Nonverbal Communication

The Power of Nonverbal Communication

Oftentimes we think that “communication” refers solely to the words being spoken in a conversation. We are taught from an early age how to communicate our needs, thoughts, and feelings verbally to others around us. In our society, there is a high level of importance placed on language that is used in conversation to convey your message in the most understandable way possible to the listener.

While the focus on verbal communication skills is highly important, it means we could be ignoring what nonverbal communication cues we are sending to others. This article aims to shed light on the ways that nonverbal communication can impact conversation with those around you, as well as suggestions on how to reduce nonverbal communication that could be negatively impacting conversations.

As a marriage counselor and online relationship coach with Growing Self, I spend time in sessions to help clients reflect on what their nonverbal communication might be conveying to their partner, friends, family, and others. 

What Is Nonverbal Communication?

Before we can move into how to reflect on your communication, and ways to reduce negative nonverbal communication, we need to first explore what falls under the umbrella of “nonverbal communication.” Simply stated, the definition of non-verbal communication is what takes place outside of the actual words that are being used in conversation.

Around 90% of communication is nonverbal, studies say, leaving the remaining percentage to be associated with the words we are choosing to use in conversation. There are many different types of nonverbal communication that exist and have the ability to impact conversations we engage in.

8 Types Of Nonverbal Communication:

1. Paralanguage: This refers to areas related to vocal qualities such as tone, volume, pitch, etc.
2. Facial Expressions: Facial reactions can convey feelings about a conversation through smiling, frowning, squinting, raising your eyebrows, etc.
3. Proxemics (Personal Space or Physical Closeness): We can also nonverbally communicate by how much space we allow between each other in conversation. The norms or expectations for physical space can vary with cultures and settings.
4. Kinesics (Body Movements): This type of nonverbal communication covers bodily actions that are used in conversation such as head movements (nodding), hand gestures, rolling your neck, etc.
5. Touch: In some conversations, we may choose to hug or use light touches to convey meaning or understanding to others.
6. Eye Contact: With the use of eye contact, we can show others our level of interest in a conversation. When we are continuing to break eye contact or look off in different areas, it could convey to the speaker that we are not fully invested in the conversation.
7. Posture: This area focuses on how sitting versus standing or closed versus open body posture can impact a conversation. This type of communication has the power to communicate emotions and overall attitude about a conversation.
8. Physiology: While this area is more challenging to control, this refers to noticeable changes with parts of our body such as blushing, sweating, or beginning to tear up.  

Nonverbal Communication Impacts Conversation + Conflict

With nonverbal communication making up such a large part of conversation, there is seemingly no way to entirely eliminate non-verbal forms altogether. However, there are opportunities to reflect on how our nonverbal communication could be negatively impacting a conversation or conflict. 

Think about a time where your partner, friend, or loved one came to you and the conversation turned into a disagreement or conflict. I encourage you to reflect on ways that you used non-verbal communication to communicate your feelings of frustration, anxiety, hurt, or disappointment. In those moments, do you feel the conversation could have been impacted using nonverbal communication instead of conveying our feelings to the other person?

If there are people in your life who you trust to help you with this reflection, I encourage you to open up a dialogue about nonverbal communication that they have previously noticed you using. There is opportunity for this discussion to shed light on areas of nonverbal communication that you might not even realize that you use in conversation and/or conflict.

How To Reduce Negative Nonverbal Communication

…[T]hink about setting the other person up for success in conversation to give us the response we are hopeful for.

Many clients I work with report having, as we call them, “default settings” with nonverbal communication. This may be rolling eyes, increased volume, head shaking while the other is speaking, and so on. I often see these “default settings” being used as a protective mechanism in communication. Frequently, when we are using negative forms of nonverbal communication, we are feeling hurt, disappointed, frustrated, or overwhelmed by the conversation or other person. 

Instead of naming our feelings, it can feel safer to communicate those things through nonverbal communication and hope that the other person picks up on our feelings. However, this can lead to a negative cycle where both parties are only using nonverbal communication to communicate their feelings and can sometimes increase the level of conflict or disagreement that was already taking place.

Instead of falling back to our “default settings,” I encourage you to think about how the dynamic might change by being able to open up to the other person in the conversation about how we are feeling in that moment. I have seen drastic shifts in conversations when “I feel…” statements are used instead of letting non-verbal communication do the talking for us. 

By replacing an eye roll with “I am feeling really disappointed right now” can be a powerful turn in a conversation where both participants can then talk about their emotions. 

This takes practice to be able to feel comfortable with and requires challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone of relying on your “default settings.” With time, people feel more comfortable naming their emotions in conversation rather than putting the other person in the position to make assumptions based on nonverbal communication.

Another way to challenge yourself to change negative nonverbal communication is by thinking about the response you are hoping to receive in conversation, which is a practice in becoming a better listener. If we use a harsh tone, increased volume, or roll our eyes, we cannot expect a positive and gentle response from the other person. 

I encourage my clients to think about setting the other person up for success in conversation to give us the response we are hopeful for. If we are aiming to receive a gentle and understanding response, we have to be mindful to use an approach that gives this response the opportunity to be present in the conversation. With all things, practice makes perfect. If you have been stuck in “default settings” mode for a while, then it will take time for this new way of communicating to feel like your go-to. 

There will be times of success with challenging yourself, and then there may be setbacks along the way. My hope is that the setbacks do not cause you to be hard on yourself but encourage you to think about how you want to be successful next time the opportunity presents itself.