Non-verbal communication- This is a type of non-speech interaction of a communication nature between living beings. In other words, human nonverbal communication is a type of transmission of all kinds of information or the ability to influence the environment without the use of speech (linguistic) mechanisms. The instrument of the described interaction is the physical body of individuals, which has a wide range of tools and specific techniques for broadcasting information or exchanging messages.

Nonverbal communication covers all kinds of gestures and facial expressions, various bodily postures, timbre of voice, physical or visual contact. Human means of non-verbal communication convey the figurative content and emotional essence of information. The language of non-speech components of communication can be primary (all of the above means) and secondary ( various languages programming, Morse code). Many scientific minds are confident that only 7% of information is transmitted through words, 38% of data is sent using audio means, which include tone of voice, intonation, and 55% through non-verbal interaction tools, actually using primary non-speech components. It follows that what is fundamental in human communication is not the spoken information, but the manner of its presentation.

Communication nonverbal communication

The surrounding society can learn a lot about an individual solely by his manner of choosing clothes and conversation, gestures used, etc. As a result of many studies, it was revealed that non-verbal methods of communication have two types of source of origin, namely biological evolution and culture. Nonverbal means of communication are necessary for the purpose of:

Regulating the flow of the process of communicative interaction, creating psychological contact between interlocutors;

Enriching the meanings conveyed through words, guiding the interpretation of the verbal context;

Expressions of emotion and reflection of the interpretation of situations.

Non-verbal communications include well-known gestures, facial expressions and bodily postures, as well as hairstyle, clothing style (clothes and shoes), office interior, business cards, accessories (watches, lighters).

All gestures can be divided into gestures of openness, suspicion, conflict or defense, thoughtfulness and reasoning, uncertainty and doubt, difficulty, etc. Unbuttoning a jacket or reducing the distance between a conversation partner is a gesture of openness.

Rubbing your forehead or chin, trying to cover your face with your hands, and especially avoiding eye contact and looking away to the side indicate suspicion and secrecy. Gestures of conflict or defense include crossing your arms and clenching your fingers into a fist. The thoughtfulness of the interlocutor is indicated by pinching the bridge of the nose, a hand on the cheek (the “thinker” pose). Scratching the space above the earlobe or the side of the neck with your index finger means that the interlocutor doubts something or indicates his uncertainty. Scratching or touching the nose indicates a difficult situation for the person talking. If during a conversation one of the participants lowers his eyelids, then such an action communicates his desire to end the conversation as soon as possible. Scratching the ear demonstrates the interlocutor's rejection of what the partner is saying or the way he is pronouncing it. Stretching the earlobe reminds that the partner is already tired of listening, and he also wants to speak out.

Non-verbal communications also include handshakes, which express the different positions of the participants in the communication interaction. Grabbing the hand of one of those meeting in such a way that its palm is down indicates the authority of the interlocutor. The equal status of those meeting is indicated by a handshake, in which the hands of the participants are in the same position. Stretching out one hand with the palm facing up indicates submission or submission. Emphasizes the different status of those meeting or a certain distance in position, or expresses disrespect by shaking with a straight, unbent hand. Extending only the tips of your fingers for a handshake indicates complete disrespect for the other individual. A handshake with two hands indicates trusting sincerity, excess of feelings, and closeness.

Also, handshakes of citizens of different countries may differ. For example, Americans are characterized by strong, energetic handshakes. After all, they talk about strength and efficiency. For people from the Asian part of the continent, such handshakes may cause bewilderment. They are more accustomed to soft and long handshakes.

Nonverbal communication in business communication plays not the least role. For example, picking up lint from a suit is a gesture of disapproval and disagreement in negotiations. In order to prolong the pause before making the final decision, you can take off your glasses and put them on or wipe the lenses. You can also highlight actions that will non-verbally indicate the desire to complete the meeting. These include: pushing the body forward, with the hands placed on the knees or on the armrests. Hands raised behind the head demonstrate that for the interlocutor the conversation is empty, unpleasant and burdensome.

Nonverbal language of communication is even evident in the way an individual smokes. A closed, suspicious communication partner directs the exhaled stream of smoke downward. Stronger hostility or aggression is indicated by exhaling smoke from the corners of the mouth downwards. The intensity of smoke exhalation is also important. The rapid exhalation of smoke indicates the interlocutor's confidence. The faster it is, the more confident the individual feels. The more intense the flow is exhaled downwards, the more negative the interlocutor is. Ambition is indicated by exhaling smoke through the nostrils with the head raised up. The same thing, but with the head down, indicates that the individual is very angry.

Verbal and non-verbal means of communication during communicative interaction are perceived simultaneously, as a result of which they should be analyzed as an indivisible whole. For example, during a conversation with a smiling, nicely dressed person with a pleasant timbre of voice, his interlocutor, without realizing it, may still leave his partner because he does not like the smell of his eau de toilette. Such a non-verbal action will make the partner think that not everything is all right with him, for example, with his appearance. Understanding this may cause you to lose confidence in your own words, your face to turn red, and ridiculous gestures to appear. This situation indicates that verbal and nonverbal means of communication are inextricably linked. After all, gestures that are not supported by words are not always meaningful, and words in the absence of facial expressions are empty.

Features of nonverbal communication

The positions of the body, head, arms and shoulders that are most difficult for self-control are of greatest importance in communication. This is precisely the peculiarity of nonverbal communication during a conversation. Raised shoulders indicate tension. When relaxed they fall down. Dropped shoulders and a raised head often indicate openness and attitude. successful solution problems. Raised shoulders combined with a lowered head are a sign of displeasure, isolation, fear, and uncertainty.

An indicator of curiosity and interest is a head tilted to the side, and for the fair half this gesture can express light flirting or advances.

The expression on his face can tell a lot about an individual during a conversation. A sincere smile indicates friendliness and a positive attitude. Dissatisfaction or withdrawal is expressed by tightly compressed lips. The bend of the lips, as if in a grin, speaks of doubt or sarcasm. Gaze also plays an important role in nonverbal communication. If the gaze is directed to the floor, then this demonstrates fear or a desire to stop communication interaction; if to the side, it speaks of neglect. You can subjugate the will of your interlocutor with the help of a long and motionless direct gaze into the eyes. Raising the head in conjunction with looking up means a desire for a pause in the conversation. Understanding is expressed by a slight tilt of the head combined with a smile or a rhythmic nod of the head. A slight movement of the head back in combination with furrowed eyebrows indicates a misunderstanding and the need to repeat what was said.
Besides this, quite important feature nonverbal communication is the ability to distinguish between gestures that indicate a lie. After all, most often such gestures are expressed unconsciously, so they are quite difficult to control for an individual intending to lie.

These include covering the mouth with a hand, touching the dimple under the nose or directly to the nose, rubbing the eyelids, looking away to the floor or to the side of the gaze. Representatives of the fair sex, when lying, often draw a finger under the eye. Scratching the neck area, touching it, or pulling the collar of a shirt is also a sign of lying. Big role The position of his palms plays a role in assessing the sincerity of a communication partner. For example, if the interlocutor, extending one or both palms, opens them partially or completely, then this indicates frankness. Hidden hands or motionless gathered hands indicate secrecy.

Nonverbal and verbal means of communication

Communicative interaction or communication is a rather complex multifaceted process of first establishing and then developing contacts between individuals, caused by the need for joint activities and covering the exchange of messages, the development of a general direction or strategy of interaction and perception with subsequent understanding of another subject. Communication interaction consists of three components:

1. Communicative, representing the direct exchange of information between communicating people;
2. Interactive, which consists in organizing interaction between subjects;
3. Perceptual, consisting in the process of individuals perceiving each other and establishing mutual understanding.

Communicative interaction can be verbal and non-verbal. In the process of everyday life, individuals talk with many people, using both verbal and non-verbal language. Speech helps people share knowledge, worldviews, make acquaintances, establish social contacts, etc. However, without the use of non-verbal and verbal means of communication, speech will be difficult to understand.

Features of nonverbal communication and verbal interaction consist in the use of various tools for accepting and analyzing incoming data during communications. Thus, people use intelligence and logic to perceive information conveyed by words, and they use intuition to understand nonverbal communication.

Verbal communication implies an understanding of exactly how speech is perceived by a communication partner and what impact it has on him. After all, speech is one of the fundamental means of interpersonal communication.

For a human individual, a phenomenon begins to exist in in every sense when it is named. Language is a universal means of human interaction. It is the basic system by which people encrypt information and the most important communication tool. Language is considered a “powerful” encryption system, but at the same time it leaves room for destruction and the creation of barriers.

Words make the meaning of phenomena and circumstances clear; they help individuals express thoughts, worldviews and emotions. Personality, its consciousness and language are inseparable. Often the language is ahead of the flow of thoughts, and often does not obey them at all. An individual can “blurt out” something or systematically “waffle his tongue” at the same time, practically without thinking about the fact that with his statements he forms certain attitudes in society, directs them to a specific reaction and behavior. Here we can apply the saying: “what comes around, comes around.” With the correct use of words, you can control such a response, predict it, and even shape it. Many politicians master the art of using words correctly.

At each stage of communication interaction, obstacles arise that hinder its effectiveness. In the course of interaction, the illusory nature of mutual understanding between partners often arises. This illusion is due to the fact that individuals use the same words to denote completely different things.

Data loss and information distortion occur at every stage of communication. The level of such losses is determined by the general imperfection of the human language system, the inability to accurately and completely transform thoughts into verbal structures, personal attitudes and aspirations (wishful thinking is perceived as reality), literacy of interlocutors, vocabulary, and so on.

Interpersonal communication interactions are mainly carried out through the use of non-verbal tools. Nonverbal language is considered richer than verbal language. After all, its elements are not verbal forms, but facial expressions, body positions and gestures, intonation characteristics of speech, spatial frames and time boundaries, a symbolic communicative sign system.

Often, nonverbal language of communication is not the result of a deliberate behavioral strategy, but a consequence of subconscious messages. That is why it is very difficult to fake. The individual unconsciously perceives small non-verbal details, considering such perception as a “sixth sense”. Often people unconsciously notice discrepancies between spoken phrases and non-verbal signals, as a result of which they begin to distrust the interlocutor.

Types of nonverbal communication

Nonverbal interaction plays a significant role in the process of mutual exchange of emotions.

Facial expressions (presence of a smile, direction of gaze);

Movements (nodding or shaking the head, swinging limbs, imitating some behavior, etc.);

Walking, touching, hugging, shaking hands, personal space.

Voice is the sound that an individual makes during a conversation, when singing or shouting, laughing and crying. Voice formation occurs due to vibration of the vocal cords, which create sound waves as exhaled air passes through them. The voice cannot develop without the participation of hearing; in turn, hearing cannot develop without the participation of the vocal apparatus. So, for example, in an individual suffering from deafness, the voice does not function due to the absence of auditory perceptions and stimulation of speech motor centers.

In nonverbal communication, it is possible to convey the enthusiastic or interrogative nature of a sentence using just one voice intonation. Based on the tone in which the request was stated, one can conclude how important it is for the speaker. Often, due to the wrong tone and intonation, requests can sound like orders. So, for example, the word “sorry” can have completely different meanings depending on the intonation used. Also, using the voice, the subject can express his own state: surprise, joy, anger, etc.

Appearance is the most important component of nonverbal communication and it implies an image that a person sees and perceives around him.

Nonverbal business communication begins to be built precisely from the assessment of the external attributes of the individual. Acceptable appearance depends on the following characteristics: neatness, good manners, natural behavior, presence of manners, literacy, adequate reactions to criticism or praise, charisma. It is very important for each individual in life to be able to correctly use the capabilities of his own body when transmitting information to his interlocutor.

