Nonverbal Essay

Read:  Chapter 6 (pgs138 – 163) Nonverbal Communication

Observe two people in a conversation from a distance – you should not be able to hear what they’re saying. Make sure you are in a public place and the people you are watching do not know you are observing them. Watch the two individuals as they converse or interact for about five to ten minutes and make note of their artifactual communication, kinesics (gestures, body movements and posture), affect display — facial expressions/emotional expressions, eye movements, proxemic (distance), and haptics – touch communication (or lack of it). From your observations write a short two page – about 600 words — descriptive essay about the nonverbal communication and the nature of the relationship that you observe. The essay must have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Explain your choices. Be sure to integrate and underline at least five book terms from the chapter on nonverbal communication – use some of  the terms  I underlined in this paragraph – 10 points will automatically be deducted if the book terms are not incorporated into the essay – not listed, but actually used correctly to describe part of the observation.

The following questions should be answered within your essay:

1. What is the communication context? Describe the      location, time of day, clothes each is wearing, gender of each, estimated      age of each person, and any other relevant information to set up the      observation.
2. What does the nonverbal communication of the      individuals reveal to you? Give examples.
3. What is the relationship between the two people?      What makes you think so?
4. Is there a more dominant member of the pair? What      makes you think so?
5. What is the emotional state of the two persons?      Why do you think so?
6. What have you learned as a result of this      assignment? Is this useful?
7. Should have a general introductory paragraph      before describing conversation and at the end, a separate conclusion      paragraph that wraps up whole essay

The following are NOT ‘book terms:

Eye Contact Eye Movements Nonverbal Communication

Facial Expressions Dominance Submissive

Appearance Body Language Posture

Gestures

** (proxemics and distance are the same – not two different terms)