Communicating Nonverbally

Nonverbal communication influences the way a message is received and functions in at least five different ways.

Read the following scenario, and identify the most appropriate form of nonverbal communication to use.

You are meeting with a new customer for the first time in person. This customer had a negative experience with one of your company’s competitors, and you want to communicate to the customer that you are honest and trustworthy.

1) What form of nonverbal communication will serve you best?

A. Smiling

B. Sustained eye contact

C. Standing far away

Nonverbal communication sends powerful messages through body language and facial expressions. Our work space arrangement also sends nonverbal messages to others.

In the following situation, consider what the intern is conveying nonverbally.

When you visit the executive assistant to request important changes to a spreadsheet, he is hard at work, e-mailing clients. The moment you arrive, however, he stops typing, turns to face you, and looks you in the eye.

2) What message is the executive assistant expressing nonverbally?

A. He anticipates your departure.

B. He values your time.

C. He multitasks poorly.

Document appearance can have either positive or negative effects on how an audience receives a message.

In the following situation, consider what message is being conveyed nonverbally through document appearance.

Randi Lynn supervises 12 customer service representatives. At the end of each day, each representative is required to send Randi Lynn an e-mail summarizing his or her customer interactions that day. Randi Lynn consistently receives e-mail summaries from Dennis, one of the customer service representatives on her team, with missing information, poorly written sentences, and sloppy formatting.

3) What nonverbal messages do Dennis’s sloppy e-mails send to Randi Lynn? Check all that apply.

A. I don’t take my job seriously.

B. I don’t respect your authority.

C. I am unprofessional.