Psychology

Non-verbal communication or when abbreviated written as NVC in its simplest terms can be defined as the process of communication which is mainly conducted without the aid of words. This process of communication is mainly based on the fact that communication itself can take place without the usage of words, not only can it take place but it can also serve as an effective source of communication simultaneously.

Differences between non-verbal and other forms of communication
In order to have a clear understanding of non-verbal communication it is first better to understand the difference between non-verbal communication and other forms of communications. Linguistic proficient apply a very strict approach when using the word verbal as in their context the word verbal is used in the communication process which involves words. It is also important to mention here that verbal or oral communication is not used as a synonym to verbal communication by linguistic experts.
Another important difference between these forms of communication is that in non-verbal communication the numbers of channels available for the source to effectively communicate with its receiver are much more diverse present in any other setting of communication, messages are send to the receiver using gestures and postures which are able to effectively communicate the desired message to the receiver without the usage of any words.

The history of non-verbal communication dates back to 19th century when breakthrough advancement in exploring the characteristics of non-verbal communication come on the surface in the year 1872 by a book written by the renowned naturalist Charles Darwin titled as The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals, the book argued that all human beings show and manifest emotions reliably in their faces and a substantial proportion of communication conducted by people in their everyday life is based on non-verbal messages (Freitas-Magalhes 2006,p50).

In contemporary times the study of non-verbal communication has developed into a complete science of communication further sub-dividing into linguistics, semiotics and social psychology. Non-verbal communication is mainly based on arbitrary symbols and presentations which vary from one culture to the culture, nevertheless a considerable percentage of these symbols are also iconic and are universally understood such as anger, disgust, joy, sadness and fear. This form of communication also includes elements such as height, physique, weight, gender and odor which also help in the overall process of interaction, for example a study that was conducted in Vienna some time back about spinster women demonstrated that their sexual motivation and hormonal makeover was directly allied with the kind of clothes they wore which showed greater display of skin, even though verbal communication is completely sidelined from the situation it is the non-verbal message send by the kind of clothes worn which depicts their desire for copulation.

Another research which investigated different perceptions regarding heights showed that normally taller people are found to be more impressive, it is quite readily observed that whenever people want to be influential during their conversation and want to make a powerful impression they usually take support of a stand or a platform to increase their height thus making a better impact. In addition to this uniforms worn by police officers or officials of any other organization depict messages about their work and their position. (Andersen 2007, p53)

All such features collectively converge on the significance of non-verbal communication and its effectuality in the understanding of various communication settings in everyday life. In many times these situations develop a permanent and concrete position in the setting of the human mind promoting the development and generation of stereotypes, for example once a person is completely acquainted with the fact that a person who wears a police uniform is there to maintain law and order any such activity which is considered illegal or unlawful will be abstained that attracts his attention and leads to further deterioration of the entire situation. It is mainly because stereotype has developed in the minds using the technique of non-verbal communication which convinces the human mind about their role as law keepers.

Extensive research has been conducted on non-verbal communication to discover its multitude characteristics as the messages by non-verbal communication are often very subtle and hence human beings are not very consciously aware of this form of communication, hence non-verbal communication is categorized into a number of types. An understanding of these types is very important in comprehending the various aspects related to non-verbal communication.

Body language and postures
First and the most important of this is the type of facial expression. Facial expression can be used to convey a wide variety of messages, it is easily noted that a smile or a frown can be used as a tool for conveying a large spectrum of messages. Non-verbal communication and behavior can vary substantially from one culture to the other it is the facial expression of different emotions such as fear, anger and joy which occupy a uniform position throughout all cultures and nations.

Next in line to facial expressions are the gestures which are also closely allied with the former. Deliberate movements and gestures also occupy an important position when communicating messages without the usage of language. Commonly used gestures which include waving, pointing and other related to pointing number or figures are widely used by people. Other gestures excluding these are different in every culture.

Paralinguistic is a separate and complete branch of non-verbal communication in which communication takes place through vocal communication which is different from actual language. Many of these factors include such as tone of voice, loudness, pitch and inflection. It is not very difficult to realize the powerful impact that the tone with which the message is delivered can have a subsequent powerful effect on the meaning of the sentence. Something delivered in a strong tone will be interpreted in terms of enthusiasm but when the same thing is delivered in a rather hesitant tone conveys indifference and non-approval.

Another category of non-verbal communication which has been of media interest since the 1970s is the area of body postures and language which can provide a great deal of information to the source from the receiver however popular media has invested a lot of time and money on the over exposure of postures which were very revealing in nature. Postures such as leg-crossing, arm-crossing and defensive postures have always attracted a lot of media attention. While some non-verbal behaviors can comprehensibly manifest feelings and attitudes research experts and their studies suggest that the kind of messages and communication portrayed by body language are much more subtle and tedious to decrypt.

Next is the category of proxemics which is actually the personal space people often refer to as their need also constitutes an important branch of non-verbal communication. The distance that an individual requires and the amount of space perceived by individuals as being belonging to them comprises of many factors including social norms, level of acquaintance and personal characteristics. Studies have shown that when conversing with a familiar or acquainted person the distance is usually measured to be between 10 to 12 inches whereas distance increases to 15 to 18 inches when taking to someone we do not know.

Looking, gazing or winking also includes important non-verbal messages. It has been proved from scientific research that when people come across or view things that they like the rate of blinking increases considerably and their eye- pupils dilate. On the other hand encountering something that you did not like may give result to diverse emotions which can be hostile, interesting or attractive.

Touch communication or haptics as it is more scientifically known accentuates on the involvement. Extensive research on this particular topic shows that organisms who were deprived of this touch communication failed to develop interactive characteristics as compared to their counterparts. A very famous study conducted by Harry Harlow which was done on monkeys showed that monkeys who were deprived from this sensation and were raised from wire mothers showed impeding signs of development and stayed aloof from social interactions.

