Have you ever gotten a bad first impression from a person because of his/her way of wearing, gesture, or tone of voice? If so, it is due to non-verbal communication.
Human beings need to communicate constantly, no matter what environment they are in; such communication is presented in humans through language. However, unlike what many believe, this exchange of information is not purely verbal or written and has greater relevance in the communicative process. Therefore, it is essential to recognize this type of communication in academic, family, and workplace environments.
First of all, non-verbal communication at the academic level takes on a much greater dimension since it positively or negatively affects the learning process. According to the article "The impact of the teachers' non-verbal communication on success in teaching", by the authors Fatemeh Bambaeeroo and Nasrin Shokrpour, from Shiraz University (Iran): "Through the use of nonverbal language, teachers draw the attention of students to greater understanding and motivate them, and even manage to connect with bored students"(p. 11, 2017); that is, if students observe in the teacher a good posture, cheerful face, hands-free and taste for teaching, they will correspond in the same way and learning will be effective.
Secondly, non-verbal communication applied to the family context is essential to bear in mind that the family is the first step of human education in which the behaviors are followed through the future and are learned in the early years. Such behaviors as eye contact, tone of voice, facial expressions, or physical contact create an appropriate environment for optimal development in interpersonal and/or family relationships. In this way, by having assertive nonverbal communication within the family nucleus, the messages of affection, solidarity, and interest for the other will be clearly reflected. Undoubtedly, knowing the importance of non-verbal communication encourages change in human attitudes.
The last but not the least type of communication is the importance of non-verbal communication at the workplace level, which can be reflected in adult life, for example, the first impression that an employer receives a candidate in a job interview. According to the analyst, consultant, trainer, and researcher in non-verbal behavior "For a position of responsibility in equal conditions a person with mature facial features is hired before a person with childish facial features"(Hakim, 2020) which is intimately related to one of the factors associated with behavior such as kinesis. In the case of the profession of the seller, it is extremely important to be consistent; if the product offered is pretended to be the best when it is known that it is not or pretends to believe in something that is not really believed in; the nonverbal behavior will give him/her away.
This is how the factors associated with verbal language and behavior, namely: tone, rhythm, tone of voice, volume, silences, facial expression, look, posture, gestures, proximity, and personal space determine what you really want to transmit. According to Albert Mehrabian, in the communicative process, 7% of the information is attributed to the word, 38% to the voice (intonation, projection, resonance), and 55% to body language (gestures, postures, eye movements)
In a nutshell, controlling body language is undoubtedly fundamental in our social relationships. In times where communication is the basis of society, our gestures are the key to achieving personal and professional success.
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