Nonverbal Communication Concepts

Here is a brief glossary of terms you'll find when reading about nonverbal communication. It comes from my The Nonverbal Communication Book:

Glossary of 200 Nonverbal Communication Concepts

 

Listed here are definitions of the technical terms in nonverbal communication—the words that are peculiar or unique to this discipline. All boldface terms within the definitions appear as separate entries in the glossary.

 

accommodation The process of adjusting your communication patterns to those with whom you’re interacting.

active listening The process by which a listener expresses his or her understanding of the speaker’s total message, including the verbal and nonverbal, the thoughts and feelings.

adaptors Nonverbal behaviors that satisfy some personal need and usually occur without awareness; for example, scratching to relieve an itch or moistening your lips to relieve dryness. Three types of adaptors are often distinguished: self-adaptors, alter-adaptors, and object-adaptors.

affect blends Facial expressions that are a combination of two or more primary emotions.

affect displays Movements of the facial area that convey emotional meaning—for example, expressions showing anger, fear, or surprise.

alter-adaptors Body movements you make in response to your current interactions; for example, crossing your arms over your chest when someone unpleasant approaches or moving closer to someone you like.

ambiguity The condition in which a message or relationship may be interpreted as having more than one meaning.

apology An expression of regret or sorrow for having done what you did or for what happened.

artifactual communication Communication that takes place through the wearing and arrangement of various items—for example, clothing, jewelry, buttons, or the furniture in your house and its arrangement.

assertiveness A willingness to stand up for your rights but with respect for the rights of others.

asynchronous communication Communication in which the sending and receiving of messages do not take place simultaneously (messages are sent and received at different times); opposed to synchronous communication.

attraction The state or process by which one individual is drawn to another and forms a highly positive evaluation of that other person.

backchanneling cues Listener responses to a speaker that do not ask for the speaking role.

batons. A type of illustrator; like the conductors baton, illustrator batons emphasize a particular word or phrase with say, a hand movement.

beard A person who is used to hide something about another person, for example, having a friend pose as a spouse to give the impression that you’re married.

behavioral constraint Restriction on your movements; a major contributor to crowding.

behavioral synchrony The similarity in the behavior, usually nonverbal, of two persons, and generally interpreted as an index of mutual liking. Also see mirroring.

biological time One’s preference for different times of the day and also to one’s biological cycles.

biorhythms Cycles that the body goes through in a pattern; physical, emotional, and intellectual cycles are often distinguished.

body adornment A general term for jewelry, tattoos, and similar body ornaments.

body language A popular term for nonverbal communication.

body posture The positioning of the body in interaction with others; inclusiveness/non-inclusiveness, face-to-face/parallel, and congruence/incongruence positions are usually identified.

body territory The area around you that you need to have to do what you want to do.

boundary marker An object that divides one person’s territory from another’s—for example, a fence.

central marker An item that is placed in a territory to reserve it for a specific person—for example, the sweater thrown over a library chair to signal that the chair is taken.

channel The vehicle or medium through which signals are sent.

chronemics The study of the communicative nature of time—of the way you treat time and use it to communicate.

civil inattention Polite ignoring of others so as not to invade their privacy.

code A set of symbols used to translate a message from one form to another.

color communication The meanings that different colors communicate in various cultures.

communication (1) The process or act of communicating; (2) the actual message or messages sent and received; (3) the study of the processes involved in the sending and receiving of messages.

complementarity A principle of attraction stating that you are attracted by qualities that you do not possess or that you wish to possess and to people who are opposite or different from yourself; opposed to similarity.

congruence/incongruence A body posture referring to the degree of mirroring of one person’s body posture by another person.

connotation The feeling or emotional aspect of a word’s meaning; generally viewed as consisting of evaluation (for example, good–bad), potency (strong–weak), and activity (fast–slow) dimensions. Opposed to denotation.

contamination Rendering a territory impure; a form of territorial encroachment.

context The physical, social-psychological, temporal, and cultural environment in which communication takes place.

