Verbal and non-verbal communication
The three channels of a face-to-face message (verbal, paraverbal, non-verbal), language registers, Hall's four distances, congruence between channels and what Mehrabian's rule really measures.
- 25 cards
- 6 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Questions
- Sort and link
- On the timeline
- Scenarios
- Understand
A few cards from the deck
Paraverbal communication: what is it?
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Everything the voice adds to the words without being part of them: speed, volume, intonation, silences.
The same sentence, "it's ready", said curtly or cheerfully, does not say the same thing. Silence counts too: it belongs to this channel.
In Hall's classification, what distance is the social zone, the one for everyday professional exchanges?
- Roughly 1.20 m to 3.60 m
- Roughly 0 to 0.45 m
- Roughly 0.45 m to 1.20 m
- Beyond roughly 3.60 m
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Roughly 1.20 m to 3.60 m
Intimate: up to 45 cm. Personal: 45 cm to 1.20 m. Social: 1.20 m to 3.60 m. Public: beyond. These are Western reference points, not universal laws.
Hall's four distances are intimate, …, … and public, from the closest to the furthest.
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Hall's four distances are intimate, personal, social and public, from the closest to the furthest.
A pair at one screen stands in the personal zone, an interview across a desk in the social zone, a talk in a lecture hall in the public zone.
Non-verbal communication: what is it?
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What the body and appearance convey without speech: gaze, gestures, posture, facial expressions, dress, distance.
Crossed arms, eyes on the notes or a step back say something, even when you do not realise it. But a single sign is only a clue: it is read with the context and the other channels.
In a code review, a colleague says "no no, it's fine" with a sigh, without looking away from the screen. What do you do?
- Say what you see and ask an open question
- Take his words literally and approve the review straight away
- Defend your code point by point to win him over
- Ask him to repeat it louder to be sure
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Say what you see and ask an open question
The words say yes, the sigh and the lack of eye contact say something else: the channels are incongruent. Naming what you see ("you seem unsure") then asking an open question ("what bothers you?") avoids guessing.