What do we usually mean by the word "communication"? Contact with pleasant people, exchange of information, interaction. At a time when every action should be beneficial and profitable, it is increasingly said that communication should be “effective”. This implies that every act of communication has a goal, and in order to achieve it in preparation for an important conversation, you should consider not only what you will be talking about, but also the non-verbal component, that is, your gestures, posture, clothes and location relative to the interlocutor. Below we consider what non-verbal communication is made up of and what sign systems it consists of.
Non-verbal communication is non-verbal behavior, communication in which gestures and other signs are used. This is a way of “saying without words,” and sometimes our body “speaks” for us, which we may not be fully aware of. Such communication occurs even when there is no verbal exchange. There are various ways in which types of non-verbal communication are classified. One of them distinguishes the following sign systems:
1. Optical-kinetic system. These include facial expressions and gestures. Obviously, the general motility of individual parts of the body (hands, face) conveys the emotional reactions of the interlocutor and usually reinforces and complements the information we obtained from his words. Widely described misunderstandings arising from incorrect interpretation of gestures, for example, by representatives of different cultures. It is also widely believed that it is by gestures that one can understand what is actually in your minds of your “vis-a-vis”, many books have been published on this subject. And although the nose can be scratched not by a liar, but by an allergy sufferer, the observant interlocutor does not miss this component from attention. The main mistake made by many who are just beginning to comprehend the science of “reading” gestures is to interpret each of them individually. Like other sign systems that make up non-verbal communication, a system of signs and gestures is capable of and, conversely, weaken the effect of words.
2. Paralinguistic, extralinguistic systems. They supplement speech by using means such as voice timbre, pitch, pace, laughter, pauses in conversation. In written messages, for example, on the Internet, where the set of these tools is limited, so-called emoticons are used. They are not speech units, but specify the meaning of the transmitted message; what is important is that they are international.
3. The organization of such conditions of the communicative process as space and time. This is also an important component of the communication situation. The way the interlocutors are located relative to each other expresses their degree of trust and attention to each other, and at the beginning of the conversation can set the tone for the whole conversation. Therefore, such attention is paid to where the head table is located, and where a place for visitors is organized; how the participants are sitting in the negotiations. Non-verbal communication also consists of such moments as adherence to the norms of distance between interlocutors adopted in a particular culture . In many countries, for those not too close friends, this distance should not be reduced to 40 cm, otherwise, instead of trust, the interlocutor will feel only hostility. A special field of knowledge dealing with the issues of temporal and spatial organization of communication is also highlighted - this is proxemics. It highlights, among other things, the specific spatio-temporal characteristics of certain situations (chronotopes - the term of A.A. Ukhtomosky). For example, this is the well-known effect of the "carriage companion" when unfamiliar people become especially frank with each other.
4. Eye contact. How successfully non-verbal communication develops depends to a large extent on how often and for how long the interlocutors look into each other's eyes. It is eye contact (or lack thereof) that helps us understand whether a partner is interested in a conversation, how open it is to communicate.
We can say that non-verbal communication, possessing the listed sign systems, is able to most fully convey the meaning of a speech message. However, there is an important condition: all participants in communication should use a single "language", a code. But highlighting signs, units, like words in speech, is a difficult task. It was repeatedly tried, for example, by K. Birdwistle or P. Ekman. Nevertheless, non-verbal communication is inextricably linked with speech, supplements and even replaces it, and knowledge of its components helps to competently build communication to solve everyday and work tasks.