The life of a person in society is impossible without communication, for good reason these two words are so similar. Communication is both an exchange of information, a way of interaction, and a separate type of activity. Communication is the basis of interpersonal relationships. Verbal and non-verbal means of communication briefly contain the whole essence of successful communication.
- Verbal communication
- Characteristic
- Functions
- Using
- Non-verbal communication
- Characteristic
- Functions
- Using
Verbal communication
to contents ^Characteristic
Verbal communication is communication with words. This includes written and spoken language. This kind of communication is the most rational and conscious. A person "thinks in words," which means that speech is closely connected with thinking. To the verbal communication are four processes: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
to contents ^Functions
Psychologists distinguish three basic functions of verbal communication: informational, expressive and the function of will expression.
The information function provides the ability to exchange information. Misunderstanding and misinterpreting information generates conflicts. Therefore, the ability to correctly and clearly formulate your thoughts is so important. What a person says can be clear to him, but his interlocutor is not clear. Often people who speak the same language put different meanings in the same words, and this creates problems in communication. The closer people have relationships, the less likely they are to face this problem. Knowingly about people who easily understand each other, they say that they "found a common language".
The expressive( emotional) function of is related to the possibility of emotional interaction. Language is rich in expressive and emotionally-colored words. Suffice it to recall the lesson of literature in the school: epithets, comparisons, hyperboles - all this contributes to the transmission of emotions through words. Without emotion, people would turn into robots, and speech would be like a technical reference book. The more accurately a person expresses his emotions with the help of words, the more he has the chance to be correctly understood.
The function of the 's will is related to the possibility of one person's influence on the behavior of the other. A skillfully said phrase can change a person's life. With the help of communication, suggestion and persuasion occurs. Parents are looking for the right words to persuade the child to behave well. Leaders communicate with their subordinates, trying to organize their work as efficiently as possible. And in that, and in another case the goal is one - to influence the behavior of another person.
Another common system for classification of functions of verbal communication:
- communicative( provides full exchange of information between people);
- constructive( competent expression of thoughts);
- cognitive( gaining new knowledge, training brain activity);
- contact-fixing( establishing connections between people);
- emotional( expression of feelings and emotions with the help of intonation);
- accumulative( accumulation and storage of knowledge to gain experience and use in the future);
- ethnic( the unity of the people who speak the same language).
Using
Successful use of verbal means of communication is, first of all, the ability to correctly express your thoughts. In order to understand another person's speech, one must get rid of the words-parasites that make this understanding difficult, try to avoid the slang and colloquial expressions that can embarrass the interlocutor. Verbal communication should be consistent and logical. To do this, it is necessary to develop oratory skills, read more professional, artistic and journalistic literature, expanding your vocabulary.
Nonverbal communication
to contents ^Characteristic
Nonverbal communication includes gestures, facial expressions, postures, touches, distance. Nonverbal communication is less conscious: often people completely do not notice and do not control the language of their body. And at the same time, it is through "nonverbalism" that the true attitude of the speaker is felt.
Gestures are movements of the body or its individual parts and can complement verbal speech, and in some situations and completely replace words. To gestures are the nods of the head, the shrugging of the shoulders and in general any movements of the body having a generally accepted meaning. Classify gestures can be in the following categories:
- Communicative( gestures of greeting, farewell, attracting attention, prohibitive, affirmative, negative, interrogative, and so on);
- Modal - expressing an appreciation and attitude( gestures of approval, satisfaction, trust and mistrust, and the like);
- Descriptive - meaningful only in the context of a speech utterance.
Mimicry - the movements of the muscles of the face - reflects the emotions of a person. Mimicry is universal for representatives of different cultures: people from the most remote corners of the planet are happy, sad and angry with absolutely identical expression. Mimicry and sight are the most difficult to control.
