Chapter 9: Non-verbal communication.

Abstract

This chapter discusses one factor that one needs to consider when delivering a successful talk or presentation: non-verbal communication. The author notes that non-verbal signals are real, but tend to express attitudes to each other, and personal attitudes to the subject rather than factual information. They are therefore especially important in speaking, just because speaking is a personal relationship in which the attitudes of the speaker to his subject, and to his audience, are a major factor in effective communication of his material. According to the author, we are not all aware of non-verbal channels of communication because we are so heavily word orientated, that we tend to undervalue other ways of communicating. The author argues that non-verbal signals can undermine the verbal message. The main elements we use as signal carriers are clothes. According to the author, it is both fatal to overdress or to underdress. The eyes are such an important component of non-verbal signaling between people. The author suggests that if we wish to appear normal and friendly, we must ensure that our pattern of gaze fits into what the audience recognizes as normal. The third component of the non-verbal signaling system, after our clothes, and the way we direct our gaze, is the signals given off by the rest of our bodies.