Non-verbal communication in business communication is absolutely necessary. After all, business people often have to convince their opponents of something, persuade them to their own point of view and perform certain actions (concluding deals or investing a significant amount in the development of an enterprise). It will be easier to achieve this if you can demonstrate to your partner that the interlocutor is honest and open.

No less important is the position of the body (posture) during the conversation. Using posture, you can express subordination, interest in a conversation, boredom or a desire for a joint partnership, etc. When the interlocutor sits motionless, his eyes are hidden under dark glasses, and he covers his own notes, the other person will feel quite uncomfortable.

To achieve success, nonverbal business communication does not imply the use of postures at business meetings that demonstrate closedness and aggressiveness. It is also not recommended to wear glasses with tinted lenses during any communications, especially at the first meeting. Since, without seeing the eyes of a communication partner, the interlocutor may feel awkward, because the lion's share of information remains inaccessible to him, as a result of which the general atmosphere of communicative interaction is disrupted.

The poses also reflect the psychological subordination of the participants in the conversation. For example, the desire for submission or dominance.

Thus, nonverbal communicative interaction is one of the tools of personal representation of one’s own “I”, an instrument of interpersonal influence and regulation of relationships, forms the image of the interlocutor, clarifies and anticipates the verbal message.

Gestures of nonverbal communication

Often, individuals say something completely different from what they mean, and their interlocutors understand something completely different from what they wanted to convey. All this happens due to the inability to correctly read body language.

Nonverbal methods of communication can be divided into the following:

Expressive movements, which include facial expressions, body position, gait and hand gestures;

Tactile movements, including touching, patting on the shoulder, kissing, shaking hands;

A gaze characterized by the frequency of eye contact, direction, duration;

Movements in space, covering table placement, orientation, direction, distance.

With the help of gestures you can express confidence, superiority, or, conversely, dependence. In addition, there are disguised gestures and incomplete barriers. Often in life, subjects may encounter conditions where they are not entirely comfortable, but still need to appear confident. For example, during a report to a large audience. In this situation, the individual tries to block intuitive defensive gestures that indicate the speaker’s nervousness, as a result of which he partially replaces them with incomplete barriers. Such barriers include a position in which one hand is in a calm state, and the other is holding the forearm or shoulder of the second hand. With the help of disguised gestures, the individual is also able to achieve the necessary level of confidence and calm. As you know, a protective barrier is expressed in the form of fastening crossed arms across the body. Instead of this position, many subjects actively use manipulations with various accessories, for example, twirling cufflinks, fiddling with a watch strap or bracelet, etc. In this case, one arm still ends up across the body, which indicates the installation of a barrier.

Hands placed in pockets can also have many meanings. For example, a person may simply be cold or simply focused on something. In addition, it is necessary to distinguish between gestures and the individual’s habits. So, for example, the habit of swinging your leg or tapping your heel while sitting at the table may be perceived as a reluctance to continue communication.

Gestures of nonverbal communication are divided into the following:

Gestures of an illustrative nature (instructions, signals);

Regulatory nature (nodding, shaking the head);

Gestures-emblems, that is, gestures that replace words or even entire phrases (for example, clenched hands indicate a greeting);

Adaptive in nature (touching, stroking, fiddling with objects);

Affective gestures, that is, expressing emotions, feelings;

Micro gestures (twitching of lips, blushing of face).

In his famous book Body Language, Austrian writer Alan Pease argues that every person perceives information based on this calculation: 7% of information comes with words, and the remaining 97% is perceived by us using non-verbal signals.

These methods of communication are better known as “sign language” and mean a form of self-expression that does not use words or any symbols of speech.

Knowing the types of nonverbal communication and understanding nonverbal cues is important for several reasons. Firstly, they perform the function of accurately expressing feelings, because very often we experience feelings so complex that we are simply unable to find the right words to describe them, but this can be done using non-verbal means and methods. Secondly, they perform the functions of deeper mutual understanding.

Knowing the basic methods of nonverbal communication, you will be able to better understand and “see through” another person, when he is trying to control his behavior when communicating with you, because nonverbal signals manifest themselves unconsciously and your interlocutor simply cannot control them. The classification of nonverbal means of communication and examples of their use will help you not only understand yourself better, but also teach you to recognize lies and manipulation from other people.

Expand your perception

To learn to better understand your interlocutor and recognize his hidden signals, you must first learn to pay attention simultaneously to all elements or means of nonverbal communication, and nonverbal means of communication include facial expressions, gestures, postures, intonation and timbre of voice, visual contact and interpersonal space.

Let's talk in more detail about each of these elements of nonverbal communication and give specific examples of their manifestation.

Facial expressions

Facial expressions are the expression of a person’s face; they are the main element of displaying emotions and feelings. Positive emotions, such as love or surprise, are much easier to recognize than negative emotions, which include disgust or anger. Emotions are reflected differently on the right and left sides of the face, because the left and right hemispheres of the brain perform different functions: the right one performs control emotional sphere, and the left is responsible for intellectual functions.

Emotions are expressed in facial expressions in this way:

• Anger - wide open eyes, drooping corners of the lips, “squinted” gaze, clenched teeth;
• Surprise - a slightly open mouth, wide open eyes and raised eyebrows, lowered tips of the lips;
• Fear - knitted eyebrows, stretched lips with downturned and downturned corners;
• Happiness is a calm look, raised, drawn back corners of the lips;
• Sadness - a “faded” look, drooping corners of the lips, knitted eyebrows.

Eye contact

This method of nonverbal communication helps to demonstrate interest in the conversation and better understand the meaning of what is being said. During a conversation, two people work together to create and regulate the degree of comfort by periodically meeting their gaze and looking away. Staring can either build trust or create discomfort.

Pleasant, general topics maintain eye contact, while negative, confusing questions cause you to look away, demonstrating disagreement and hostility. Features of visual contact allow us to draw conclusions about the degree of interest in the dialogue and attitude towards the interlocutor:

• Admiration – long eye contact, calm gaze;
• Indignation - a fixed, intrusive, somewhat alarming gaze, prolonged eye contact without pauses;
• Position – attentive gaze, eye contact with pauses every 10 seconds;
• Dislike – avoiding eye contact, “rolling” the eyes.
• Waiting - a sharp look into the eyes, raised eyebrows.

With visual contact, you can find out not only the attitude of the interlocutor, but also determine some character traits by eye color.

Intonation and timbre of voice

Correctly understanding the intonation and timbre of a voice means learning to “read between the lines” of another person’s message. Such features include frequent pauses, unfinished sentences and their construction, strength and pitch of the voice, as well as speed of speech.

• Excitement – ​​low tone of voice, fast, choppy speech;
• Enthusiasm – high tone of voice, clear, confident speech;
• Fatigue – low tone of voice, lowering of intonation towards the end of a sentence;
• Arrogance – slow speech, smooth monotonous intonation;
• Uncertainty - mistakes in words, frequent pauses, nervous cough.

Gestures and postures

People's feelings and attitudes can be determined by the way they sit or stand, by a set of gestures and individual movements. It is easier and more pleasant for people to communicate with those who have expressive motor skills and an animated, relaxed facial expression.

Bright gestures reflect positive emotions and encourage sincerity and trust.

At the same time, excessive gesticulation and frequently repeated gestures can indicate internal tension and self-doubt.

Nonverbal communication becomes accessible and the level of mutual understanding increases if you understand the postures and gestures of your interlocutor.

• Concentration – eyes closed, pinching the bridge of the nose, rubbing the chin;
• Criticality - one hand near the chin with the index finger extended along the cheek, the second hand supports the elbow;
• Positivity - body, head slightly tilted forward, hand slightly touching the cheek;
• Distrust - a palm covers the mouth, expressing disagreement;
• Boredom - the head is supported by the hand, the body is relaxed and slightly bent;
• Superiority - sitting position, legs one on top of the other, hands behind the head, eyelids slightly closed;
• Disapproval - restless movement, shaking off lint, straightening clothes, pulling down trousers or skirts;
• Uncertainty - scratching or rubbing the ears, clasping the elbow of the other with one hand;
• Openness – arms are spread out to the sides with palms up, shoulders are straightened, the head is “looking” straight, the body is relaxed;

Video about nonverbal communication:

Interpersonal space

The distance between interlocutors plays an important role in establishing contact and understanding the communication situation. Often people express their attitude in categories such as “stay away from there” or “I want to be closer to him.” If people are interested in each other, the space separating them decreases, they tend to be closer. To better understand these features, as well as to correctly distinguish between situations and the scope of contact, you should know the basic limits of the permissible distance between interlocutors:

• Intimate distance (up to 0.5 m) – intimate, trusting relationships between close people and friends. May also be acceptable in sports where bodily contact is acceptable.
• Interpersonal distance (from 0.5 m to 1.2 m) is a comfortable distance during a friendly conversation where touching each other is allowed.
• Social distance (from 1.2 m to 3.7 m) – informal interaction in society, during a business meeting. The greater the distance, right up to the extreme border, the more formal the relationship.
• Public distance (more than 3.7 m) is a comfortable distance for a lecturer who makes a public presentation to a large group of people.

Such distance limits and their significance depend on the age, gender of a person, and his personal characteristics. Children are comfortable being at a closer distance from their interlocutor, while teenagers close themselves off and want to distance themselves from others.

Women love closer distances, regardless of the gender of their interlocutor. Balanced, self-confident people do not pay attention special attention at a distance, while nervous, anxious people try to stay away from others.

Learn to recognize lies

In order to feel confident and comfortable in a communication situation with different people, avoid manipulation, you should learn to recognize non-verbal communication in situations where they are trying to deceive you.

What means of nonverbal communication, gestures, postures, and facial expressions should you pay attention to in order to recognize a lie?

• excessively long or frequent pauses, pauses and hesitations before starting a line;
• asymmetry of facial expressions, lack of synchrony in the work of facial muscles, when there is a discrepancy in the facial expressions of the two sides of the face;
• a “frozen” facial expression, when it does not change for 5-10 seconds, is false;
• delayed expression of emotions, when long pauses arise between the word and the emotions associated with it;
• a “long” smile, where the lips are pulled back from the teeth, creating a narrow lip line;
• visual contact is shallow, when the liar's eyes meet the interlocutor's eyes for no more than a third of the entire conversation, while often looking at the ceiling and around with a restless expression on his face;
• twitching of any part of the body: tapping fingers on the table, biting the lip, twitching of arms or legs;
• scanty gestures that the liar keeps under control;
• high pitched voice, heavy breathing;
• bent body, crossed-legged poses;
• meager facial expressions, poor work facial muscles;
• quickly moving the eyes first to the upper right corner, and then to the lower left;
• quick, imperceptible at first glance, touching the nose, rubbing the eyelid;
• brighter gestures with the right hand compared to the left;
• any exaggeration: unnecessary movements and gestures, inappropriate emotions;
• frequent eye blinking

Knowing all the subtleties of non-verbal communication techniques, you will not only be able to avoid manipulation, but you yourself can easily learn how to manage people

…

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As already mentioned, all means of communication are divided into two large groups: verbal (verbal) and non-verbal.

Nonverbal communication can be defined as interaction between individuals to transmit information without speech and language: through images, intonation, gestures, facial expressions, etc. The instrument of such communication is the human body, which has a wide range of means and ways of transmitting or exchanging information. At the same time, correct interpretation of nonverbal signals is the most important condition for effective communication.

At first glance, it may seem that nonverbal means are not so important. In fact they have important. This is due to the following reasons:

• about 70% of information a person perceives through the visual (visual) channel;
• nonverbal signals allow you to understand the true feelings and thoughts of your interlocutor;
• our attitude towards the interlocutor is often formed under the influence of the first impression, and it, in turn, is the result of the influence of non-verbal factors - gait, facial expression, gaze, demeanor, style of clothing, etc.