Last but not the least the appearance of the individual made up his garments and other things also constitute an important part of the entire non-verbal communication. Research conducted on color psychology has shown that different colors play an important role in invoking different moods. Moreover appearance can also help in developing different interpretations, judgments and physiological reactions.

A hypothesis put forward said whereas spoken language mainly comprises of events that are usually ignorant to the speakers, non-verbal codes are usually implied for the establishment and the strong maintenance of interpersonal relationships which is one of the most effective forms of communication, in order to maintain a rather polite and courteous tone in conversation non-verbal communication is much more preferred.

Functions of non-verbal communication
Nonetheless primary functions served by non-verbal communication have been summed to five which includes in providing correct and transparent expression to emotions, expressing interpersonal manners. Non-verbal communication also serves to accompany speech in properly managing cues of interactivity between the source and the receiver. This form of communication also plays a vital role in providing an opportunity to self-present ones personality. Last but not the least it is also important during the performance of various rituals and traditions and portraying the feelings of a person during such events. In addition to this by using non-verbal communication technique it is much easier to lie when compared to other forms of communication (Griffin, 2001). Such were the results disclosed by a study that investigated the relationship between deception and non-verbal communication. The study found out that in situations where people watched prepared interviews of people accused of stealing a wallet over 50 of the interviewees lied and one thing common in all these interviewees was that they had access to video recordings or written transcripts, in simpler words the greater the presence of concrete evidence available to interviewees, the greater the percentage of deception that was found in their statements, hence the study proved that whenever people tend to lie they normally take support of non-verbal communication techniques such as voice tone or facial expression which coerces other people to believe that they are speaking a fake truth.

Relations between verbal and non-verbal communication
Study of the interrelationship between verbal and non-verbal communication is also important in understanding the major salient features of non-verbal communication. Linguistic experts have found that both these types of communication interact with each other in six different ways. First and foremost is the setting of repeating which involves the usage of gestures repeatedly in order to strengthen the impact of the message such as periodically pointing on the object of discussion (Calero 2005, p24).

Next in line is the communication setting of complementing. Through the procedure of complementing the interpretation of the message is made much easier as both verbal and non-verbal methods of communication complement each other. In such a communication situation non-verbal cues are mainly used to enforce and highlight the subsequent importance of verbal messages which ultimately plays an important role in the achievement of the desired objectives. It has been proved through research methods that messages make a much deeper and better impact when verbal and non-verbal communication correspond each other(Hertenstein, Holmes, McCullough and Keltner,2009).

Contrary to the communication setting described above is that of conflicting. It might not be difficult to understand the literal meaning of conflicting as it implies to messages in which verbal and non-verbal messages contradict each other. Examples of this kind of communication might be difficult to point out but if a person is verbally pointing out a certain issue and at the same time is busy fidgeting using his eye contact might not be able to convey a fix particular message to the receiver and hence a the probability of a clash between the two kinds of communication enhances substantially. Such kinds of messages may arise due to various reasons out of which ambivalence, uncertainty or frustration. When such a situation occurs the best way to rescue the situation is to take immediate support of verbal communication so that the message being transferred can take place without any misunderstandings or semantic noise in the entire noise is greatly reduced to enhance the clarity of the message being sent (Calero 2005, p65).

Following the interaction of conflict is the setting of substituting which in actuality describes the effectiveness in using non-verbal means of communication. The communication process of substituting is solely based on non-verbal means of communication as it allows an individual complete liberty to identify facial expressions, body postures and positioning implying to specific feelings, emotions and sentiments. The significance of this communication can be judges with the fact that message fidelity can be made be very simple in this particular setting by the easy usage of non-verbal messages, whereas in circumstances when non-verbal communication is found to be acting ambiguous or vague verbal messages for enhancing clarity and comprehensibility are used (Calero, 2005, p97).

Next is the communicative interaction of regulating, through non-verbal messages our communication is also regulated for example by touching someones arm even though words are not delivered but the message through non-verbal means is clearly communicated that an interruption in the ongoing process of conversation is required.

Last but not the least is the communication setting of moderating which is also known as accenting. In this kind of setting non-verbal messages are used to alter the interpretation of the message. Non-verbal behavior is used to amplify, moderate or slow down the message being communicated even if they are being communicated verbally (Jones  Quach, n.d).

Difficulties of non-verbal communication
The potential of human beings to comprehend and send non-verbal messages vary on the basis of gender, thus on the basis of a moderate degree women are found to be much better in decrypting and decoding non-verbal messages and communication than males. Calculations and mathematical procedures applied by linguistic experts to measure the potentials of conducting non-verbal communication and its relation empathy demonstrated that both these qualities are mutually exclusive to each other. People if not completely well-versed in non-verbal communication can develop difficulties in fostering interpersonal relationships nevertheless there are courses and methods through which they can overcome this loophole of their personality very effectively. People who usually face difficulty in communicating non-verbally with others are those who are infected by either autism spectrum disorders or with Asperger Syndrome.

Conclusion
In conclusion it would be important and appropriate to say that both kinds of communication whether verbal, non-verbal or third or fourth category of communication that is prevalent and practiced at large by masses, the very presence of the kind of communication manifests and provides the testimony about the effectuality of that certain setting of communication. All kinds of communication methods that God has blessed man with portray His attributes that despite of providing human beings with a tongue He has also provided them with the potential of communicating effectively even when they are not using it. Similarly if one wants to realize the true significance of non-verbal communication he or she must observe a person who cannot speak and whose entire life is based on facial expressions, body postures and kinesics provided by non-verbal communication.