Foundation: Professionalism and Communication: Nonverbal Communication

Foundation: Professionalism and Communication

Communication

Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication* (body language) includes:

Facial expressions,
Body movements,
Gestures,
Posture,
Eye contact,
Physical contact,
Proxemics (physical distance).

* There are mixed viewpoints in terms of the percentage of how much our communication is nonverbal in comparison to other forms of communication. Even though Birdwhistell was one of the pioneers to research nonverbal communication (Calero, 2005), his work was not widely accepted (Strain, 2020). While Mehrabrian’s 7% Rule took flight as a mainstream formula, there have been stated opinions that the statistics were taken out of context (Yaffe, 2011).

Mehrabian's contested 7-38-55 Rule: Communication is interpreted through 7% spoken, 38% tone of voice, and 55% body language

Image source: London Image Institute, 2020