Nonverbal signals are especially valuable because they are spontaneous, unconscious and, unlike words, always sincere. In particular, it was found that the degree of a person’s trust in words is only 20%, while the degree of trust in non-verbal information (posture, gestures, mutual position of interlocutors) is 30%. Often, nonverbal transmission of information occurs simultaneously with verbal information and can enhance or change the meaning of words. Existing "body language" often expresses what we do not want or cannot say.

Classification and interpretation of nonverbal means of communication

Social psychological research has developed various classifications nonverbal means of communication. But, as V. A. Labunskaya notes, no matter what non-verbal means are highlighted, they can all be reduced to kinesic (body movements), spatial (organization of behavior, interpersonal communication) and temporary characteristics of interaction.

Let's give the most general classification nonverbal means of communication, which is widely used in modern literature.

• 1. Kinesics: expressive movements (facial expressions, posture, gestures, gait) and gaze (visual contact): direction of gaze, its duration, frequency of contact.
• 2. Takeshika (tactile movements): handshake, pat on the back or shoulder, touching, kissing.
• 3. Proxemics (spatial movements): distance, orientation, placement at the table.
• 4. Prosody and extralinguistics: intonation, timbre, volume, pause, laughter, crying, coughing, sigh.

Let's take a closer look at nonverbal means of communication.

1 . Kinesics (from ancient Greek - movement) - a set of expressive movements (facial expressions, posture, gestures, gait) and visual contact (gaze): direction of gaze, its duration, frequency of contact, which are used in the process of human communication.

Facial expressions (movements of facial muscles). It plays a significant role in the transmission of information. Studies have shown that when the speaker's face remains motionless, up to 10–15% of information is lost. Facial expressions are holistic. In the facial expression of the six basic emotional states (anger, joy, fear, suffering, surprise and contempt), all movements of the facial muscles are coordinated. This is well shown in the studies of V. A. Labunskaya (Table 3.1).

Table 3.1

Facial codes of emotional states

IN business communications The significance of facial expressions is determined by the fact that they can be used to establish psychological contact and enhance speech utterances. In addition, facial expressions can suggest a lot about how speaker's mental state (joy, satisfaction, attentiveness, boredom, etc.), and about his attitude towards his interlocutor (respect, sympathy, goodwill, neglect, etc.).

Pose (position of a person’s body) clearly shows how a given person perceives his status in relation to the status of other persons present. Posture and movements reveal not only a person’s social status, but also his psychological state (“walking with his head held high” or, on the contrary, “standing half-bent”).

The poses are divided as follows:

• closed pose is perceived as a pose of distrust, disagreement and opposition and is characterized by the fact that a person tries to somehow close the front part of the body and take up as little space as possible in space (for example, the “Napoleonic” standing pose: arms crossed on the chest);
• open posture, in which the body is directed towards the interlocutor, the palms are open, and the feet are turned towards the communication partner. This is a posture of trust, agreement, goodwill, and psychological comfort.

Gestures. The following types of gestures can be distinguished:

• communicative – greetings, farewells, attracting attention, prohibitions, interrogatives, etc.;
• openness – indicate sincerity and a desire to speak frankly (“open hands”, “unbuttoning a jacket”);
• confidence – express a feeling of superiority over others (“putting your hands behind your back while grabbing your wrist,” “placing your hands behind your head”);
• reflections and assessments – reflect a state of thoughtfulness and the desire to find a solution to a problem (“hand on cheek”, “pinching the bridge of the nose”);
• doubts and uncertainties – scratching with the index finger of the right hand under the earlobe or the side of the neck, touching the nose or lightly rubbing it;
• suspicion and secrecy - indicate distrust of you, doubt that you are right, a desire to conceal and hide something from you (rubbing your forehead, temples, chin, the desire to cover your face with your hands);
• evidence of reluctance to listen and the desire to end the conversation (lowering eyelids, scratching the ear);
• disagreement ("collecting lint from a jacket", "dropping eyelids");
• readiness – signal the desire to end a conversation or meeting (bringing the body forward, with both hands lying on the knees or holding the side edges of the chair).

Gait – this is a person’s style of movement (rhythm, step dynamics, amplitude of body transfer during movement). By gait you can judge a person’s well-being, his character, and age. For example, a “heavy” gait is typical for people who are angry, while a “light” gait is typical for joyful ones. People who are busy solving problems often walk in a “thinker” pose (head down, hands clasped behind their back, gait slow). To create an attractive appearance, gait is most preferable confident person, creates the same impression correct posture– light, springy and always straight. The head should be slightly raised and the shoulders should be straightened.

Sight (eye contact) is also an extremely important element of communication. It indicates a disposition to communicate. So, if few people look at the interlocutor, he has every reason to believe that he or what he says and does is treated poorly, and vice versa, if many people look, this can either be a challenge to the interlocutor or a good attitude towards him. Your gaze should meet your partner's eyes about 60–70% of the entire communication time. An interlocutor who meets your gaze for less than this time rarely enjoys trust. Partly, the duration of a person's gaze depends on what nation he belongs to. Southern Europeans have a high gaze rate that may be offensive to others, and the Japanese look at the neck rather than the face when speaking.

With the help of the eyes, the most accurate signals about a person’s condition are transmitted, since the dilation and contraction of the pupils cannot be consciously controlled. With constant lighting, the pupils can dilate or contract depending on the mood. If a person is excited, in high spirits or interested in something, his pupils dilate four times their normal size. On the contrary, an angry, gloomy mood causes the pupils to constrict.

The specificity of a business look is expressed in the fact that it is fixed in the area of ​​the interlocutor’s forehead, this implies the creation of a serious atmosphere of business partnership. A sideways glance is used to convey interest or hostility. If accompanied by slightly raised eyebrows or a smile, it indicates interest. If the gaze is accompanied by a frowning forehead or downturned corners of the mouth, this indicates a critical or suspicious attitude towards the interlocutor.

If during a conversation the interlocutor lowers his eyelids, then this is a subconscious gesture to “remove” you from his field of vision, because you have become uninteresting to him. When half-closed eyelids are combined with a tilted head and a long gaze, known as the “look down,” your partner is emphasizing his superiority over you.

One more thing important note: During negotiations and business conversations, you should never wear dark glasses; your partner gets the feeling that he is being looked at point-blank.

2. Takeshika studies touch in communication situations. Tactical means of communication include dynamic touches in the form of a handshake, a pat on the back or shoulder, a touch, a kiss. A person’s use of dynamic touches in communication is determined by many factors: the status of partners, their age, gender, and degree of acquaintance.

Inappropriate use of tactical means by a person can lead to conflicts in communication. For example, a pat on the shoulder is possible only under the condition of close relationships and equal social status in society.

Handshake - the most common tactical remedy - is an indispensable attribute of any meeting and farewell. Shaking hands is a telling gesture that has been known since ancient times. Primitive people, when meeting, extended their hands to each other with open palms forward to show their weaponlessness and peacefulness. The following types of handshakes and their characteristics can be distinguished:

• a strong, energetic shaking of the interlocutor’s hand simultaneously with a joyful exclamation speaks of the partner’s sincerity and his desire to continue the conversation;
• if the partners’ hands are in the same position, this is a demonstration of equality;
• The dominant handshake (hand on top, palm facing down) is its most aggressive form. With a dominant (powerful) handshake, a person communicates to another that he wants to dominate the communication process;
• a submissive handshake (hand from below, palm turned upward) is demonstrated in situations where a person wants to give the initiative to another, to allow him to feel like the master of the situation;
• clasping your partner’s hand with your own hands in the form of a “glove” (a person clasps the other’s hand with both hands) speaks of friendliness. However, this type of handshake should be used with people you know well, since it can have the opposite effect if the acquaintance is nervous;
• the degree of depth of feelings depends on where the second hand is placed when shaking hands; the shoulder is better than the forearm, the forearm is better than the elbow;
• a long handshake with a smile and a warm look is an expression of goodwill;
• a prolonged handshake and wet hands – excitement;
• a short, limp handshake and dry hands – indifference;
• if they hold out a lifeless hand to you, like a dead fish, they don’t want to contact you;
• shaking hands with an unbent, straight hand is a sign of aggressiveness. Its main purpose is to maintain distance and prevent a person from entering your intimate area;
• A strong handshake, even cracking your fingers, is a hallmark of an aggressive, tough person.

Patting on the back or shoulder. This tactical element is possible under the condition of close relationships and equality of the social status of those communicating. Patting is often interpreted as a sign of friendship, concern, or encouragement. These non-verbal gestures are mainly characteristic of men. Patting, as it were, demonstrates masculine strength and the willingness of its owner to come to the rescue.

3. Proxemics (spatial movements) – distance, orientation, placement at the table. It identifies the areas of most effective communication.

Distance. American anthropologist Edward Hall, the creator of the science of proxemics, identifies four main zones of communication:

• intimate area (15–45 cm) – a person allows only people close to him to enter. In this zone, a quiet, confidential conversation is conducted, and tactile contacts are made. The invasion of an “alien” into this zone is regarded as a threat;
• personal (personal ) zone (45–120 cm) – an area for everyday communication with friends and colleagues. Only visual (eye) contact is allowed;
• social zone (120–400 cm) – holding area official meetings and conducting negotiations, meetings, conducting administrative conversations;
• public area (400–750 cm) – an area for communicating with large groups of people during lectures, rallies, public speaking, etc.

People generally feel comfortable and make a favorable impression when they are at a distance appropriate to the types of interaction described above. Too close and too far away have a negative impact on communication. If a stranger tries to cross your personal distance, you will instinctively step back or extend your arms to prevent the invasion of your personal space. You may feel anger, heart rate increase, and adrenaline rush. If you find yourself in a situation where an intrusion is inevitable (elevator, crowded transport), we recommend that you try to remain calm, do not talk to him, it is better to refuse even non-verbal contact with him (do not look the person in the eyes).

It should be noted that the rules regarding communication zones vary depending on the age, gender, personality and social status of the person, as well as the nationality and population density in the area where the person lives. For example, children and old people stay closer to their interlocutor than teenagers, young people and middle-aged people. Men prefer a more distant position than women. A balanced person approaches the interlocutor closer, while restless, nervous people stay further away. People communicate over long distances with interlocutors of higher status. Asians interact at closer distances than Europeans, and city dwellers interact closer than those living in sparsely populated areas. IN rural areas the concept of “personal space” is much broader than in the city. Therefore, a rural resident often experiences significant discomfort when staying in the city.

Orientation. It should also be noted such prokeemic components of the nonverbal system as orientation (angle of communication). Orientation is the location of partners in relation to each other, expressed in the rotation of the body and toe of the foot in the direction of the partner or away from him, which signals the desire or reluctance to communicate. This arrangement of partners can vary from a face-to-face position to a back-to-back position and, accordingly, from cooperative to competitive communication.

Proper placement of participants at the table is a means of effective interaction. Different shades of people's attitudes can be expressed through what place they occupy at the table. By the location of two people at the table one can judge the nature of their communication. In this regard, there are four main positions (Fig. 3.1, A, B – interlocutors).

• 1. Corner location typical for people engaged in friendly, casual conversation. This position is most favorable for communication between a student and a teacher, a leader with subordinates, since both have sufficient scope for exchanging views and gesticulating. The corner of the table serves as a calming barrier, protecting against unexpected attacks. Their breaths do not cross each other, and when difficult points of discussion are touched on, you can always direct your eyes to a stationary object and concentrate on formulating an answer.
• 2. Competitive-defensive position. Standing opposite each other can cause a defensive attitude

Rice. 3.1.

A – angular location; b – competitive-defensive position; V – position business interaction; G – independent position

and an atmosphere of competition. Therefore, this position is used in heated discussions, disputes, and debates. The interlocutors sit opposite each other, which allows them to clearly see their facial expressions and gestures, which can change every second depending on the severity of the issues being discussed. This can lead to a situation where each side adheres to its own point of view - the table becomes a barrier between them.