conversational management The conduct of a conversation by means of conversational turns.

conversational turns The process of exchanging the speaker and listener roles during conversation.

crowding The psychological perception that there are too many people around and a consciousness of restrictions on your spatial freedom; distinguished from density.  

cultural display Signs that communicate a person’s cultural identification, for example, clothing or religious jewelry.

cultural rules Rules that are specific to a given cultural group.

cultural time The perspective on time shared by members of a particular culture.

culture The relatively specialized lifestyle of a group of people—consisting of their values, beliefs, artifacts, ways of behaving, and ways of communicating—that is passed on from one generation to the next.

deception bias The assumption that the other person is lying; opposed to a truth bias.

deception cues Verbal or nonverbal cues that reveal the person is lying.

decoding The process of extracting a message from a code—for example, translating speech sounds into nerve impulses. See also encoding.

deictic movements. A type of illustrator that points to a person or thing that you want someone else to focus on.

denotation The objective or descriptive aspect of a word’s meaning; the meaning you’d find in a dictionary. Opposed to connotation.

density The number of people within an area of space; distinguished from crowding.

display rules Cultural norms for what is and what is not appropriate to display in public

double-bind message A special type of ambiguous message in which verbal and nonverbal signals contradict each other.

double-bind messages Messages that ask for two incompatible responses; if you do what the verbal messages asks you to do you violate what the nonverbal message tells you to do and vice-versa.

Duchenne smile A genuine smile; a smile that is a reflection of your real feelings.

duping delight Nonverbal leakage that occurs when someone takes satisfaction and pleasure at fooling someone.

dyadic communication Two-person communication.

dyadic effect The tendency to reciprocate, to imitate (in some way) what the other person does or says.

earmarker A physical sign that identifies an item as belonging to a specific person—for example, a nameplate on a desk or initials on an attaché case.

emblems Nonverbal behaviors that directly translate words or phrases—for example, the signs for “OK” and “peace.”

emoticon A written symbol to indicate an emotion.

emotional contagion The process by which the strong emotions of one person are taken on by another person; the assumption that, like the flu, emotions may be contagious.

encoding The process of putting a message into a code—for example, translating nerve impulses into speech sounds. See also decoding.

equilibrium theory A theory that attempts to explain the relationship between intimacy and space and holds that intimacy and distance vary together; the greater the intimacy, the closer the distance; the lower the intimacy, the greater the distance.

expectancy violations theory A theory of proxemics holding that people have a certain expectancy for space relationships. When that expectancy is violated (for example, when a person stands too close to you or a romantic partner maintains abnormally large distances from you), the relationship comes into clearer focus and you wonder why this “normal distance” is being violated.

eye movements Use eye movements to seek feedback, exchange conversational turns, signal the nature of your relationship with others, and compensate for increased physical distance. At the same time, look for such meanings in the eye movements of others.

eye roll Moving the eyes upward as a condescending gesture.

eyebrow flash A raising of the eye brows, often a sign of acknowledgement.

face-to-face/parallel A body posture referring to the degree to which two people face each other directly or indirectly.

facial feedback hypothesis The theory that your facial expressions can produce physiological and emotional effects.

facial management techniques Techniques used to mask certain emotions and to emphasize others; for example, intensifying your expression of happiness to make a friend feel good about a promotion.

facial messages Use facial expressions to communicate that you’re involved in the interaction. As a listener, look to the emotional expressions of others as additional cues to their meaning.

facial recognition The process of identifying a person from facial cues.

facial style A person’s normal and usual form of facial expression, thought to be a part of a person’s personality.

feedback Information that is given back to the source. Feedback may come from the source’s own messages (as when we hear what we are saying) or may come from the receiver(s) in the form of applause, yawning, puzzled looks, questions, comments on a blog post or letters to the editor of a newspaper, increased or decreased subscriptions to a magazine, and so forth.

feedforward Information that is sent prior to a regular message telling the listener something about what is to follow.

feng shui The principles of living in a harmonious relationship with one’s environment and surroundings, including principles for furniture arrangement.

