prefer to keep a desk between themselves and a subordinate. Putting your feet on a chair or desk indicates territorial rights as does spreading out personal articles to indicate occupancy and territorial rights. We often encourage intrusions of our personal space by persons whom we are fond of but resent intrusions by strangers or those we dislike.
Postures and positions are other ways of communicating in a non- verbal way. Our walk can often indicate our moods. A sad person shuffles along, head down, hands in pockets, moving slowly. Preoccupied people may walk with their hands behind their back, meditatively unconcerned with their surroundings. Our state of mind can be revealed without our moving. An indicator of openness is an open position with legs and body facing us directly. If arms are crossed on the chest, a defensive closed attitude is being shown. People who cross their legs are often indicating non- acceptance, opposition or competition. If the crossed leg is moving in a kicking fashion, boredom, irritation or impatience is being shown.
Facial expression are a big factor in non-verbal communicating. In particular, the eyes can convey many messages. The raised eyebrow, the come-hither look, the disinterested glance, the fish-eye look, the “look that could kill”, the stern glare and the narrow-lidded suspicious glance are all rather easily recognisable, but the eyes are capable of subtle nuances. In fact, kinesiologists have listed 23 possible positions for the eyebrows alone. Eye contact is more important in conversations and we tend to maintain eye contact more when we listen than when we speak. Facial expressions are often only brief but can often reveal much about the emotional state of the person.
Hand gestures are by far the most expressive instruments in non- verbal communication. Tightly clenched hands may reflect tension or anger. The jointing index finger is often used like a sword or dagger to reprimand. Rubbing the ear is a sign of hesitation. Placing the hands on the hips is a sign of confidence and competitiveness, while seated, the hand on the knee and leaning forward is a sign of confidence and alertness. Another gesture which expresses confidence is placing the hands together so as to touch fingertips.
Gestures to indicate anxiety, apprehension and tension include pacing up and down, fidgeting, while deep sighing indicates apprehension, and an audible expelling of air is an attempt to ease the uptight feeling.
Communication between people is therefore not just words. In fact, only a small part of it actually involves the words. An ability to recognise and interpret a person’ s non-verbal cues is of vi tal importance in communication. If more people realised this, then one might recognise how non-verbal communication does express emotion most efficiently, and how communication can be enhanced and improved by understanding a person’s non-verbal communication.

In order to communicate effectively both verbal and non-verbal messages must agree and not contradict each other. Thus, besides configuring what a person is saying I non-verbal clues can also indicate at times that what a person is saying with his body is disagreeing with what his tongue is saying. It is interesting to remember what Sigmund Freud once wrote for it is most apt -
“He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him from every pore.”
Finally, if teachers could be trained to be aware of the communication of quiet students and to interpret all students’ non-verbal clues, the communications in the educational process could be made more exciting, effective and valuable for many students who are not being reached now.