• 3. Business Interaction Position – one of the most successful strategic positions for discussion and development general solutions. There are no physical barriers between the conversation participants; they sit side by side. Communication is confidential and intimate. In this position, almost all issues and topics can be discussed, since the interlocutors completely accept each other.
• 4. Independent position. It is occupied by people who do not want to interact with each other. The interlocutors sit at different corners of the table, which negatively affects the communication process. If you try to change your position and sit closer, the other person may demonstratively stand up and leave the room. This is the most negative form of communication at the table and a form of nonverbal communication in general. It shows a lack of interest. This situation can also be regarded as hostile.

It is also important table shape, behind which the manager communicates with subordinates.

Square tables good for a short business conversation. A cooperative relationship will most likely be established with the person sitting next to you. Moreover, more understanding will come from the person sitting on the right. The one sitting opposite will provide the greatest resistance.

Round table creates an atmosphere of informality and ease and is the best way conducting a conversation between people of the same social status, because everyone at the table is allocated the same space. The leader has the highest authority at the round table, so those sitting on either side of him are visually given more power and respect than others. Moreover, the participant sitting to his right has more influence than the participant sitting to his left. The degree of influence decreases depending on the distance from the leader.

Square and round tables are often used in business communications. A square table, which is usually a work desk, is used for business negotiations, briefings, and in cases where the guilty are called to the carpet. A round table creates a relaxed, informal atmosphere and is good for reaching agreement.

• 4. Prosody and extralinguistics.
• Prosody – this is the general name for the rhythmic and intonation properties of speech (pitch, volume of the voice, its timbre).
• Extralinguistics - this is the inclusion in speech of pauses and various non-morphological human phenomena (crying, coughing, laughter, sigh, etc.).

These means of nonverbal communication are associated with voice, the characteristics of which create an image of a person, contribute to the recognition of his states, and the identification of mental individuality. Prosodic and extralinguistic means regulate the flow of speech, they complement and anticipate speech utterances, and express emotional states. In business communication, you need not only to listen, but also to hear the intonation structure of speech. In particular, the following carries a large information load.

• Strength and pitch of voice. Those who tend to sharply change the pitch of their voices tend to be more cheerful, more sociable, and more confident than people who speak monotonously. For example, feelings such as enthusiasm and joy are usually conveyed in a high-pitched voice; anger and fear - also in a rather high voice, but in a wider range of tonality, strength and pitch of sounds; grief, sadness, fatigue are usually conveyed in a soft and muffled voice with a decrease in intonation towards the end of each phrase.
• Speech speed. A person speaks quickly if he is excited, worried, talking about his personal difficulties, or wants to convince us of something. Slow speech most often indicates depression, grief, arrogance or fatigue.
• Uncertainty in choice of words. By making minor mistakes in speech, choosing words uncertainly or incorrectly, or cutting off phrases mid-sentence, people involuntarily express a feeling of self-doubt.

Barriers and features of intercultural nonverbal communication

Sign language, on the one hand, is international; basic communication gestures all over the world do not differ from each other. When people are happy, they smile, when they are sad, they frown, when they don’t know or don’t understand what they are talking about, they shrug their shoulders. On the other hand, each nation has its own specific gestures and keeps its own distance when communicating. Different peoples use nonverbal language in their own way. For example, Italians use gestures 80 times within an hour, the French - 20, Finns - 1-2 times.

As N. A Bagdasarova notes, belonging to a particular culture also predetermines the level of emotionality and its intensity. Thus, representatives of collectivist cultures, which include Russian, are characterized by a more vivid manifestation of emotions compared to members of individualistic cultures.

The famous American psychologist Erik Erikson, who developed the concept of psychosocial identity, based his theory on the postulate of sociocultural conditioning of the human psyche. For example, it is interesting that he attributed to Russians a special expressiveness of their eyes. In his opinion, Russian culture is much more “big-eyed” than Anglo-Saxon.

The equally famous American scientist, creator of the science of proxemics, Edward Hall, notes that Americans look into the eyes only if they want to make sure that their communication partner has understood them correctly. For the British, eye contact is more common. They look at the other person to show that they are listening. However, in England it is considered indecent to look so closely into the eyes, as is customary in Russia.

Thus, often the same expressive movement can have different meanings among different peoples. Cultural differences in the exchange of nonverbal information can create significant barriers to understanding. So, having accepted it from the Japanese business card, you should read it immediately. If you put it in your pocket, you will show that you consider him an insignificant person. Americans will react with bewilderment to the “stony expression” on the faces of their interlocutors, while a smile on the faces of Germans is far from common.

In the literature, the following types of barriers are identified in nonverbal general and i.

• Proxemic (distant ) barriers arise when there is a discrepancy in the assessment of the distance comfortable for a person. For example, representatives of different nations have different ideas about the correct distance: southern peoples use a smaller distance than northern ones, women tend to reduce the distance, and men tend to increase it, etc.
• Aesthetic barriers arise at the first meeting. Divergent ideas about appearance and behavior can interfere with further interaction.
• Emotional barriers arise due to inadequacy or discrepancy in the intensity of emotional manifestations.
• Voltage barriers – this is self-doubt based on inadequate self-esteem, increased emotional control, etc.

Specifics of transcultural nonverbal communication

Modern globalization of public life increasingly puts forward the requirement to take into account intercultural and interethnic features of non-verbal communications. In this regard, here are some features of nonverbal communication in different countries.

• Peoples of different cultures also have differences in their perception of space. Thus, Americans work either in large rooms or in open doors. Open office means that his owner is in place and has nothing to hide. Here everyone, from the director to the bellhop, is constantly in sight. This creates a certain stereotype of behavior among employees, giving them the feeling that everyone is doing a common job together. German traditional forms of organizing workspace are fundamentally different. Each room must be equipped with secure doors. A door wide open symbolizes extreme disorder.
• When talking about himself, a European points to his chest, a Japanese points to his nose. In Greece and Turkey, a waiter should never show two fingers (for example, meaning two cups of coffee) - this is considered a very offensive gesture.
• By forming a ring with the thumb and index finger, Americans and many other peoples communicate that things are “okay.” The same gesture is used in Japan when talking about money, in France it means zero, in Greece and on the island of Sardinia it serves as a go-ahead sign, and in Malta it characterizes a person with perverted sexual instincts.
• The usual affirmative nod of the head in Bulgaria serves as a sign of denial.
• In the Middle East, you should not offer food, money, or gifts with your left hand. Among those who profess Islam, it is considered unclean, and you can offend your interlocutor.
• For an American, refusing to talk to a person who is in the same room with him means an extreme degree of negative attitude towards him. In England this is a generally accepted rule.
• If in Holland you point your index finger at your temple, implying some kind of stupidity, then they will not understand you. There, this gesture means that someone said a very witty phrase.

This short list of fairly standard gestures demonstrates not only the need to take into account the difficulties and barriers that arise in nonverbal communication, but also shows how easy it is to unintentionally offend your business partners who are representatives of a different culture.

• Cm.: Labunskaya V. A. Nonverbal behavior (social-perceptual approach). Rostov n/d: Phoenix, 1986.
• Cm.: Bagdasarova N. A. Lexical expression of emotions in the context of different cultures. M., 2004.
• Cm.: Fasgp J., Hall E. Language of the body. How to understand a foreigner without words. M.: Veche, 1995.

Communication is carried out through different means. There are verbal and non-verbal means of communication.

Verbal communication(sign) is carried out using words. Verbal means of communication include human speech. Communication specialists have calculated that a modern person pronounces approximately 30 thousand words per day, or more than 3 thousand words per hour.

Depending on the intentions of the communicants (to communicate something, to find out, to express an assessment, an attitude, to encourage something, to come to an agreement, etc.), various speech texts arise. In any text (written or oral) a language system is implemented.

So, language is a system of signs and methods of connecting them, which serves as a tool for expressing thoughts, feelings and expressions of people’s will and is the most important means of human communication. The language is used in a wide variety of functions:

• Communicative. Language acts as the main means of communication. Thanks to the presence of such a function in language, people have the opportunity to fully communicate with their own kind.
• Cognitive. Language as an expression of the activity of consciousness. We receive most of the information about the world through language.
• Rechargeable. Language as a means of accumulating and storing knowledge. A person tries to retain the acquired experience and knowledge in order to use them in the future. In everyday life, notes, diaries, and notebooks help us out. And the “notebooks” of all humanity are various kinds of monuments of writing and fiction, which would have been impossible without the existence of a written language.
• Constructive. Language as a means of forming thoughts. With the help of language, a thought “materializes” and takes on a sound form. Expressed verbally, a thought becomes distinct and clear to the speaker himself.
• Emotional. Language as one of the means of expressing feelings and emotions. This function is realized in speech only when a person’s emotional attitude to what he is talking about is directly expressed. Intonation plays a big role in this.
• Contact making. Language as a means of establishing contact between people. Sometimes communication seems to be aimless, its information content is zero, the ground is only being prepared for further fruitful, trusting communication.
• Ethnic. Language as a means of uniting the people.

Speech activity refers to a situation where a person uses language to communicate with other people. There are several types of speech activity:

• speaking - using language to communicate something;
• listening - perception of the content of sounding speech;
• writing - recording the content of speech on paper;
• reading is the perception of information recorded on paper.

From the point of view of the form of existence of language, communication is divided into oral and written, and from the point of view of the number of participants - into interpersonal and mass.

Any national language is heterogeneous; it exists in different forms. From the point of view of social and cultural status, literary and non-literary forms of language are distinguished.

The literary form of a language, otherwise known as a literary language, is understood by speakers as exemplary. The main feature of a literary language is the presence of stable norms.

Literary language has two forms: oral and written. The first is spoken speech, and the second is graphically designed. The oral form is original. Non-literary forms of language include territorial and social dialects, and vernacular.

For the psychology of activity and behavior, non-verbal means of communication are of particular importance. In non-verbal communication, the means of transmitting information are non-verbal signs (postures, gestures, facial expressions, intonation, glances, spatial location, etc.).

To the main nonverbal means of communication relate:
Kinestics - considers the external manifestation of human feelings and emotions in the process of communication. These include:

• gesture;
• facial expressions;
• pantomime.

Gesture

Gestures are various movements of the hands and head. Sign language is the most ancient way of achieving mutual understanding. In different historical eras and different peoples there were their generally accepted methods of gestures. At present, attempts are even being made to create dictionaries of gestures. Quite a lot is known about the information that gestures convey. First of all, the amount of gestures is important. Different peoples have developed and entered into natural forms expressions of feelings different cultural norms of strength and frequency of gestures. Research by M. Argyll, which studied the frequency and strength of gestures in different cultures, showed that within one hour, Finns gestured 1 time, the French - 20, Italians - 80, Mexicans - 180.

The intensity of gesticulation can increase with the increase in a person’s emotional arousal, as well as with the desire to achieve a more complete understanding between partners, especially if it is difficult.

The specific meaning of individual gestures varies across cultures. However, all cultures have similar gestures, among which are:

• Communicative (gestures of greeting, farewell, attracting attention, prohibitions, affirmative, negative, interrogative, etc.)
• Modal, i.e. expressing assessment and attitude (gestures of approval, satisfaction, trust and mistrust, etc.).
• Descriptive gestures that make sense only in the context of a speech utterance.

Facial expressions

Facial expressions are movements of the facial muscles, the main indicator of feelings. Studies have shown that when the interlocutor's face is motionless or invisible, up to 10-15% of information is lost. There are more than 20,000 descriptions of facial expressions in the literature. The main characteristic of facial expressions is its integrity and dynamism. This means that in the facial expression of the six basic emotional states (anger, joy, fear, sadness, surprise, disgust), all movements of the facial muscles are coordinated. The main informative load in facial expressions is carried by eyebrows and lips.