flirt The process of sending nonverbal (and verbal)signals to indicate a romantic interest.

formal time Time units that are established and that have precise meanings, for example, hour or day. See also informal time.

gaze Looking at another person. See also mutual gaze, gaze omission, and gaze aversion.

gaze aversion. Intentional avoidance of making eye contact. Opposed to gaze omission. See also gaze and mutual gaze.

gaze omission. Unintentional avoidance of making eye contact. Opposed to gaze aversion. See also gaze and mutual gaze.

home field advantage The increased power that comes from being in your own territory.

home territories Territories about which individuals have a sense of intimacy and over which they exercise control—for example, a professor’s office.

ideographs. A type of illustrator; ideographs trace the path of an idea or thought.

illustrators Nonverbal gestures that enhance (literally illustrate the verbal message that they accompany), for example, moving your head to the left when you refer to something on the left.

image management The process and strategies of using communication to convey a particular image of yourself to others.

immediacy A quality of interpersonal effectiveness that creates a sense of contact and togetherness and conveys interest in and liking for the other person.

inclusiveness/non-inclusiveness A body posture indicating the degree to which your body position includes or excludes others.

informal time Approximate rather than exact time, denoted in terms such as “soon,” “early,” and “in a while.” See also formal time.

information power Power that a person possesses because others see that individual as having significant information and the ability to communicate logically and persuasively. Also called “persuasion power.”

insulation A reaction to territorial encroachment in which you erect some sort of barrier between yourself and the invaders.

interactional territories Areas where people gather and interact with each other, for example, the dinner table or a park bench.

interpersonal time The time dimension of interpersonal interaction, for example, punctuality, response time, and relationship time.

interruptions In conversation, attempts to take over the role of the speaker.

intimate distance The closest proxemic distance, ranging from touching to 18 inches.

invasion The unwarranted entrance into another’s territory that changes the meaning of the territory.

invasion Unwarranted entrance into another’s territory; a form of territorial encroachment.

irreversibility A principle of communication holding that communication cannot be reversed; once something has been communicated, it cannot be uncommunicated.

kinesics The study of the communicative dimensions of facial and bodily movements.

kinetographs. A type of illustrator that imitates or depicts bodily movements.

leakage The process whereby slight nonverbal movements (often around the lips and eyes) reveal one’s true feelings.

leave-taking cues Verbal and nonverbal cues that indicate a desire to terminate a conversation.

linguistic collusion A response to territorial encroachment in which the members of the in-group use a language unknown to the invaders.

lying The act of deliberately trying to mislead another person by communicating information you believe to be false.

markers Devices that signify that a certain territory belongs to a particular person. See also boundary marker, central marker, and earmarker.

masking The process of replacing or substituting a felt expression for one that is more appropriate to the situation.

matching hypothesis An assumption that you date and mate people who are comparable to yourself—who match you—in physical attractiveness.

metacommunication Communication about communication.

metamessage A message that refers to another message.

mirroring The process of imitating or mimicking the nonverbal behaviors of another person, often considered to promote perceived attractiveness.

monochronic time orientation A view of time in which things are done sequentially; one thing is scheduled at a time; opposed to polychronic time orientation.

multitasking Doing more than one thing at one time; a pattern of those with a polychronic time orientation.

mutual gaze The situation in which two people look at each other at the same time.

negative face strategies Messages that recognize a person’s right to autonomy.

negative face The desire to be autonomous, to have the right to do as you wish.

noise Anything that distorts the message; noise is present to the extent that the message received is not the message sent.

nonverbal communication Communication without words; communication by means of space, gestures, facial expressions, touching, vocal variation, and silence, for example.

nonverbal dominance Nonverbal behavior through which one person exercises psychological dominance over another.

object-adaptors Movements that involve manipulation of some object; for example, punching holes in or drawing on a Styrofoam coffee cup, clicking a ballpoint pen, or chewing on a pencil.

oculesis A technical term for the study of eye movements.

