Non-Verbal Communication in a Professional Setting

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HR managers always bear a great responsibility for selecting personnel; it is essential not to make mistakes with future colleagues, as this can lead to some problems for the company. In the situation that arose, the specialist could not draw the correct conclusions about the future employee; it turned out that his true goal was to enter the organization to damage its reputation. By evaluating only the information received verbally, the manager did not get the whole picture of the person being hired, which led to irrevocable consequences for the company. Non-verbal signals play a vital role in business communication since it is crucial for the interlocutors to establish contact, reach a mutual understanding, or determine the speaker’s true intentions. Nonverbal indicators provide individuals in a professional setting to interpret non-verbal cues to adapt their communication tactics to achieve their goals.

It may seem that non-verbal means are not as necessary as verbal ones. However, studies have shown that in communication, on average, up to 55% of information from the interlocutor an individual receives precisely through non-verbal means (posture, facial expressions, gestures) (Eaves & Leathers, 2017). Usually, 38% of the perceived information falls on sound means (tone of voice, intonation of speech), and only 7% from general information through verbal means (Eaves & Leathers, 2017). Through the verbal channel, mainly pure information is transmitted; the non-verbal channel represents the attitude both to the communication partner and the transmitted information. Especially in professional settings, a person can express a position with which they do not agree to achieve specific goals while non-verbally transmitting disagreement. The ability to read implicit signs is an important skill when interacting with opponents or colleagues, which will allow getting more information from any conversation.

The correspondence of a person’s verbal message to their actual desires, values, and beliefs, which are manifested non-verbally, is determined as communicative congruence. The human subconscious mind notices the discrepancy between the meaning of the interlocutor’s words and how they were pronounced (intonation, tempo, volume, etc.) and what non-verbal accompaniment they had (posture, gestures, facial expressions, etc.). Although consciousness is mainly focused on the meaning of words, the subconscious mind can make its verdict – distrust. As a result, a person experiences conflicting feelings, not knowing which messages to believe (verbal or non-verbal), which leads to confusion and discomfort. In these situations, it is recommended to better trust the information transmitted by the interlocutor’s body since this is a more reliable source of information (Vrij et al., 2019). In professional communication, to more accurately navigate the situation, it is necessary to notice and understand non-verbal messages emanating from the communication partner and control the messages sent to the partner.

In the analysis, scientists propose the following classification of non-verbal indicators:

distance (i.e., proxemics)
body language / movements (i.e., kinesics)
touch (i.e., haptics)
appearance of voice (i.e., paralanguage)
eye contact (i.e., oculesics)
literary communication
appearance. (Onwuegbuzie & Abrams, 2021, p. 239)

Proxemics, the system of organizing the space and time of communication, is notable among non-verbal means. The term “was coined by the American anthropologist Edward T. Hall” (Watson, 2019, p. 224). There are four spatial zones that a person consciously or unconsciously adheres to when communicating. The first zone is intimate for the closest people with whom emotional contact is established. The second one is personal; the distance is typical for acquaintances and friends. The third zone – social, implies interpersonal communication with unfamiliar people, in particular, at work; and the fourth zone is public. Proxemics includes not only distance but also the orientation of people in space (Onwuegbuzie & Abrams, 2021). For example, it has been proven that people are usually uncomfortable sitting with their backs to open space.

The pose usually indicates interpersonal relationships, the social position of the partner, the attitude to the information received. Using this information to determine how frank the interlocutor is in a professional environment is also necessary. A person does not hide anything if their palms are often open; otherwise, one can judge the tightness and unwillingness to make contact. It is vital to consider facial expressions when evaluating an opponent; this allows to better understand what feelings a person is experiencing. Sadness is reflected by narrowed eyebrows, dull eyes, slightly lowered corners of the lips, and happiness is reflected by calm eyes, raised outer corners of the lips (Eaves & Leathers, 2017). For everyone participating in the conversation, it is essential to be a “decipher” to understand the facial expressions of the interlocutor. The gesture of the interlocutor can also transmit a lot, which will make it possible to judge the professional mood.

Eye contact plays a significant role in professional communication and helps understand a lot about a person in this process. American psychologists R. Exline and L. Winters proved that the gaze is associated with the process of forming an utterance (Onwuegbuzie & Abrams, 2021). When a person forms a thought, they often look to the side, “into space,” when the thought is entirely ready – at the interlocutor. The one who is currently speaking looks less at the partner – only to check his reaction and interest; the listener, in turn, looks more towards the speaker.

The systems – prosody and extralinguistic – are non-verbal means related to the voice and its vocalizations – intonation, volume, tempo, timbre, tonality, and interspersed into the voice – laughter, crying, coughing, diction, etc. In business communication, certain conclusions can be drawn if a person is dominated by rhythmic speaking; this means a wealth of feelings, poise (Onwuegbuzie & Abrams, 2021). Strictly cyclical, correct speaking presupposes a strong awareness of what is experienced, willpower, discipline.

A study was carried out in the service sector, the professional environment of which is quite narrowly focused. The interaction between customer and employee has been suggested as an essential issue for service organizations as it directly “affects customer loyalty.” (Lin & Lin, 2017, p. 123) The results confirmed that non-verbal communication of employees during customer service affects the improvement of their relationship through positive emotions. As a result, personnel selection should be carried out with high quality, checking the person for the necessary qualities (Lin & Lin, 2017). Service training programs should encourage positive and effective non-verbal communication during customer interactions, such as smiling, maintaining eye contact, and imitating customer behavior, significantly improving the service quality.

To conclude, the need to read communicative congruence, additional information using non-verbal signals both in a professional setting and everyday life is observed. According to the above classification, means of non-verbal communication include distance, body language/movements, touch, the appearance of voice, eye contact, literary communication, and appearance. The ability to recognize non-verbal signals makes it possible to identify difficulties encountered in communication and change behavior towards a partner. It also helps control the truth of information coming from a partner because consciousness does not control non-verbal signals. The business communication culture, which includes a set of non-verbal indicators, contributes to establishing and developing cooperation and partnership between colleagues, partners, and competitors, essentially determining effectiveness. These relationships can be successfully implemented in the interests of partners, or become ineffective, or terminate if the partners do not find understanding, which depends on the ability of people to read implicit signals.

References

Eaves, M. H., & Leathers, D. (2017). Successful nonverbal communication: Principles and applications. Routledge.

Lin, C.-Y., & Lin, J.-S. C. (2017). The influence of service employees’ nonverbal communication on customer-employee rapport in the service encounter. Journal of Service Management, 28(1), 107–132.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Abrams, S. S. (2021). Nonverbal communication analysis as mixed analysis. In A. J. Onwuegbuzie, A. J. & R. B. Johnson (Eds.), The Routledge reviewer’s guide to mixed methods analysis (pp. 239-258). Taylor & Francis.

Vrij, A., Hartwig, M., & Granhag, P. A. (2019). Reading lies: Nonverbal communication and deception. Annual review of psychology, 70, 295-317.

Watson, O. M. (2019). Proxemics as non-verbal communication. In O. M. Watson (Ed.), Man, language and society (pp. 224-231). De Gruyter Mouton.

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Non-Verbal Communication in a Professional Setting

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