Eye contact is also an extremely important element of communication. Looking at the speaker not only shows interest, but also helps us focus on what we are being told. Communicating people usually look into each other's eyes for no more than 10 seconds. If we are looked at a little, we have reason to believe that we are treated poorly or what we say, and if we are looked at too much, it can be perceived as a challenge or a good attitude towards us. In addition, it has been observed that when a person lies or tries to hide information, his eyes meet his partner's eyes for less than 1/3 of the conversation.

Partly, the length of a person’s gaze depends on what nation he belongs to. Southern Europeans have a high gaze rate that may be offensive to others, and the Japanese look at the neck rather than the face when speaking.

According to its specifics, the view can be:

• Business - when the gaze is fixed in the area of ​​the interlocutor’s forehead, this implies the creation of a serious atmosphere of business partnership
• Social - the gaze is concentrated in the triangle between the eyes and mouth, this helps create an atmosphere of relaxed social communication.
• Intimate - the gaze is not directed into the eyes of the interlocutor, but below the face - to chest level. This look indicates a great interest in each other’s communication.
• A sideways glance is used to convey interest or hostility. If accompanied by slightly raised eyebrows or a smile, it indicates interest. If it is accompanied by a frowning forehead or drooping corners of the mouth, this indicates a critical or suspicious attitude towards the interlocutor.

Pantomime- this is gait, posture, posture, general motor skills of the whole body.

Gait is the style of movement of a person. Its components are: rhythm, step dynamics, amplitude of body transfer during movement, body weight. By a person’s gait one can judge a person’s well-being, his character, and age. In psychologists' studies, people recognized emotions such as anger, suffering, pride, and happiness by their gait. It turned out that a “heavy” gait is characteristic of people who are angry, and a “light” gait is characteristic of joyful ones. A proud person has the longest step length, and if a person suffers, his gait is sluggish, depressed, such a person rarely looks up or in the direction where he is going.

In addition, it can be argued that people who walk quickly and swing their arms are confident, have a clear goal and are ready to realize it. Those who always keep their hands in their pockets are likely to be very critical and secretive, as a rule, they like to suppress other people. A person with his hands on his hips strives to achieve his goals in the shortest way in the least amount of time.

Pose- this is the position of the body. The human body is capable of taking about 1000 stable different positions. Posture shows how a given person perceives his status in relation to the status of other persons present. Individuals with higher status adopt a more relaxed posture. Otherwise, conflict situations may arise.

Psychologist A. Sheflen was one of the first to point out the role of human posture as a means of nonverbal communication. In further research conducted by V. Schubz, it was revealed that the main semantic content of the pose consists in the individual’s placement of his body in relation to the interlocutor. This placement indicates either closedness or a willingness to communicate.

A pose in which a person crosses his arms and legs is called closed. Arms crossed on the chest are a modified version of the barrier that a person puts between himself and his interlocutor. A closed posture is perceived as a posture of distrust, disagreement, opposition, criticism. Moreover, approximately a third of the information perceived from such a position is not assimilated by the interlocutor. Most in a simple way The way out of this position is to offer to hold or look at something.

An open pose is considered to be one in which the arms and legs are not crossed, the body is directed towards the interlocutor, and the palms and feet are turned towards the communication partner. This is a posture of trust, agreement, goodwill, and psychological comfort.

If a person is interested in communication, he will focus on the interlocutor and lean towards him, and if he is not very interested, on the contrary, he will focus to the side and lean back. A person who wants to make a statement will stand straight, tense, with his shoulders turned; a person who does not need to emphasize his status and position will be relaxed, calm, and in a free, relaxed position.

The best way to achieve mutual understanding with your interlocutor is to copy his posture and gestures.

Takeshika- the role of touch in the process of nonverbal communication. Handshakes, kisses, stroking, pushing, etc. stand out here. Dynamic touch has been proven to be a biologically necessary form of stimulation. A person’s use of dynamic touches in communication is determined by many factors: the status of partners, their age, gender, and degree of acquaintance.

Inappropriate use of tactical means by a person can lead to conflicts in communication. For example, a pat on the shoulder is possible only under the condition of close relationships and equal social status in society.

Shaking hands- a multi-talk gesture known since ancient times. Primitive people, when meeting, extended their hands to each other with open palms forward to show their lack of weapons. This gesture has undergone changes over time, and its variants have appeared, such as waving the hand in the air, placing the palm on the chest and many others, including a handshake. Often a handshake can be very informative, especially its intensity and duration.

Handshakes are divided into 3 types:

• dominant (hand on top, palm turned down);
• submissive (hand from below, palm turned up);
• equal.

The dominant handshake is the most aggressive form of it. With a dominant (powerful) handshake, a person communicates to another that he wants to dominate the communication process.

A submissive handshake is necessary in situations where a person wants to give the initiative to another, to allow him to feel like he is the master of the situation.

A gesture called the “glove” is often used: a person clasps the hand of another with both hands. The initiator of this gesture emphasizes that he is honest and can be trusted. However, the “glove” gesture should be applied to people you know well, because at first acquaintance it can have the opposite effect.

A strong handshake, even cracking your fingers, is a hallmark of an aggressive, tough person.

A sign of aggressiveness is also shaking with an unbent, straight hand. Its main purpose is to maintain distance and prevent a person from entering your intimate area. Shaking the fingertips serves the same purpose, but such a handshake indicates that the person is not confident in himself.

Proxemics- determines the zones of the most effective communication. E. Hall identifies four main areas of communication:

• Intimate zone (15-45 cm) - a person allows only people close to him to enter it. In this zone, a quiet, confidential conversation is conducted, and tactile contacts are made. Violation of this zone by strangers causes physiological changes in the body: increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, rush of blood to the head, release of adrenaline, etc. The invasion of an “alien” into this zone is regarded as a threat.
• Personal (personal) zone (45 - 120 cm) - a zone of everyday communication with friends and colleagues. Only visual contact is allowed.
• Social zone (120 - 400 cm) - an area for holding official meetings and conducting negotiations, meetings, and administrative conversations.
• Public zone (more than 400 cm) - an area of ​​communication with large groups of people during lectures, rallies, public speaking, etc.

When communicating, it is also important to pay attention to vocal characteristics related to nonverbal communication.
Prosody- this is the general name for such rhythmic and intonation aspects of speech as pitch, volume of the voice, and its timbre.

Extralinguistics- this is the inclusion in speech of pauses and various non-morphological human phenomena: crying, coughing, laughter, sigh, etc.

The flow of speech is regulated by prosodic and extralingual means, linguistic means of communication are saved, they complement, replace and anticipate speech utterances, and express emotional states.

You need to be able not only to listen, but also to hear the intonation structure of speech, evaluate the strength and tone of voice, the speed of speech, which practically allow us to express our feelings and thoughts.

Although nature has endowed people with a unique voice, they themselves give it color. Those who tend to change the pitch of their voice sharply tend to be more cheerful. More sociable, more confident, more competent and much nicer than people who speak in a monotone.

The feelings experienced by the speaker are reflected primarily in the tone of voice. In it, feelings find their expression regardless of the words spoken. Thus, anger and sadness are usually easily recognized.

The strength and pitch of the voice provides a lot of information. Some feelings, such as enthusiasm, joy and disbelief, are usually conveyed in a high-pitched voice; anger and fear are also conveyed in a rather high-pitched voice, but over a wider range of tonality, strength and pitch. Feelings such as grief, sadness, and fatigue are usually conveyed in a soft and muffled voice with a decrease in intonation towards the end of each phrase.

Speed ​​of speech also reflects feelings. A person speaks quickly if he is excited, worried, talks about his personal difficulties, or wants to convince or persuade us of something. Slow speech most often indicates depression, grief, arrogance or fatigue.

By making minor mistakes in speech, for example, repeating words, choosing them uncertainly or incorrectly, breaking off phrases mid-sentence, people involuntarily express their feelings and reveal their intentions. Uncertainty in word choice occurs when the speaker is unsure of himself or is about to surprise us. Typically, speech impediments are more pronounced when nervous or when a person is trying to deceive his interlocutor.

Since the characteristics of the voice depend on the work of various organs of the body, their condition is also reflected in it. Emotions change the rhythm of breathing. Fear, for example, paralyzes the larynx, the vocal cords become tense, and the voice “sits down.” In a good mood, the voice becomes deeper and richer in shades. It has a calming effect on others and inspires more confidence.

There is also Feedback: With the help of breathing you can influence emotions. To do this, it is recommended to sigh noisily, opening your mouth wide. If you breathe deeply and inhale a large number of air, the mood improves, and the voice involuntarily decreases.

It is important that in the process of communication a person trusts the signs of non-verbal communication more than verbal ones. According to experts, facial expressions carry up to 70% of information. When expressing our emotional reactions, we are usually more truthful than in the process of verbal communication.

There is a varied division of functions between verbal and nonverbal means of communication: pure information is transmitted through the verbal channel, and the attitude towards the communication partner is transmitted through the verbal channel.

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION - communication through gestures (sign language), facial expressions, body movements and a number of other means, excluding speech. Nonverbal communication among different peoples has its own specific characteristics. .

In psychology, there are four forms of nonverbal communication: kinesics, paralinguistics, proxemics, and visual communication. Each form of communication uses its own sign system.

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION - These are non-verbal means of communication. They are needed in order to:

a) regulate the flow of the communication process, create psychological contact between partners;

b) enrich the meanings conveyed by words, guide the interpretation of the verbal text; express emotions and reflect the interpretation of a situation.

Nonverbal means, as a rule, cannot independently convey exact meanings (with the exception of some gestures). Usually they turn out to be coordinated in one way or another with each other and with verbal texts. The combination of these means can be compared to a symphony orchestra, and the word - to a soloist against its background. Mismatch of individual non-verbal means significantly complicates interpersonal communication. Unlike speech, nonverbal means of communication are not fully understood by both speakers and listeners. No one can have complete control over all their non-verbal means.

Nonverbal means of communication are divided into:

· visual(kinesics - movements of the arms, legs, head, torso; direction of gaze and visual contact; eye expression; facial expression; postures, in particular, localization, changes in postures relative to the verbal text);

Visual communication- This is eye contact, the initial study of which was associated with intimate communication. However, now the range of such studies has become much wider: signs represented by eye movements are included in a wider range of communication situations.

Kinesics is a system of means of communication, including gestures, facial expressions, and pantomime. The kinetic system appears as a clearly perceived property of general motor skills, various parts of the body (hands - gestures; faces - facial expressions; postures - pantomime). This gross motor activity of various parts of the body reflects a person's emotional reactions. The inclusion of an optical-kinetic system in a communication situation adds nuance to communication. These nuances turn out to be ambiguous when the same gestures are used in different national cultures. For example, a nod of the head among Russians and Bulgarians has exactly the opposite meaning: agreement among Russians and denial among Bulgarians. Expressive movements represent a kind of “subtext” to some text that you need to know in order to correctly reveal the meaning of what is happening. The language of movement reveals the internal content in external action. “This language,” wrote S. L. Rubinstein, “has the most refined means of speech. Our expressive movements are often metaphors. When a person proudly straightens up, trying to rise above the rest, or, on the contrary, respectfully, humiliatingly or servilely bows before other people etc., he himself depicts an image to which a figurative meaning is attached. Expressive movement ceases to be simply an organic reaction; in the process of communication, it itself becomes an action and, moreover, a social action, an essential act of influencing people."

· skin reactions (redness, sweating);

· reflecting distance(distance to the interlocutor, angle of rotation towards him, personal space); aids communication, including body features (gender, age) and means of their transformation (clothing, cosmetics, glasses, jewelry, tattoo, mustache, beard, cigarette, etc.); Proxemics- a special area of ​​psychology that deals with the norms of spatial and temporal organization of communication. The space and time of organizing the process act as a special sign system, carry a semantic load, and are components of communicative situations. Thus, placing partners facing each other promotes contact and symbolizes attention to the speaker; A shout in the back can have a negative meaning. The advantage of certain spatial forms of organizing communication has been experimentally proven both for two communication partners and in mass audiences. Similarly, some standards developed in different cultures, regarding the temporal characteristics of communication, act as a kind of addition to semantically significant information.