olfactory communication Communication by smell.

paralanguage The vocal but nonverbal aspect of speech. Paralanguage consists of voice qualities (for example, pitch range, resonance, tempo); vocal characterizers (laughing or crying, yelling or whispering); vocal qualifiers (intensity, pitch height); and vocal segregates (“uh-uh,” meaning “no,” or “sh” meaning “silence”).

pauses Silent periods in the normally fluent stream of speech. Pauses are of two major types: filled pauses (interruptions in speech that are filled with such vocalizations as “er” or “um”) and unfilled pauses (silences of unusually long duration).

personal distance The second-closest proxemic distance, ranging from 18 inches to four feet.

pictographs. A type of illustrator that draws a picture of the thing talked about.

pitch The highness or lowness of the vocal tone.

politeness Civility, consideration, refinement, respect, and regard for others as expressed verbally and nonverbally; interaction that follows the socially accepted rules for interpersonal interaction.

politeness strategies Strategies that support another’s face needs and may be used as a strategy to appear likeable.

Pollyanna effect The tendency to see the positive side of things rather than the negative.

polychronic time orientation A view of time in which several things may be scheduled or engaged in at the same time; opposed to monochronic time orientation.

positive face strategies Messages that compliment and praise another. Use these as appropriate.

positive face The desire to be viewed positively by others, to be thought of favorably.

positiveness A characteristic of effective communication involving positive attitudes toward the self and toward the interpersonal interaction. Also can mean complimenting another and expressing acceptance and approval.

posture The way in which one stands or sits.

power The ability to control or influence the attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors of others.

primacy effect The condition in which what comes first exerts greater influence in our perceptions than what comes later. See also recency effect.

primary affect displays Facial displays of the primary emotions.

primary emotions The basic or pure emotions, often considered to be happiness, anger, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and contempt.

primary territories Areas that a person can consider his or her own exclusive preserve—for example, someone’s room or office.

privacy The degree to which one perceives oneself (and one’s messages) to be free from surveillance.

protection theory A theory of proxemics referring to the fact that people establish a body-buffer zone to protect themselves from unwanted closeness, touching, or attack.

proxemic distances The spatial distances that people maintain in communication and social interaction: four distances are generally distinguished: intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance.

proxemics The study of the communicative function of space; the study of how people unconsciously structure their space—the distances between people in their interactions, the organization of spaces in homes and offices, and even the design of cities.

proximity Physical closeness; one of the qualities influencing attraction. Also, as a principle of perception, the tendency to perceive people or events that are physically close as belonging together or representing some unit.

psychological time The importance you place on past, present, or future time.

public distance The longest proxemic distance, ranging from 12 to more than 25 feet.

public distance The longest proxemic distance, ranging from 12 to more than 25 feet.

public territories Areas that are open to all people—for example, restaurants or parks

pupil dilation The widening of the pupils of the eyes, often a sign of interest.

pupillometrics The study of communication through changes in the size of the pupils of the eyes.

rate The speed with which you speak, generally measured in words per minute.

receiver Any person or thing that takes in messages. Receivers may be individuals listening to or reading a message, a group of peeople hearing a speech, a scattered television audience, or machines that store information.

recency effect The condition in which what comes last (that is, most recently) exerts greater influence in our perceptions than what comes first. See also primacy effect.

reciprocity of liking Liking someone as a response to your perceiving that they like you.

regulators Nonverbal behaviors that regulate, monitor, or control the communications of another person, such as nods or changes in body posture.

reinforcement One of the factors contributing to attraction; the giving of a reward or the removal of an aversive stimulus.

reliability A quality of research or support that can be counted on as accurate and trustworthy.

secondary territories Areas that do not belong to a particular person but that have been occupied by that person and are therefore associated with her or him—for example, the seat you normally take in class.

self-adaptors Movements that usually satisfy a physical need, especially a need to be more comfortable; for example, scratching your head to relieve an itch, moistening your lips because they feel dry, or pushing your hair out of your eyes.