In its specifics, the view can be:
- Business - is fixed in the forehead of the interlocutor, it is easier to emphasize the seriousness of the atmosphere of business partnership;
- Social - concentrates in the triangle between the eyes and the mouth, thus creating an atmosphere of easy socializing;
- Intimate - directed not in the eyes of the interlocutor, but below the face - to the level of the chest. This view indicates a great interest in communication;
- A sideways look is used to convey interest or hostility. To express interest, it is combined with slightly raised eyebrows or a smile. A critical or suspicious attitude to the interlocutor is indicated by a frowning forehead or lowered corners of the mouth.
Pantomimika is a complex component of nonverbal communication, including such factors as:
- Pose - body position in space - reflects a person's attitude to other participants in communication and to the situation as a whole. The pose can be open or closed. Closed pose is characterized by crossed arms or legs and indicates that a person does not want to communicate and experiences discomfort. An open pose man demonstrates readiness for communication.
- Gait is a style of movement of a person, which includes the rhythm, amplitude and dynamics of the step. To create an attractive appearance, gait is most preferable for a confident person - light, slightly springy. According to the person's walk, one can draw conclusions not only about his character, but also his mood and age.
- Posture - the position of the human body, which is regulated unconsciously, at the level of reflexes, usually the posture allows you to understand the mood of a person, as it directly depends on his fatigue and condition. Incorrect posture acts repulsively at a subconscious level, which means it is very important to learn how to keep your back and head straight and use it in your daily routine.
- General motorism of the body is a very important factor in nonverbal communication. Excessive fussiness and nervousness of movements can irritate the interlocutor, it is necessary to control the uniformity of body movements and not to make unnecessary turns in different directions.
Touching the is a kind of intrusion into someone else's personal space. Touching is allowed between close friends, family members and in an informal setting. In business communication, an acceptable touch can be a handshake. Handshakes are divided into 3 types: dominant( arm on top, palm deployed downwards), submissive( arm from below, palm upwards) and equal in rights.
The distance between the interlocutors shows the degree of their proximity. There are four intersubject zones: intimate( up to 0,5 meters), personal( 0,5 - 1,2 meters), social( 1,2 - 3,5 meters) and public( more than 3,5 meters).In an intimate zone very close people communicate, in a personal zone there is an informal dialogue, in a social zone - formal working relations, in public zone - performances before a large audience.
In non-verbal communication, voice characteristics - prosodic( height, loudness of voice, its timbre) and extralinguistic( inclusion of pauses and various non-morphological phenomena of a person: crying, coughing, laughing, sighing) are singled out separately in non-verbal communication.
to contents ^Functions
Nonverbal communication supplements, enriches, and sometimes completely replaces verbal. The very first films in the history of cinematography had no verbal accompaniment( the so-called "silent cinema") and everything that happened on the screen was transmitted at the expense of the movements and facial expressions of the actors. On non-verbal means of communication pantomime is constructed - a separate kind of scenic art in which actors play their roles using "body language".
At the same time, non-verbal communication performs the same functions as verbal communication: it carries certain information, expresses emotions and is a means of influencing the interlocutor.
to the table of contents ^Using
To acquire non-verbal means of communication is more difficult. Most often people focus only on the verbal side of communication, ignoring their gestures, posture, facial expressions, pantomime. A person can talk about a good attitude, but the language of his body will be aggressive. A person can call himself confident, but his posture and facial expressions will betray his fears and doubts.
Talking with people, it is worth paying attention to gestures and postures. Well, if during a conversation hands are not hidden behind your back or in your pockets, but harmoniously supplement the conversation with moderate gesticulation. Open palms are perceived as a sign of trust. In business communication it is necessary to avoid closed, too tense or too relaxed poses. To maintain comfort in the conversation, it is important to keep the right distance. In business communication, the most appropriate distance between the interlocutors is from 1.2 to 3.5 meters.
Understanding someone else's facial expressions helps to understand the emotions of another person. Not always people are ready to talk about their emotions, but their facial expressions will show these emotions. Own facial expression is much more difficult to control than to notice someone else's. Therefore, the easiest way to master verbal and non-verbal means of business communication is to develop inner confidence and benevolence. Then both the speech and the "body language" will harmoniously complement each other.