how silence communicates

How silence communicatesHow time and space communicates

Nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication is sending and receiving messages in a variety of ways without the use of verbal codes. Nonverbal messages communicates the same meaning as verbal message. Nonverbal message helps To discover To establish and maintain relationship To help To persuade To play To complement To regulate To substitute

Two categories of non-verbal language Nonverbal messages produced by the body Nonverbal messages produced by the broad settings(silence, space and time)

Space communication Space communication is also known as proxemics, which speaks as surely and as loudly as words and sentences. Proxemics is the term coined by professor Edward T. Hall, author of well The Silent Language (1959) to refer to 'the study of how man uses space the space that he maintains between himself and his fellows and which he builds around him in his home and office'.

Edward Hall distinguishes four proxemics distances Spatial distances Territoriality Artifactual communication Touch communication

Spatial distance Spatial distance defines the type of relationships between people and the types of communication in which they are likely to engage. Four types: Intimate distance Personal distance Social distance Public distance

Relationship and Proxemic Distance Intimate relationship: Distance 0-18 inches

Personal relationship: Distance 1 -4 feet

Relationship and Proxemic Distance Social relationship: Distance 4-12 feet

Public relationship: Distance 12-25+feet

Distance Between Faces very close (3-6 inches)

Tone of Voice soft whisper

Type of Message top secret

sensual close (8-12 inches)

audible whisper

very confidential

neutral (20-36 inches)

soft voice, low volumefull voice

personal subject matternon-personal information talking to a group stretching the limit

neutral (4.5-5 feet)

across the room (8-20 feet)

loud voice

Territoriality Territoriality is a possessive or ownership reaction to an area of space or to particular objects. Two dimensions of territoriality are territorial types and territorial markets

Territory typesPersonal territories are your exclusive preserve: your desk, room, house, or backyard. In those areas youre in control. Social territories territories are areas that are open to all people, such as a park, movie house, restaurant, or beach psychological territories

Territorial markers Central markers are items you place in a territory to reserve it. Boundary markers set boundaries that divide your territory from theirs. Earmarkers a term taken from the practice of branding animals on their ears . These are identifying marks that indicate your possession of a territory or object.

Artifactual communication Artifactual communication is communication via objects made by human hands. This includes color, clothing, body adornments, and decoration of space. Color communication: Color affects us physiologically. It influences perceptions and behaviour Clothing and body adornments: People make inferences about who you are from the way you dress. Space decoration: The way we decorate our space also communicates about us.

Touch communication The study of touch communication is referred as haptics. Touch is perhaps the most primitive form of communication Touch communicates positive feelings. Touch often communicates your intention to play, either affectionately or aggressively. Touch may control the behaviors, attitudes, or feelings of the other person. Ritualistic touching centers on greetings and departures;

Time communication The study of time communication is known as chronemics. It concerns how we organise time, react to it and communicate message through it. The way a person treats time reveals something about that person. A person who is consistently late may not be well organized; the person who is kept waiting may feel that he or she is not highly regarded by the other person.

Time communicationtime

monochronic

polychronic

Tackle one task at a time

Tackle many tasks at a time

Silence communication Like words and gestures, silence also communicates important meanings and serves important functions. Silence allows the speaker time to think, time to formulate and organize their verbal communications. Attitudes toward silence can be dramatically different Ex: many cultures expect more silence from women and children than from adult men It can have a positive or negative impact on communication process

Functions of silence cognitive discursive social affective.

People cause others to be silent to gain attention to maintain control to protect to teach to attempt to eliminate distractions to show respect for authority or tradition

Reference Human communication by Joseph A.De Vito Silence in intercultural communication: Perception and performance by Ikulo Nakane