What_Is_Demonstrative_Communication

What is Demonstrative Communication' Stuart Mackey BCOM/275 July 2, 2012 Elia Parrish What is Demonstrative Communication' “Once a human being has arrived on this earth, communication is the largest single factor determining what kinds of relationships he makes with others and what happens to him in the world” (Virginia Satir). “Communication may have several interpretations for example to a student in class, it is a means of learning new concepts and skills, but to friends and co-workers, it is the tool that helps us get a long” (Cheesebro, O’Connor, Rios, 2010).  Communication can be defined as the process of sending and receiving messages. There are many types of communication but in this essay you will read about demonstrative communication.   This essay will discuss what demonstrative communication is, how it can be communicated, and whether it can be effective and ineffective, positive and negative, for the sender and receiver. This essay will also provide examples showing how demonstrative communication can be used. So what is demonstrative communication' Demonstrative communication can be defined as the process of sending and receiving messages. It involves the exchanging of thoughts, messages, or information. Demonstrative communication can be used in almost any circumstance to provide feedback, both negative and positive, to either the sender or receiver, or both. Demonstrative communication includes nonverbal and unwritten communication and involves such things as facial expressions, paralinguistics , body language, and so forth. The first nonverbal way to provide demonstrative communication that will be talked about is through facial expressions. Facial expressions comprise a considerable amount of nonverbal communication. Consider how much information can be conveyed with a smile or a frown. Cherry (n.d.), “While nonverbal communication and behavior can vary dramatically between cultures, the facial expressions for happiness, disgust, sadness, anger, surprise and fear are similar throughout the world.” These six expressions provide a sense of feedback of positivity or negativity to the sender from the receiver. The expressions for happiness and surprise may be considered as source of positive feedback; whereas, the ones for disgust, sadness, anger, and fear show a negative feedback. Each of these may be displayed with certain attributes of the face. Steele (2010), “Happiness, can be shown with round eyes, smiles, raised cheeks. Disgust can be shown with a wrinkled nose, lowered eyelids and eyebrow, raised upper lip. Fear may be expressed with around eyes, open mouth. If someone is angry they lower eyebrow and stare intensely. Surprise can result in raised eyebrow, wide open eyes, opens mouth. For sadness the area around mouth and eyes. With our 80 facial muscles we can create more than 7,000 facial expressions.” Even though we may show so many facial expressions there are still other ways to demonstrate feedback non-verbally. The second nonverbal way to provide demonstrative communication that will be talked about involves paralinguistics. Cherry (n.d.), “Paralinguistics refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language. It may be expressed through tone of voice, loudness, inflection and pitch. Consider the powerful effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of a sentence.” If a loud, strong tone is used the receiver may interpret this as anger. The same words said in a high pitch with a happy tone of voice might convey excitement and interest. Paralinguistics becomes very important when communicating with someone by telephone. By noting the tone of voice over the phone, the receiver can judge how to proceed with their conversation. However, if communicating in person, the next example of demonstrative communication may prove to be a more useful way to gain feedback. The last nonverbal way to provide demonstrative communication that will be talked about involves body language. Cherry (n.d.), “According to various researchers, body language is thought to account for between 50 to 70 percent of all communication.” Some examples of body language are the nodding of the head, movement of the hands, crossing arms, rolling eyes, etc. Each type of body language may be interpreted differently according to the circumstance. A type of positive feedback may include the nodding of the head or thumbs up. Types of negative feedback may be displayed by rolling eyes or crossing arms. Cherry (n.d.), “While these nonverbal behaviors can indicate feelings and attitudes, research suggests that body language is far more subtle and less definitive that previously believed. Understanding body language is important, but it is also essential to remember to note other clues such as context and to look at signals as a group rather than focusing on a single action”. Now that we know about some ways demonstrative communication can be expressed, let us explore whether it can be effective and ineffective, positive and negative, for the sender and receiver in certain examples. In the first example an individual, Bob, is in an interview for a job and is being asked several questions by the interviewer about his resume and life experiences. As the interview is proceeding, Bob notices that the interviewer is frowning when he is talking about his first job. Bob can perceive this as negative feedback from the receiver and use it in an effective way to talk about something he has accomplished on his resume that he knows will go over well. In this example, demonstrative communication will help Bob to gain a better understanding of what the interviewer is looking for. For the second example, a kid has just made honor roll and has decided to call his parents to tell them the news. As the kid tells his mom about his accomplishment, his mom begins to talk to him in a high pitch and happy tone of voice. This tone of voice provides positive feedback to the kid in an effective way because he is able to interpret her expression of happiness. For the last example, a friend has just received a phone call and is told that his sister was in a car wreck. In response he slams is hands down and slouches in his chair. Even though I was unable to hear the conversation, I was able to perceive from the feedback of his body language that something bad had just happened. This gave me effective feedback on how his mood had changed. These examples show that through facial expression, paralinguistics, and body language someone can gain many types of feedback. Cherry (n.d.), “In many cases, we communicate information in nonverbal ways using groups of behaviors. For example, we might combine a frown with crossed arms and unblinking eye gaze to indicate disapproval.” The nonverbal communication that demonstrative communication consists of allows for both the sender and receiver to have a deeper form of communication because they are able to perceive ones inner thoughts through facial feature, paralinguistics, and body language. References Cheesebro, T., O'Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the Workplace. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Cherry, K. (n.d.). Phycology: Types of nonverbal communication. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/a/nonverbaltypes.htm Steele, J. (2010). Speechmastery. Retrieved from http://www.speechmastery.com/facial- expression.html