· acoustic or sound(paralinguistic, i.e. related to speech - intonation, volume, timbre, tone, rhythm, pitch, speech pauses and their localization in the text); Paralinguistic system– this is a vocalization system, i.e. the quality of the voice, its range, tonality.

· extralinguistic, that is, not related to speech - laughter, crying, coughing, sighs, gnashing of teeth, sniffling, etc.; Paralinguistic and extralinguistic sign systems are also “additives” to verbal communication.

· tactile-kinesthetic(physical impact - leading a blind person by the hand, contact dance, etc.; takeshika - shaking hands, clapping on the shoulder) and olfactory (pleasant and unpleasant odors environment; natural and artificial human odors).

Each specific culture leaves a strong imprint on nonverbal means, so there are no general norms for all of humanity. The non-verbal language of another country has to be learned in the same way as the verbal one.

A number of studies in the field of proxemics are associated with the study of specific sets of spatial and temporal constants of communicative situations. These isolated sets are called "chronotopes". For example, such chronotopes are described as the chronotope of a “carriage companion” and others. The specificity of the communication situation sometimes creates unexpected influence effects here: for example, not always explainable frankness towards the first person you meet, if this is a “carriage companion”.

Types of nonverbal means of communication

There are three main types of non-verbal means of transmitting information (or they are also called paralinguistic means of communication): phonation, kinetic and graphic.

Phonation non-verbal means include voice timbre, tempo and volume of speech, stable intonation, features of pronouncing sounds, filling pauses (uh, meh...). The kinetic components of speech include gestures, postures, and facial expressions. Graphic nonverbal means of communication are emphasized in written language.

Facial expressions

A special role in the transfer of information is given to facial expressions – movements of the facial muscles, which is not without reason called the mirror of the soul. The main characteristics of facial expressions are its integrity and dynamism. This means that in the facial expression of the six basic emotional states (anger, joy, fear, suffering, surprise and contempt), all movements of the facial muscles are coordinated.

Research by psychologists has shown that all people, regardless of the nationality and culture in which they grew up, interpret these facial configurations with sufficient accuracy and consistency as an expression of corresponding emotions. And although each mine is an expression of the configuration of the entire face, nevertheless, the main informative load is borne by the eyebrows and the area around the mouth (lips). By facial expressions we mean movements of the facial muscles. It should not be confused with physiognomy (the science with which one can judge the mental properties of a person by the shape of the face).

As Darwin established, human facial expressions are rooted in the animal world. Animals and humans have many common facial expressions - facial expressions of fear, fright, anxiety, etc. However, humans have specific feelings and their facial expressions - a state of inspiration, admiration, sympathy, enthusiasm, etc. Many human expressive means have developed from movements, which in the animal world had adaptive significance. Thus, the expression of hatred in a person by raising the upper lip is phylogenetically related to the frightening exposure of fangs in an animal preparing for a fight.

Facial expressions are associated with the spread of an intense excitatory process to the motor zone of the cerebral cortex - hence its involuntary nature. At the same time, a corresponding excitation of the entire sympathetic nervous system occurs. When expressing dissatisfaction, we purse our lips and pull them forward, wrinkling our face - all these movements are also performed in cases where the reflex of rejecting food that is not suitable for consumption is triggered. This suggests that many of our facial expressions are genetically linked to organic sensations.

Facial expressions are different:

Highly mobile facial expressions . Highly mobile facial expressions indicate liveliness and rapid change in the perception of impressions and internal experiences, and easy excitability from external stimuli. Such excitability can reach manic proportions.

Sedentary facial expressions. Indicates, in principle, the constancy of mental processes. It indicates a stable mood that rarely changes. Such facial expressions are associated with calm, constancy, prudence, reliability, superiority and balance. Sedentary facial play can, with reduced activity (motor strength and temperament), also produce the impression of contemplation and comfort.

Monotony and rare change of forms. If such behavior is accompanied by slowness and low tension, then we can conclude not only about mental monotony, but also about weak impulsiveness. The cause of this may be melancholic movement disorders, stiffness or paralysis. This behavior is typical in exceptionally monotonous mental states, boredom, sadness, indifference, dullness, emotional poverty, melancholy and depressive stupor (complete stiffness) resulting from an exaggerated sad dominant feeling.

Conjugate facial expressions . Most facial processes consist of many individual expressions. Statements like “he opened his mouth and opened his eyes”, “cold eyes contradict a laughing mouth” and others indicate that analysis is possible only by observing individual expressions and based on the conclusions obtained from this.

Facial movements are also divided into:

1) aggressive-offensive facial expressions - anger, rage, cruelty, etc.;

2) active-defensive – disgust, contempt, hatred, etc.;

3) passive-defensive – humility, humiliation, etc.;

4) facial expressions of an indicative and research orientation;

5) facial expressions of pleasure and displeasure;

6) camouflage expressions - facial expressions of hiding the truth, ambiguity, dishonesty, etc.

Sight

Very closely related to facial expressions sight, or visual contact, forming an extremely important part of communication. When communicating, people strive for reciprocity and experience discomfort if it is absent.

One of the most important elements of facial expression is the gaze. The gaze of a living creature, and especially the gaze of a person, is one of the most powerful stimuli, carrying a lot of information. In the process of communication, people's glances perform a synchronizing function - the rhythm of glances forms a certain channel of communication.

American psychologists R. Exline and L. Winters found that gaze is associated with the process of forming a statement and with the difficulty of this process. When a person is just forming a thought, he most often looks to the side (“into space”), when the thought is completely ready, he looks at the interlocutor. But about a second before the end of a separate speech block, the speaker turns his gaze to the listener’s face, as if signaling the onset of his turn to speak and assessing the impression he has made. The partner who took the floor, in turn, averts his eyes, delving into his thoughts. The listener, with his eyes, gives signals of his attitude to the content of the speaker’s statements - this can be approval and blame, agreement and disagreement, joy and sadness, delight and anger. Eyes express the whole gamut of human feelings. And not only the eyes themselves, but also the entire peri-ocular area.

If we are talking about difficult things, they look at the interlocutor less, when the difficulty is overcome, they look more. In general, the one who is speaking at the moment looks less at his partner - only to check his reaction and interest. The listener looks more towards the speaker and “sends” feedback signals to him.

Visual contact indicates a willingness to communicate. We can say that if they look at us a little, then we have every reason to believe that they treat us badly or what we say and do, and if they look at us too much, then this is either a challenge to us or a good attitude towards us.

With the help of the eyes, the most accurate signals about a person’s condition are transmitted, since the dilation or contraction of the pupils cannot be consciously controlled. With constant lighting, the pupils can dilate or contract depending on the mood. If a person is excited or interested in something, or is in high spirits, his pupils dilate four times their normal size. On the contrary, an angry, gloomy mood causes the pupils to constrict.

Thus, not only facial expression carries information about a person, but also his gaze.

The impression made by the gaze depends on the lumen of the pupils, the position of the eyelids and eyebrows, the configuration of the mouth and nose, and the general outline of the face. According to anthropologist Edward T. Hall, PLO leader Yasser Arafat wears dark glasses to prevent people from observing his reactions by dilating his pupils. Scientists have recently discovered that your pupils dilate when you are interested in something. According to Hall, pupil reaction has been known in the Arab world for hundreds of years. The combination of these signs is varied. Positive emotions increase the number of glances exchanged, while negative emotions reduce this number.

Thus, an analysis of all nonverbal communication systems shows that they undoubtedly play a large auxiliary (and sometimes independent) role in the communication process. Having the ability not only to strengthen or weaken verbal impact, all nonverbal communication systems help to identify such an essential parameter of the communicative process as the intentions of its participants. Together with the verbal communication system, these systems provide the exchange of information that people need to organize joint activities.

Although the face is generally agreed to be the main source of information about a person's psychological states, it is in many situations much less informative than the body, since facial expressions are consciously controlled many times better than body movements. Under certain circumstances, when a person, for example, wants to hide his feelings or conveys deliberately false information, the face becomes uninformative, and the body becomes the main source of information for the partner. Therefore, in communication, it is important to know what information can be obtained if you shift the focus of observation from a person’s face to his body and movements, since gestures, postures, and style of expressive behavior contain a lot of information. Information is carried by movements of the human body such as posture, gesture, and gait.

Gestures

Gestures are expressive movements of the head, arm or hand that are made for the purpose of communication, and which can accompany thinking or a state. We distinguish:

Index fingers;

they are directed towards objects or people in order to draw attention to them.

Emphasizing (reinforcing);

Emphasizing gestures serve to reinforce statements. Decisive importance is attached to the position of the hand.

Demonstrative; Demonstrative gestures explain the state of affairs.

Touching gestures. With the help of tangential gestures, they want to establish social contact or receive a sign of attention from a partner. They are also used to weaken the meaning of statements.

From the information that it carries gesticulation, quite a lot is known. First of all, the amount of gestures is important. No matter how different cultures differ, everywhere, along with an increase in a person’s emotional arousal, his agitation, the intensity of gestures increases, as well as with the desire to achieve a more complete understanding between partners, especially if for some reason it is difficult.

The specific meaning of individual gestures varies across cultures. However, all cultures have similar gestures, among which are:

1) communicative(gestures of greeting, farewell, attracting attention, prohibitions, satisfactory, negative, interrogative, etc.);

2) modal, i.e. expressing assessment and attitude (gestures of approval, dissatisfaction, trust and distrust, confusion, etc.);

3) descriptive gestures that make sense only in the context of a speech utterance.

There are also:

free

Involuntary gestures.

By arbitrary gestures are movements of the head, arms or hands that are performed consciously. Such movements, if performed frequently, can turn into involuntary gestures. Involuntary gestures are movements made unconsciously. They are often also referred to as reflex movements. These gestures do not need to be learned. As a rule, they are congenital (defensive reflex) or acquired.

All these types of gestures can accompany, supplement or replace any utterance. The gesture accompanying the statement is in most cases emphasizing and clarifying.

One of the most serious mistakes that beginners in the study of body language can make is the desire to isolate one gesture and consider it in isolation from other gestures and circumstances. For example, scratching the back of the head can mean a thousand things—dandruff, fleas, sweating, uncertainty, forgetfulness, or telling a lie—depending on what other gestures accompany it, so for correct interpretation we must take into account the entire range of accompanying gestures.

Like any language, body language is made up of words, sentences and punctuation. Each gesture is like one word, and a word can have several different meanings. You can only fully understand the meaning of this word when you insert this word into a sentence along with other words. Gestures come in the form of “sentences” and accurately indicate the actual state, mood and attitude of a person. An observant person can read these nonverbal sentences and compare them with the speaker's verbal sentences.

Nonverbal cues can also be congruent , those. corresponding to the verbal statement, and incongruent . For example, you asked your interlocutor to express his opinion about what you just said. At the same time, he is in a pose that generally expresses a critically evaluative attitude.

The main thing here is the gesture of “propping the cheek with the index finger,” while the other finger covers the mouth and the thumb lies under the chin. The next confirmation that the listener is critical of you is that his legs are tightly crossed, and his second hand lies across the body, as if protecting it, and his head and chin are tilted (hostile). This nonverbal sentence tells you something like, “I don’t like what you’re saying and I don’t agree with you.”

If your interlocutor told you that he disagreed with you, then his nonverbal signals would be congruent , i.e., would correspond to his verbal statements. If he says that he really likes everything you say, he will be lying, because his words and gestures will incongruent. Research shows that nonverbal signals carry 5 times more information than verbal ones, and when the signals are incongruent, people rely on nonverbal information in preference to verbal information.

