Verbal Vs Nonverbal Communication

When we speak, we use much more than just words. We also communicate with our face, our hands, and even our own body. This kind of communication can be called "body language" or "non-verbal communication". Non-verbal communication not only includes how we move our body, but also hand gestures, facial expressions including eye contact, and how we use our voice. Psychologists estimate that between 60% and 80% of all of our communication with other people is non-verbal. We communicate a wide range of information non-verbally. We also show our feelings, attitudes, moods, hopes and wishes far better with non-verbal language than with words. Not only is a large QUANTITY of communication non-verbal in nature, but the QUALITY is high as well.

Using our hands, we can emphasize our main points, remind our listener how many main points we have, and let our listener know when we are changing topics. A dramatic movement of the hand or moving our hands wide apart can signal how important something is. We can even use two fingers, either close together or far apart, to show how big something is. To show VERY strong feeling we could clap our hands together loudly or make a fist (put our fingers in a ball as though we want to hit someone) and hit a table or desk. To show that we welcome someone, on the other hand, we can hold our hands out with the palms up, and maybe move them towards a chair to invite someone to sit next to

People in some countries do not count the same way as in China. In France, for example, people do not count "one" by holding up their first finger, called the "index finger". Instead, they hold up their thumb. In Japan, some people put their thumb DOWN (with the four fingers up) to mean "one"! This can create confusion sometimes, so be sure not to use only non-verbal communication. Use words too, so that your listener will be sure to understand you.

Some hand gestures that are popular are waving to someone as a greeting or holding your index finger and thumb into a circle to mean "okay". However, there are some countries where these can have bad meanings! It's important to be careful when using certain common gestures. Don't assume that everyone in the world understands one gesture in the same way. Still, you can use basic gestures most of the time, then when you see a strange reaction from your listener, you can make sure to emphasize your real meaning by using words and a different hand