Non-verbal communication includes many communicative processes such as external appearance, spatial relationship behaviors (coming together, taking a distance), body movements (nodding, raising eyebrows, shrugging the shoulders), facial expressions, looks or even intonations vocal.

Although very little known, non-verbal phenomena are very important in human communication and used elsewhere in several fields such as the oratory and dramatic arts, the sign language of certain communities (deaf people, monks) …

This type of communication reinforces and gives credibility to verbal communication when it is adapted, but can undermine it on the contrary. According to the American researcher Mehrabian, 7% of communication is verbal, 38% of communication is vocal and 55% of communication is therefore neither verbal nor vocal. It’s our nature to quickly judge others by their attitude, their beauty, their intelligence, their movements. Animals give us the example of what non-verbal communication is: they communicate with each other through specific systems comprising signals of various kinds: sound, gestures, facial expressions, postural, chemical, thermal, tactile, electrical, etc.

There are several disciplines interested in non-verbal communication, including biology, neuroscience, sociology and psychology. 

Several classifications of non-verbal signs have been developed in the literature. That of Marino Bonaiuto, which dates from 2007, arranges them on a scale going from top to bottom, from the most obvious signs to the less obvious.

1. The exterior aspect : physical training, figure, choice of clothes.

2. Spatial behavior : interpersonal distance, body contact, orientation in space, scent.

3. Kinetic behavior : trunk and leg movements, hand gestures, head movements.

4. The face : gaze and eye contact, facial expression.

5. Vocal signs : verbal vocal signs with paraverbal meaning, non-verbal vocal signs, silences. Among the latter, Trager distinguishes the quality of the voice (tone, resonance and control of the articulation) and the vocalizations (tears, sighs, laughter, tone of voice, intensity, extension, vocal segregations like “hums”).

Certain gestures are made to accompany the statement.

1) to designating gesture. Those are the pointing gestures we make when we want to show something.

2) to illustrative gestualité. Those are the gestures that mimic the action or represent certain characteristics of the object we are talking about. These gestures abound in particular in descriptions of objects and in stories.

Thus, when one mentions a person present in the discussion, one almost obligatorily designates him (by the digital pointing, by a nod of the head or at least by the glance), when one pronounces “my heart was beating very hard“, You put your hand on the heart or you mimic a heartbeat, and the” mon »From« if you want my opinion Will almost always be accompanied by a self-centered gesture.

All these signs can constitute a sufficiently complex system to build languages ​​comprising a repertoire and a syntax such as the language of the deaf for example. 

In dialogue, certain gestures do not serve to support the dialogue but to to coordinate, ensure that statements are received, understood and interpreted. To mutualize the exchange, there is a device for interaction, sharing and speech maintenance, made up of various gestures such as nodding, looking away, clearing the throat, inspirations preparatory to speaking. , hand gestures, posture changes.

When we speak, we must make sure that we are heard, listened to, understood and know what the interlocutor thinks of our words. For this, we must capture the gaze of the receiver, and look for retroactive clues in the form of voco-verbal and kinesic emissions (mimicry of doubt or perplexity, nods, movements of the head, smile, etc.). When these non-verbal cues are not enough, the sender can use verbal communication to clarify the interaction: “Do you understand what I mean?”.

There are also gestures belonging to the ” communication affective Which itself includes two aspects: emotional and emotional.

La emotional communication corresponds to the spontaneous manifestations of the internal states of the interlocutors, such as tremors, pallor, sweating, crying, laughter, surprise, annoyance, etc.

La emotional communication corresponds to the result of “affective labor”, according to Hochschild, which ” allows the controlled staging of real affects or even that of potential or not actually experienced affects “. We can make our interlocutor believe that we are sad by attitudes when in reality, that does not affect us. 

In everyday life, emotional communication is more important than emotional communication. For Jean Cosnier, “ in an interaction situation, the speakers will therefore, according to the rules of affective framing, manage their own feelings, manage the expression of these real or displayed feelings, and strive to perceive the analogous movements in progress in their partner ».

There are certain non-verbal elements that create a contextual climate and come within the scope of verbal communication. Some of these elements remain permanent during the meeting, such as clothing, age, gender, beauty. Others reflect an accommodation of the situation such as the techniques of making contact and opening the interaction with various modes of verbal addresses, gestural exchanges, mimicry and touch: kisses, handshakes, hugs depending on the category of partners and reciprocal statuses. The gaze can also manifest the intimacy of the relationship, as can influence, dominance and reciprocity.

It can be seen, for example, that the smaller the interpersonal distance, the more eye contact decreases and the less direct the orientation of the body.

To study nonverbal communication, carefully observe people communicating. Observe how they behave towards each other, to communicate as well as to “keep their distance”. Observe the rituals, the strategies for occupying the space, the postures, the choice of places, the non-verbal language without paying attention to what is said. 

« Speech can hide reality, while expression reveals it » Jean Cosnier