Pose – this is the position of the human body, typical for a given culture, an elementary unit of human spatial behavior. The total number of different stable positions that the human body can assume is about 1000. Of these, due to the cultural tradition of each nation, some positions are prohibited, while others are fixed. The posture clearly shows how a given person perceives his status in relation to the status of other persons present. Individuals with higher status adopt more relaxed postures than their subordinates.

One of the first to point out the role of human posture as one of the nonverbal means of communication was psychologist A. Sheflen. In further research conducted by V. Schubz, it was revealed that the main semantic content of the pose consists in the placement of the individual’s body in relation to the interlocutor. This placement indicates either closedness or a willingness to communicate.

Shown, that " closed" postures (when a person somehow tries to close the front part of the body and take up as little space as possible; the “Napoleonic” pose - standing: arms crossed on the chest, and sitting: both hands resting on the chin, etc.) are perceived as poses of distrust, disagreement, opposition, criticism. "Open" same poses (standing: arms open with palms up, sitting: arms outstretched, legs extended) are perceived as poses of trust, agreement, goodwill, psychological comfort.

There are clearly readable poses of reflection (the pose of Rodin's thinker), poses of critical assessment (hand under the chin, index finger extended to the temple). It is known that if a person is interested in communication, he will focus on the interlocutor and lean towards him; if he is not very interested, on the contrary, he will focus to the side and lean back. A person who wants to make a statement, to “put himself out there,” will stand straight, tense, with his shoulders turned, sometimes with his hands on his hips; a person who does not need to emphasize his status and position will be relaxed, calm, and in a free, relaxed position. Almost all people can “read” poses well, although, of course, not everyone understands how they do it.

Cloth

One of the non-verbal means of receiving information is also our clothing. Clothes and the way a person would like to look reveal the role he would like to play in society and his internal position. The catchphrase “One meets by his clothes...” implies that a person, his inner essence is what his clothes are. Clothing is a kind of convention. The explanation can be given not by fashion, but by the direction of the style and its level.

J. Goethe in “The Years of Wanderings of Wilhelm Meister” tells how a wanderer asks the school overseer about the reasons for such differences in the clothes of the pupils. “The answer here is this,” answered the warden, “for us this is a means of finding out the character of each boy... From our stock of fabrics and trims, pupils have the right to choose any color, as well as any style and cut from a limited number. We closely monitor this choice, since any color allows us to judge a person’s mindset, and the cut – about a person’s lifestyle...”

The fact that there really are certain patterns in this observation is evidenced, in particular, by the Luscher test.

The Swiss psychologist M. Luscher proposed in our time a color test, which was not only a method of personality research, but also a whole direction in the science of color.

The essence of color tests is that the subject is asked to select the ones he likes most from a set of multi-colored cards and rank them, and then do the same with those he doesn’t like. Research has shown that color tests can reveal certain personality traits.

Red color is usually preferred by physically healthy, strong people; they live for today and feel the desire to get everything they want, today too. Children who choose red pencils from the palette are easily excitable and love noisy outdoor games. Red has long been a symbol of love and strength. And, apparently, it was no coincidence that in 1337 a decree was issued in France prohibiting commoners from wearing red clothes. Only kings, cardinals and senators enjoyed this privilege. As a rule, asthenized, tired people reject crane color.

Children who choose yellow are distinguished by the fact that they often go into the world of their fantasies. Having matured, they can, under certain circumstances, become dreamers “not of this world”; such people do not adapt well to life. Dislike for yellow can mean unrealized hopes (“broken dreams”) and exhaustion of the nervous system.

People who choose green are usually characterized by self-confidence and perseverance. They strive for security.

The preference for blue color reflects a person's need for stability and order. Blue color is often chosen by phlegmatic people.

Brown color is often preferred by people who are unsettled in life.

Color tests allow you to clearly record the dynamics of emotional states in a particular extreme situation.

But let's return to I. Goethe. “It’s true,” the warden continues, “there is human nature a trait that partly makes accurate judgments difficult: this is the spirit of imitation, the tendency to join the majority.”

Although the tendency to follow fashion is very strong in people, by the way a person dresses, one can judge to what extent he is susceptible to mental infection, group pressure and how independent he is in self-esteem. Some dress as inconspicuously as possible, trying not to draw attention to themselves in any way. Others prefer to wear bright, catchy, extravagant outfits. Still others are moderate in following fashion.

So, clothes can “say” a lot about the content of the spiritual essence of people. But, of course, it is impossible to draw final conclusions about a person based on it alone.

Decorations

An important detail in clothing is jewelry.

The means to decorate yourself include the following: tattoos, coloring and tattoos, hairstyle, perfumes, manicure, makeup, accessories.

With the help of jewelry, social status, willingness to make contact, aggressiveness, adaptability, adventurous nature, and personal characteristics are displayed. Jewelry in the form of cosmetics, wigs and perfumes serve in most cases as additional outfits.

Prestigious jewelry. Such decorations are often evidence of claims to possess a certain prestige. This way, you can show those around you what you are like by wiping their nose and putting them in their place.

Organization membership badge . Anyone who does not hide his belonging to a particular group of people wears a membership badge. For such a person, the membership badge represents a kind of evidence of prestige, with the help of which he expresses his membership in a certain group. At the same time, membership badges made of various metals give an idea of ​​the social scale of ranks within the association.

Cross. Thanks to its design (horizontal - height, vertical - stability, and right angle - fixity), the cross expresses precisely these properties. Due to the religious sense of security, it gives a feeling of certain security. Moreover, the choice of this decoration is not driven by actual demonstrated behavior, but by need.

Leather bracelets . Such decoration is also worn when there is no direct need (for athletes). It should express a distinctly strong nature and serve as a decorative strap on the wrist.

Pieces of fur and other trophies. If they are worn on the wrist or around the neck, then they signal endurance, and, judging by them, the winner can be determined.

Fur and tinsel. They give a soft, feminine impression. Direct contact of fur with skin indicates a desire to experience gentle treatment.

Small and elegant decorations. They express that their owner feels like a small and weak person who needs participation and careful handling. Anyone who wears small and delicate jewelry would like to appear as an amiable and warm-hearted person.

Large jewelry . They are usually conspicuous and express a desire to gain recognition of their social status. “I am more than you, I have more of everything than you, I am superior to you” - this is the meaning of such jewelry.

Gait a person, i.e., a style of movement, by which it is quite easy to recognize his emotional state. Thus, in studies by psychologists, subjects with great accuracy recognized emotions such as anger, suffering, pride, and happiness by their gait. Moreover, it turned out that the heaviest gait is with anger, the lightest - with joy, a sluggish, depressed gait - with suffering, the longest step length - with pride.

When trying to find a connection between gait and personality quality, the situation is more complicated. Conclusions about what gait may express are made by comparing the physical characteristics of gait and personality traits identified through tests.

31. The peculiarities of the content of each of the components and stages of the communication process are most fully reflected in the requirements for “good communication” (in the principles and rules for implementing the communicative function), as well as in the most typical errors and “barriers” of communication. The difficulties and sources of errors (“barriers”) of communications are as diverse as the psyche itself. At the same time, the most typical and repetitive ones stand out among them. Overcoming them is an integral part of the communicative function of a leader.

Perceptual-interpretative errors(conditioned by perception). People perceive the same situations differently and identify the main features in them, in their opinion. They are usually convinced that their individual point of view is the correct one. Depending on experience, area professional competence, interests and much more, the same information will be perceived and interpreted with very large differences or not understood at all and even actively rejected.

Dispositional errors are caused by differences in the social, professional and life attitudes of people entering into a communicative exchange. If, for example, a manager in past experience has developed a persistent negative attitude towards the perception of any member of the organization, it will be extremely difficult to overcome it even if the subordinate reports truly important and necessary information. This information will either be rejected, or misunderstood, or at least perceived with increased distrust.

Status errors possible due to large differences in the organizational status of communicants. It is very well known how difficult it can be for a “big leader” to understand the needs of a “simple worker.” The general rule here is: the greater the status differences, the higher the likelihood of this kind of error.

Semantic barriers arise due to the fact that the concepts of natural language have the property of polysemy, that is, polysemy and the presence of a number of semantic shades. Consequently, they allow for the possibility of ambiguous understanding by the speaker and the listener, which increases with differences in their attitudes, goals, status, and also depends on the general context of communications. Everyone has their own personal context, which leads to semantic differences and errors. They can affect not only different understandings of individual words, but also entire statements. For example, if a manager says: “Do this as soon as you have free time,” then the question will immediately arise about how he understands this “free time” and how the subordinate interprets it.

In general, all the noted types of errors can be summarized if we recall the well-known aphorism: “A thought expressed is a lie.” To paraphrase it, we can say that a thought expressed and perceived is doubly a lie. In this regard, the psychology of communication has formulated a rule: “The truth lies not in the lips of the speaker, but in the ears of the listener.”

Nonverbal barriers.

Ineffective inverse communication is also one of the sources of communication errors, which, as well as another error - the inability to listen, will be discussed in more detail below.

Poorly worded message. The “vagueness” of orders, their ambiguity, the presence of vague concepts in them, the poverty of lexical means, the use of words in a figurative sense, repetitions, the use of jargon and “everydayisms,” simply tongue-tiedness - all these are immediate, very common and fairly obvious causes of communication errors.

Information losses in communication cycles include the bottom of the main types of errors. Firstly, if the communication message is too long, cumbersome and complex, and often florid, then the listener manages to forget what was said to him at the beginning of the message. In this case, the listener’s short-term memory is overloaded, and information losses occur (hence the requirement for concise messages). Research shows that up to 50% of all communication information is lost because of this.

Secondly, downward vertical communications, most typical for a manager, form a chain. They are transmitted from the top manager to the next level in the hierarchy, from there to an even lower level, and so on - to the level of direct execution. It has been shown that with each subsequent transmission, about 10% of the information is lost or distorted. According to studies, only 63% of information sent by the board of directors reached vice presidents; 40% - to shop managers; 20% goes to workers.

Falsification errors. Ascending communication flows have their sources not from “impartial” transmitters, but from specific people. However, no other “transmitter” is capable of distorting (consciously or not) information so clearly and strongly, and sometimes more sophisticatedly, than a person. The most typical is for subordinates to provide information to a superior in a light favorable to both him and the sender. Falsification errors therefore constitute one of the main sources of a manager’s distrust of informative information and, as a consequence, uncertainty in his activities.

Premature assessment. This error is due to the fact that the listener makes a premature emotional assessment of the message without waiting for it to end. This emotional assessment forms an inadequate perception setting, and ultimately leads to an incorrect understanding of the entire message. A radical variant of this error is the situation when such an attitude blocks the perception of information.

"Mistakes of Fear." Often, a manager does not receive true information from subordinates or receives it in a distorted and embellished form due to the subordinates’ fear of him.

Rules for overcoming.

The most general rule is that one should not begin to communicate an idea unless it is understood or

Communication as a communicative process

Business communication is, first of all, communication, i.e. the exchange of information that is significant for the participants in the communication.

To carry out effective communication, it is necessary to clarify the following questions:

– what are the means of communication and how to use them correctly in the communication process?

– how to overcome communication barriers of misunderstanding?

In order for communication between individuals to become possible, certain means are needed by which communication is established and maintained. A special place is occupied by speech, which is characterized by content and richness of linguistic means, culture and expressiveness.

All means of communication are divided into two large groups: verbal (verbal) and non-verbal . Scientists, in particular A. Meyerabian, have found that the transfer of information occurs through verbal means by 7%, sound means (including tone of voice, intonation) by 38%, and through non-verbal means by 55%. Professor Birdwissle has done similar research regarding the proportion of non-verbal means in human communication. He found that a person speaks in words only for 10–11 minutes a day and each sentence on average lasts no more than 2.5 seconds. Verbal communication in a conversation takes up less than 35%, and more than 65% of information is transmitted using non-verbal means of communication.

