Demonstrative_Communication

Demonstrative Communication BCOM/275 December 24, 2012 Thomas Y. Shivers Demonstrative communication plays a very important role in all aspects of life as we know it today. Although technology has changed the way we communicate in many ways, it cannot totally change the way we communicate nonverbally. Demonstrative communication focuses more on the nonverbal and unwritten forms of communication. The communicative importance of demonstratives is reflected in a number of properties that together characterized them as a particular world-class. Demonstrative constitutes a small class of linguistic expressions that occur in all languages across the world. English has only four demonstratives: this, that, here and there. In contrast to other close case expression demonstratives are universal, they are generally so old that their rules cannot be traced back to the other linguistic items, amongst the earliest words that children learn, and they are closely tied to a particular gesture. (Hogler, Diessel). The one gesture in particular is pointing. A substantial portion of our communication is nonverbal. Every day we respond to thousands of nonverbal clues and behaviors including postures, facial expressions, eye gazing, gestures, and tone of the voice. Other forms of nonverbal clues are handshakes hairstyles and clothing because they reveal to others who we are and it impacts how we relate to one another. While many of these signals are often so subtle that we are not consciously aware of them, they do send a message to other people. Facial expressions are responsible for a huge portion of nonverbal communication. There is so much information conveyed with a smile or frown, while nonverbal communication behaviors can vary dramatically between cultureless, the facial expression for happiness, sadness, anger and fear are similar throughout the world. Gestures are deliberate movements and signals such as waving, pointing, and use of fingers to indicate numeric amounts. Paralinguistic refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language include such factors as the tone of voice, loudness, infliction and pitch. When something is said in the strong tone of voice, listeners might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words say in a hesitant tone of voice my conveyed disapproval and a lack of interest. Body language and posture can also convey a great deal of information, defensive postures such as arm-crossing, leg-crossing and the rolling of eyes on nonverbal behaviors that can indicate feelings and attitudes. Proxemics is often referred to people who need their personal space this is also considered an important type of nonverbal communication. The amount of distance we need and the amount of space we perceive as belonging to us is influenced by a number of factors including social norms, situational factors, personality characteristics and level of familiarity. Gazing is when you're looking, staring and blinking at someone or something; it is an important nonverbal behavior. When people encounter individuals or things that they like, the rate of blinking increases and the pupils dilate. The way one looks at another person can also indicate a range of emotions, interest, attraction and hostility. Haptics is communicating through touch. Touch impedes development and it plays an important role in behavior and social interactions. Touch can also be used to communicate affection, familiarity, sympathy and other emotions. Appearance is considered a nonverbal communication because of how choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, body hair, body odor, tattoos, body shape and other factors that affect how choose to look on a daily basis. Appearances demonstrate one's sense of style and the colors one chooses can evoke different moods. A person's appearance gives individuals a first impression of them which is important in many situations. There is a positive and negative effect to demonstrative communication, for example if you were in a meeting and you sitting there with your arms crossed and a frown on your face, that will be telling the people in the meeting that you're not really interested in what they're saying, or that you hear them but you are not in agreement with what they are saying and send negative feedback to the individuals in the meeting. A positive form of demonstrative communication would be interviewing a potential Accountant; the individual would make an effective entry, make eye contact, a firm hand shake , and introduce himself. The applicant would be confident, speak clearly, and dressed professionally. He or she would be well groomed and prepared to sit up straight and conduct a thorough interview. When individuals are engaged in a conversation body language is very important because it shows the speaker that one is engaged, listening carefully and getting the full understanding of the message being sent to them. The way in which one keeps his or her personal space is a nonverbal demonstrative communication. If someone's personal space is neat and organized it shows that they are likely to be well prepared. Have a cluttered space lets people know that one is likely to be unorganized, ill-prepared, messy and doesn't take stock in their work. Demonstrative communication reflects how the receiver perceives the information being conveyed. Effective communication involves more than just understanding the information, it involves the shared understanding of the feelings, thoughts, wants, needs, and intentions of the communicator, which may be openly express verbally and non-verbally. References Cheesboro, Thomas, Communicating in the Workplace; (2010) Thomas Cheesboro, Linda O'connor, Francisco Rios (Chapter 4) Diessel, H. (2006), Demonstrative, joint attention, and the emergence of grammar. Cognitive Linguistics, 17(4), 463-489. doi:10.1515/COG.2006.15 (American Psychological Assoc.) Schmid, P., Schmid Mast, M., Bombari, D., & Mast, F. (2011) Gender Effects in Information Processing on a Non Verbal Decoding Task Sex Roles, 65(1/2), 102-107, doi:10, 1007/s11199-011-9979-3