Non-verbal communication as non-linguistic reflection of individual’s behavior.

"Linguistic" means pertaining to language. "Non-linguistic" means not using language. Through non-linguistic communication people receive and send information without using language system. Communication and language are different. Language helps us to communicate. Communication is a broader concept than language. The purpose of language is to provide one of the essential elements needed for communication, but communication is the goal (Finnerty, 1991). Any act of communication contributes to a particular purpose: getting of the right information, encouraging the interlocutor to action, satisfaction of the psychical need for communion, etc. Communication is the process of sharing information for effective communion. In our communication we use as verbal and as non-verbal signals. Non-verbal communication, which takes place without words, makes up a large part of our communication process.

Non-verbal communication reflects individual’s behavior, through signals of the emotional states and the nature of the interactions between communicants [9]. Non-verbal communication is also expressed in clothes, hairstyles, facial expressions and postures. Recognition of the concept of such behavior contributes to the highest degree of understanding each other. This information allows us to understand the mood, emotions, expectations, feelings, intentions, and moral and personal qualities of the communicants [5].

Non-verbal communication can be divided into three types:

· Behavioral signs – express physiological reactions, such as redness, paleness, agitation, tremors, etc.

· Involuntary signs – the use of such symbols is directly connected to human habits, such as biting the lips, swing legs without apparent reasons, scratching nose etc.

· Communicative signs – are specific signals that can transmit specific information about events, objects or the state of the person [9].

Knowing the types of non-verbal communication we can understand the methods of their expressions much better because this type of communication is carried out with all the senses of which actually formed the communicative channel.

Basic types of non-verbal communication:

Kinesics – is a set of body movements, such as facial expressions, gestures, postures, and views that have physiological or socio-cultural origin. This science was founded by Ray Birdwhistell, based on methods and concepts of American descriptive linguistics of the late 1940s [1, 5].

Haptic (Tactile behavior) – is the study of human touch sensing and the cutaneous senses [3]. Touching as non-verbal communication plays a great role in our everyday life, and refers to how people communicate through via touching, or so called "adapters", which send messages that reflect the intention or feelings of the communicator to the listener. The meaning of touch depends on the culture of the individual, the context of the situation, the relationships between communicators, and the manner of touch. The scientific history of haptic research is closely connected with the foundation of an experimental psychology and physiology of the senses of Prof. Ernst Heinrich Weber in the XVIII century. Weber's contribution, both to our knowledge of the senses and the experimental methodology employed in their study is considerable. He significantly developed a broad understanding of the mechanisms of touch and made many similar observations on the other senses, notably sight and hearing as well as describing "a terminal threshold for all senses, the maximum stimulus beyond which no further sensation could be registered" (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2001).

Proxemics – is the study of the cultural, behavioral, and sociological aspects of spatial distances between individuals [10]. All people have a particular space that they keep during the communication. When we use non-verbal signal during our communication, proxemics helps to determine the space between individuals when they interact. There are four types of proxemics with different distances depending on the situation and people involved [9].

Eye contact – is the primary non-verbal way of indicating interest, attention and involvement. As a general rule, though, direct eye contact ranging from 30% to 60% of the time during a conversation – more when we are listening, less when we are speaking – should make for a comfortable productive atmosphere [7]. An American psychologist Paul Ekman, a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to fascial expressions with the reputation of "the best human lie detectorlie in the world", called "Eye contact or mutual gaze the major channel of nonverbal communication" [8]. According to his research the duration of eye contact is the most meaningful aspect in non-verbal communication.

Gestures may be made with the hands, arms or body, and also include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling one's eyes. Although the study of gesture is still in its infancy, some broad categories of gestures have been identified by researchers. The most familiar are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures [6]. These are conventional, culture-specific gestures that can be used instead words, such as wave of the hand, used in western cultures for saying "hello" and "goodbye." Hand gestures in different cultures may imply different meanings. Many times we tend to use our hands to explain our needs and thoughts. The same hand gesture may mean something quite nasty and offensive to a person from a different cultural background [8].

According to statistical data, the percent of our non-verbal communication is quite different, the linguist H. Kramer indicated about 94% (J. Seinfeld, January 29, 1998), the anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell pointed out 65%, meanwhile the psychologist Albert Mehrabian estimated 93% [4]. Of course, it is hard to verify, but the proportion of our emotional communication, expressed apart from words, is relatively close to this statistical analysis. Non-verbal communication is a direct reflection of our behavior and attitude towards other people and different situations. It is the key element of any successful relationship, be it personal or professional. It's very important to understand people through their non-verbal communication (facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and posture), and to “feel” the real meaning of their messages. The ability to understand and use non-verbal communication, or body language, is a powerful tool that can help you to communicate with others and become an integral part of our world.

Literature

1. Aviezer Hillel, Yaacov Trope & Alexander Todorov. “Body cues, not facial expressions, discriminate between intense positive and negative emotions”. Science, 338. 2012.

2. Knapp & Hall, 2007, p. 9.

3. Knapp & Hall, 2007, p.10.

4. Marcinowicz L, Konstantynowicz J, Godlewski C., “Patients’ perceptions of GP non-verbal communication: a qualitative study”, British Journal of General Practice, 60 (571). 2010.

5. Mehrabian, A., Nonverbal communication. Chicago: Aldine Atherton, 1972

6. Ottenheimer, 2007, p. 130

7. Paradise, Ruth (1994). "Interactional Style and Nonverbal Meaning: Mazahua Children Learning How to Be Separate-But-Together". Anthropology & Education Quarterly 25 (2): p. 156–172.

8. Pease B., Pease A., “The Definitive Book of Body Language”, New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2004.

9. Stephen W. Littlejohn & Karen A. Foss, “The Encyclopedia of Communication Theory”, 2009.