Most researchers share the opinion that the verbal channel is used to transmit information, while the nonverbal channel is used to “discuss” interpersonal relationships, and in some cases, instead of verbal messages (a woman expresses her attitude towards a man with her gaze).

Regardless of a person’s cultural level, words and the accompanying movements coincide with such a degree of predictability that, with good preparation, one can determine by their voice what movement a person is making at the moment of pronouncing a particular phrase.

Nonverbal communication

A person’s nonverbal behavior is inextricably linked with his mental state, being a means of its expression. In the process of communication, nonverbal behavior acts as an object of interpretation not in itself, but as an indicator of individual psychological and socio-psychological characteristics of a person that are hidden for direct observation. People quickly learn to adapt their verbal behavior to changing circumstances, but body language is less flexible. Surprisingly, we rarely realize that posture, gestures and movements can contradict what the voice communicates. When we talk about having a hunch that someone is telling a lie, what we really mean is that we have noticed a discrepancy between verbal and nonverbal cues (the lecturers' sense of audience). For example, if listeners sit deep in their chairs with their chins down and their arms crossed, the receptive person will have a feeling that his message will not be successful.

Women are usually more sensitive than men due to feminine intuition. For the first few years, a mother relies only on nonverbal channels of communication with her child. It is believed that due to their intuition, women are better suited to negotiate than men.

There is heated debate as to whether nonverbal cues are innate or learned. Congenital (genetic) include the ability to suck in cubs; the ability to smile, as it is observed in both the blind and the deaf; folding your arms when crossing (left or right hand on top). Men wear their coats from the right sleeve, and most women from the left; When passing a woman forward, the man turns his face to her, and the woman turns her back, because she instinctively covers her chest.

But many nonverbal cues are learned.

Classification of nonverbal means of communication

1. Kinesics (kinesics) – visually perceived movements of another person that perform an expressive-regulatory function in communication. Kinesics includes expressive movements manifested in facial expressions, posture, place, gaze, and gait.

A special role is assigned facial expressions - movements of facial muscles. When the lecturer's face is motionless or invisible, up to 10–15% of information is lost. The main characteristic of facial expressions is its integrity and dynamism. This means that in the facial expression of the six basic emotional states (anger, joy, fear, suffering, surprise and disgust), all muscle movements are coordinated. Facial expressions do not depend on a person’s nationality and culture, i.e. they are expressed the same way. The main information load is carried by eyebrows and lips (the area around the mouth).

Closely related to facial expressions sight , or eye contact . When a person forms a thought, he often looks to the side (into space), when the thought is completely ready - at the interlocutor. If we are talking about difficult things, they look at the interlocutor less. In general, the one who speaks looks less at the interlocutor than the one who listens. Visual contact indicates a willingness to communicate.

With the help of the eyes, the most accurate signals about a person’s condition are transmitted, because the dilation and contraction of the pupils cannot be consciously controlled. The pupils dilate in high spirits, when interested in something (in constant lighting), and vice versa.

But the face in many situations is less informative than the body, since facial expressions are consciously controlled better than body movements, especially when lying.

Pose- the position of the human body typical for a given culture. The total number of different stable body positions is about 1000. Depending on cultural traditions, some poses are fixed, others are prohibited. The higher the status of a person, the more relaxed his poses. The pose also indicates closedness or a willingness to communicate.

“Closed” poses (the front part of the body is closed, and the person tries to take up as little space as possible) speaks of distrust, disagreement, criticism, and opposition.

“Open”poses – trust, agreement, goodwill.

Gestures depend on culture, social status, emotional state. Gestures are understood as easily as postures. Gesticulation increases with increasing emotional arousal and with the desire to achieve more complete mutual understanding.

The specific meaning of individual gestures varies in different cultures, but there are also similar gestures:

• communicative (greeting, farewell, attracting attention, prohibitions, etc.);
• modal (gestures of evaluation and relationships);
• descriptive, which make sense only in the context of a speech utterance.

Basic communication gestures

Happy people smile; the sad ones frown; angry - angry look; they don’t know or don’t understand something - they shrug their shoulders or shrug their shoulders; “yes” - they nod; “no” - shake their head from side to side (even infants have this gesture). But the type of culture also leaves its mark on nonverbal signals.

gesture “O¢okay”: in America - “everything is fine”, in France - “zero” or “nothing”, in Japan - “money”, in some countries of the Mediterranean basin this gesture denotes the homosexuality of men.

Thumbs up: in America, England, New Zealand - three meanings: “voting on the roads”, “everything is fine”, “insult” when thrown up sharply. In Greece - “shut up”.

V-sign with fingers: in the UK and Australia - an offensive interpretation; in most European countries - “victory”.

But one gesture cannot be interpreted in isolation; it is necessary to take into account the complex of gestures and circumstances accompanying them. Gestures, like words, come in the form of sentences and should be perceived the same way. talking man must be congruent, that is, words and gestures must match in meaning, and in case of contradiction, a lie arises.

Gait– a style of movement by which one can easily recognize a person’s emotional state. The heaviest gait when angry; the “easiest” is with joy; longest stride length with pride; sluggish, depressed gait - with suffering.

The following types of nonverbal communication involve voice.

2. Prosody and extralinguistics

Thanks to these speech means, the flow of speech is regulated, linguistic means of communication are saved; they complement, replace and anticipate speech utterances and express emotional states.

Prosody is the general name for the rhythmic and intonation aspects of speech: pitch, voice volume, timbre, stress force.

Extralinguistic system - inclusion of pauses in speech, as well as various kinds of psychophysiological manifestations of a person: crying, coughing, laughter, sighs, etc. Fast speech conveys excitement or concern; slow – depression, grief, arrogance, fatigue; high voice - enthusiasm, joy, distrust; soft and muffled voice - grief, sadness, fatigue.

You must be able not only to listen, but also to hear the intonation structure of speech.

Human voice is a characteristic feature in general impression, arising about a person, so that we can immediately identify many professions by voice, for example, teachers, military men, priests. In studies, from 60 to 90% of correct judgments regarding body size, fatness, mobility, inner peace and age were obtained, based only on voice and manner of speaking. At the same time, those who judged by intuition were 88% right, and those who analyzed rationally were only 20% right. The average person thinks more about the content of his words than about the way in which he speaks.

Speech speed corresponds to the dominant temperament or the so-called pace of life. It is difficult to change it arbitrarily, it can only be done for a short time. With true internal inclusion, the specific tempo of speech will be restored again.

IN speech behavior First of all, you need to evaluate:

• how facts are described, what type they are;
• how your partner answers your questions and reacts to them;
• what is his inner involvement, liveliness, mood, lexicon, way of expression, type of self-presentation.

It is necessary (during long conversations or first acquaintance) to pay attention to your favorite topic of conversation: this is the sphere of a person’s true interests or his situational problems.

3. Takesical means of communication - dynamic touches: handshake, pat, kiss. They are a biologically necessary form of stimulation.

In the absence of the required amount of touch, newborn children develop the so-called hospitalism effect, which leads to the inhibition of intellectual and emotional development, distortion of the self-concept, destruction of physical well-being, etc. General signs: weight loss, lethargy, apathy, increased drowsiness, muscle hypotonia, withdrawal from contact with others (lack of visual tracking, turning to the voice, humming in response to the caress of an adult), weak crying. In extreme forms, hospitalism can lead to serious mental illness (infantile marasmus, for example), chronic infection, and sometimes the death of the child.

The use of dynamic touches in communication is determined by the status of the partners, age, gender, and degree of acquaintance.

Handshake there is dominant, submissive, equal.

Pat more often used in close relationships, equality of the social status of those communicating.

Takesic means of communication, to a greater extent than other nonverbal means, serve as an indicator of status-role relationships and the degree of closeness of the communicators. Inappropriate use of tactical means by a person can lead to conflicts.

4. Proxemics

Communication is always spatially organized. The term “proxemics” literally means “closeness”, it was introduced by the American anthropologist E. Hall. Proxemic characteristics include the orientation of partners at the moment of communication and the distance between them. These characteristics are influenced by cultural and national factors.

Orientation and angle of communication- this is a turn of the body, the toe of the foot, etc. All this signals the direction of a person’s thoughts.

Positions at the table determined by the nature of communication:

• against– communication is competitive or defensive in nature;
• corner position- during a friendly conversation;
• on one side of the table– during cooperative (business) communication;
• diagonally(from different sides of the table) – independent position.

Distance between communication partners, or territory

Territory refers to the space that a person considers to be his own, as if this space is an extension of his physical body. This is the air space around the human body, it is quite clearly marked (E. Hall). The size of the “shell” depends on the population density of people in the place of residence, that is, it is socially and nationally determined. Personal territory can be divided into four spatial zones:

A) intimate(from 15 to 46 cm). This is the most important and most protected area. Children, parents, spouses, lovers, close friends and relatives, i.e. people who are in close emotional contact, are allowed at this distance. There is also a subzone with a radius of up to 15 cm - super intimate. You can penetrate it only through physical contact;

b) personal(from 46 to 120 cm). This is the distance that usually separates us at parties official receptions, evenings;

V) social(from 120 to 360 cm). We keep this distance from strangers, such as a plumber or a carpenter who is doing repairs in our house; a new employee at work, from people we don’t know well;

G) public(more than 360 cm). It is most convenient to be at this distance in relation to a large group of people.

near zones – A And b; distant - V And G.

It has been found that inward-directed (introverted) people tend to exhibit comparatively greater distance when speaking than outward-directed (extroverted) people. Crowding at concerts, cinema halls, and transport leads to the inevitable invasion of people into each other's intimate areas; people instinctively begin to defend themselves, and this in turn leads to rudeness, aggression, and even physical violence.

There are a number of unwritten rules of conduct western man
in crowded conditions :

• You are not allowed to talk to anyone, not even your acquaintances;
• It is not recommended to look directly at others;
• the person must be completely impartial - no display of emotions is allowed;
• if you have a book or newspaper in your hands, you should be completely immersed in reading;
• the more crowded it is in transport, the more restrained your movements should be;
• In the elevator, you should only look at the floor indicator above your head.

multi-storey housing complexes also have a negative impact on a person, since they deprive him of his personal territory.

Zonal spaces vary:

• at people of different nations: the Japanese have much less of them than the Americans, so Americans consider the Japanese to be overly familiar, and they, in turn, are “cold” and too official. During a conversation, it is interesting to watch them: moving slowly, the Japanese seems to be advancing, and the American is moving away;
• city ​​residents And rural areas. This can be observed when shaking hands. A villager will usually stand firmly on the ground and lean towards your handshake, while a city dweller will take a step forward when shaking hands. Residents of sparsely populated areas have personal spaces of up to nine meters, so they prefer to wave to each other as a sign of greeting.

A person regards his property or area regularly used by him as his personal territory, like personal airspace, and is ready to defend it. Therefore, in an unfamiliar house or during negotiations, it is better to ask the owner where his place is or wait until they show you the place.

Psychologists have noticed that people driving react completely differently to facts related to their territory. In some cases, the size of their territory increases 10 times, so they react strongly negatively to being overtaken or crossed. Others, on the contrary, perceive the car as a protective cocoon that isolates them from the outside world. Such a driver drives slowly along the side of the road, and this is also a source of trouble on the road.

It should be noted that nonverbal behavior of an individual is multifunctional. Nonverbal behavior:

• creates the image of a communication partner;
• expresses the quality and change in the relationships of communication partners, forms these relationships;
• is an indicator of current mental states of the individual;
• allows you to clarify, change the understanding of the verbal message, enhance the emotional intensity of what is said;
• supports optimal level psychological closeness between communicating;
• acts as an indicator of status-role relationships.