Nonverbal Communication Skills - Case Study Example

Nonverbal Communication Skills While data collection is necessary for most organizations, several people do not know efficient ways of gathering data from the field. It is essential to identify and acquire important fieldwork skills to promote the gathering of the required information. The important knowledge required include observation, recording, note taking, reporting, and presentation skills to enable the information to reach the relevant body. This paper provides a detailed fieldwork information about communication. The research aims at identifying how people use communication skills during their conversation. The fieldwork was conducted in a University and focused on two conversations. The first conversation was between the official staffs and the second one included the casual employees of the university. The research was conducted the period between 8 AM and 12 mid-day. Theoretical framework According to Ben-Nun (2014), operative communication is a vital skill in any discussion or a consultation. Thus various people including employees, family members, students, and others develop sufficient skills and styles of communicating. The common techniques used include both verbal and non-verbal communication skills. When people talk, verbal communication skills include more than just conversing and encompasses how people deliver and receive messages. Non-verbal communication skills include gestures, facial expression, eye contact, and others. Facial expression is when someone talks and the changes in facemask are seen and respond accordingly. The actions may include raising eyebrows, sneering, gaping, and rolling eyes. Gestures involve the use of deliberate movements and signals without words (Lamichhane, 2016). Other activities include waving, using figures to show numbers, and pointing. Eye contact consists of looking or staring directly at the audience. Eye contact can help in reading someone's emotions by matching the reactions with the words they are saying. The skills can be observed in people during communication. Let us consider practical observations made to three people in a university. Data collection The research utilized several data collection methods. The methods such as sampling, observation, note taking, and photographing were used. Sampling was employed to select only a small group observed in the entire university. Observation helped in noting the behaviour of people and how they communicated. Photographing was used to gather evidence about the physical information required such as mode of dressing, movement, and others. Note taking method was used to record the required information for analysis, documentation, and presentation. Data Collected The collected data included the information on gender, age, communication behaviour, and appearance. The communication data included the observable conversational skills including both verbal and non-verbal styles. Concerning communication skills, styles like the use of language, audible voice, gestures, posture, facial expressions, and others were observed and recorded. During the fieldwork, nearly all the mentioned communication styles were observed. Three groups were observed for the collection of data. The first group consisted of both males and females who were being addressed by a man of around the age of 28. The second group also consisted of males and females who were being addressed by a woman. Lastly, the observation was based on a group of casual individuals who were being addressed by a male of about 30 years. Data Analysis The data were analyzed using qualitative methods that allowed comparison between the field work and the documented information. Qualitative analysis identified information connected to verbal and non-verbal communication skills, interaction styles, and other anthropogenic aspects of people. The qualitative data were analyzed using Microsoft word. The combined and analyzed data were documented and submitted to the relevant authority after the completion of the research. Discussion The first observed person was a male and about the age of twenty-eight. The person had dressed in official attire and looked more professional. Surrounding him were a group of young men and gentlemen who appeared to be colleagues and the audience of the person. All the people in the group were dressed officially. Thus, the person was communicating, and the environment was somehow enjoyable. The person was directly looking at the colleagues and regularly blinking while speaking to them. The way he was looking at the group suggested interest and attraction that could make anyone enjoy the environment. The direct eye contact indicated that the person was telling the truth to his colleagues (Cherry, 2018. According to Cherry (2018), an inability to maintain eye contact is an indicator that the speaker is deceptive. The second person was a female dressed in official clothing. Her age was about thirty and was in the office. In the office, various people were entering and coming out regularly. The person seemed to be an office attendant providing customer services to visitors. It was evident that the person expressed proper gestures and body movements. In the observation and according to Lamichhane (2016), there were deliberate movements and signals which indicated that the person knew the critical way of using gestures and body movements. The person was waving and pointing to deferent directions. After a short while, the person stood carefully and started walking decently to a room next to where she was sitting. She returned with an envelope which she was holding well in her left hand and get sited happily. The way she was moving and carrying herself indicated the proper use of body movements and posture. The third person was a male whose age was about twenty-five and had dressed in casual attire. People who seemed to be colleagues surrounded the person. In the observations, there was a poor use of nonverbal skills. During communication, the person seemed to devour colleagues with his eyes and could lunge people’s hand and squeezes them hard until individuals demonstrated feelings of being hurt. The nonverbal awkwardness kept people at a distance and appeared to limit his ability to communicate effectively. Additionally, his eyebrows and shoulders were perceptibly raised, and the voice was shrill. The character made the people around him to look anxious and uncomfortable. Also, the body remained stiff throughout showing no communication skills for body posture and movement. Concerning gender conversation, it was not evident that women talked to men differently. Similarly, it was not clear whether men spoke differently to women. The observable groups were comprised of both males and females. The conversation styles were general to every person. The only thing that seemed to be most valued was the conveyance of the information by the speaker to the audience. The listeners were of mixed gender and age. Since all the audiences were listening to once centred speaker, they all possessed the same listening styles. From the observation, the first two people seem to be official workers in the institution. The way they carried themselves and conducted communication indicated some good orders and organizations. The dressing mode looked decent and attractive. It means the non-verbal communication skills are widely used in official messages. Unlike the first two, the third person did not employ any nonverbal skills. The nonverbal inelegance kept people at a distance and limits his communication ability. The first two people were smart, and people had no issue interacting with them. Many people around the first two people felt less anxious and comfortable. Conclusion Most people lack skills for collecting useful information required in an organization. Since data is necessary for the life of people including in places of work, it is essential to identify useful data collection and analyzing skills. The research was based on the collection of communication data regarding how people of various classes converse. The research has focused on a university environment where observation, recording, note-taking, and photographing methods were used to collect information regarding communication. The collected data included communication behaviour and styles, gender, age, and how people convey information. The gathered information was analyzed qualitatively and comparison was made with the useful literature. In the research, some people passed information well through the use of audible language, and non-verbal communication skills. The research also identified that other people lack communication skills. Consequently, the style of communication contributes to the attention of the audience. Speakers using good communication skills tend to valued well by their audience. The speakers using poor communication skills tend to frighten the audience who might develop a feeling of ignoring the message. It is essential to ensure proper communication across all fields to ensure that relevant people acquire the necessary information to make a positive change. References Ben-Nun, L. (2014). Non-verbal Communication Skills (44th ed., pp. 1-18). Israel: B.N. Publication House. Cherry, K. (2018). Types of Nonverbal Communication [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-nonverbal-communication-2795397 Lamichhane, Y. (2016). Non-verbal Skills: Unavoidable in Communication. Repositioning the Journal of Business and Hospitality, 1, 91. doi: 10.3126/repos.v1i0.16046 Read More