Communicative Behaviour

Human beings communicate a great deal by use of their bodies. Our inner responses to situations are normally communicated through our bodies. Body language can also be misread.Non-verbal communication refers to a wide array of behaviours bu which we communicate messages without the use of our voices.Such behaviours are referred to as communicative behaviours.The most obvious non-verbal behaviour are seen in our gestures, posture, movements and in our use of objects, space and time.

POSTURE, GESTURES AND MOVEMENT

These are most obvious means of communicating our feelings and attitudes.These meanings are culturally determined and may vary from place to place.Posture in any context is a crucial indicator of attitude and helps to determine how others willl react towards you. Gestures enhance a verbal presentation, while movements may also suggest timidity, doubt and fear but one has to be careful not to misread the meaning of a person's movements.

Use of space-PROXEMICS

Proxemics is an overlooked form of communication. People who are skilled in communication know how to use space to their advantage and they influence the behaviour of others.

Interpersonal space can be divided into several categories:

Intimate distance used for embracing, touching and whispering
Personal distance used for interactions among good friends
Social distance used for interactions among acquaintances
Public distance used for public speaking.

Distances decribed are culturally based. Knowing about these differences and what is socially acceptable distance allows for better cross-cultural communication.

When someone leans close to you in a social gathering you may feel several different emotions depending on how you perceive this change in social distance.

KINESICS

This is the interpretation of body language such as facial expression and gestures, or more formally, non-verbal behaviour related to movement of the body or any part of the body. It is also culture bound. The movement of the body, or separate parts, conveys many specific meanings and they carry a risk of being misinterpreted.

Use of the time-CHRONEMICS

This refers to the use of time, waiting or pausing.These are generally used to get your attention.

DRESS

Our dress communicate our social standing, especially in those cultures where specific clothes are worn only by specific individuals. Colour is also used symbolically. Women in positions of power often wear red. Black is associated with mourning. Costumes also depict some aspect of nature or some historical or social event.

PARALANGUAGE

This is used to modify meaning and convey emotions. Paralanguage includes pitch, volume and intonation of speech. It is also revealed in text communication via the internet.Shouting or speaking softly each changes the way that a message might be interpreted. Our laughs, cries and moans all have meaning and communicate some feeling or emotion. Vocal segregates such as ooh, eh and mmmh may appear incomprehensible but each has some special meaning whether it is acceptance, agreement or uncertainty.