shrug A body gesture in which the shoulders are raised, often accompanied by a bewildered expression, and often designed to communicate a lack of concern or knowledge.

silence The absence of vocal communication. Often mistakenly thought to be the absence of any and all communication, silence actually can communicate feelings or can serve to prevent communication about certain topics.

similarity A theory of attraction that holds that people are attracted to those who are similar to them; opposed to complementarity.

smell adaptation The situation in which you gradually lose the distinctiveness of a smell due to over exposure to it.

smell blindness The inability to identify and distinguish among smells.

smell discrimination The ability to distinguish one smell from another.

smell memory The ability to recall previous events through smell and to recall the smells themselves.

smell overload The situation in which your sense of smell is overloaded, bombarded by too many smells or smells that are too intense.

smell satiation The situation in which a smell becomes difficult to perceive because of overexposure to it.

smell the sense by which you receive olfactory signals.

smile A facial expression usually indicating pleasure, though other emotions may be signed by slightly different smiles, for example, annoyance. See also Duchenne smile.

social clock The cultural time table for the accomplishment of a variety of life’s milestones.

somatotyping Classifying people’s personality and temperament on the basis of their body type, whether tall and thin, short and stout, or muscular.

source Any person or thing that creates messages. A source may be an individual speaking, writing, or gesturing or a computer sending an error message.

spatial distance Physical distance that signals the type of relationship you are in: intimate, personal, social, or public.

spatial movements. A type of illustrator that indicates spatial relationships or size, for example.

spiral of silence The theory that holds that you are more likely to voice agreement with others than disagreement. The result is that this spirals with the majority position becoming stronger and the minority positions becoming weaker.

stimulus overload The situation that occurs when the stimuli around you exceed your comfort zone; a major contributor to crowding.

surveillance Being watched by another; a major contributor to crowding.

synchronous communication Communication in which the sending and receiving of a message takes place at the same time; opposed to asynchronous communication.

taboo Forbidden; culturally censored; frowned upon by “polite society.” Taboos may include entire topics as well as specific words—for example, death, sex, certain forms of illness, and various words denoting sexual activities and excretory functions.

tag questions Questions that ask for another’s agreement and often signal weakness or uncertainty, for example, “That dinner was fine, don’t you think?”

temporal communication The messages communicated by a person’s time orientation and treatment of time.

territorial encroachment An intrusion into your territory.

territoriality A possessive or ownership reaction to an area of space or to particular objects.

theory A general statement or principle applicable to related phenomena.

tie signs Nonverbal (and verbal) cues that two people are somehow connected in some significant relational way.

time management The efficient use of time.

touch avoidance The tendency to avoid touching and being touched by others.

touch communication Communication through tactile means.

touch deprivation The psychological reaction to the absence of touch.

truth bias The assumption that the other person is telling the truth; opposed to a deception bias.

turf defense A response to territorial encroachment in which you defend your territory against intruders.

turn-denying cues Verbal or nonverbal cues indicating that the listener does not want to assume the role of speaker.

turn-maintaining cues Verbal or nonverbal cues that communicate your wish to maintain the role of speaker.

turn-requesting cues Verbal or nonverbal cues that indicate a desire to assume the speaker’s turn.

turn-taking cues A general term for verbal and/or nonverbal cues indicating a desire to exchange speaking/listening turns.

turn-yielding cues Verbal or nonverbal cues indicating the speaker’s desire to give up the speaker’s role.

unrepeatability Principle of communication stating that no communication can ever be re-created in quite the same way, because circumstances are never the same.

violation The unwarranted use of another’s territory; a form of territorial encroachment.

visual dominance The use of the eyes to maintain a superior or controlling position; for example, when making an especially important point, you might look intently at the other person.

vocalics The study of the vocal (but nonverbal) dimension of speech, for example, pitch, rate, or volume.

voice qualities Aspects of paralanguage, for example, pitch, rate, and volume.

volume The relative loudness of the voice.

withdrawal A reaction to territorial encroachment in which we leave the territory.