Unspoken Communication

For real communication to take place two or more people must, share some portion of themselves with another. Communication is more than a two way street: it is a meeting of minds. Whether listeners and readers agree or disagree with another person statement. Listening and reading skills, as well as the unspoken forms of communication, comprise an important part of a person’s ability to communicate. That is why attention must be given to each form of communication before the more detailed exploration of the creative arts of speaking and writing. Context is so important that we rarely think about it consciously. For example, an infant waking from a nap may cry just simply for physical needs or to receive attention. Another example, you walk into a room and an awkward silence ensues, we wonder if we were the topic of conversation of if those already in the room were having a private conversation that cannot be continued in our presence. Body language is what the other person sees even before he or she hears a word, but it is also those messages that continue to be transmitted unconsciously throughout any encounter. Each person’s body language speaks a message that at times may conflict with his or her words, but correctly interpreted the unspoken message is the more honest. Perception of another person’s message includes assimilation of at least some information about his or her facial expression, stance, and gestures. Distance and touch may be considered part of body language or apart from it as separate forms of unspoken communication. Distance is both physical and psychological. Two people talking across a table in a conference room are physically more distant than two colleagues would be if discussing something in the corridor, but the physical distance is not the only determinant. Touch, remains a particularly strong form of communication, even when stylized in such forms as the handshake or dance. Each society has its rules and taboos about touch. These govern not only who may touch whom but under what circumstances and where on the body.