Nonverbal Communication

Comm/400

Sept. 30, 2013

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Situation 1 3

Setting 3

Nonverbal Communications Observed 3

Function of the Nonverbal Communication 3

Hindrance from Language or Word Choice 4

Listening Techniques Used 4

Situation 2 4

Setting 4

Nonverbal Communications Observed 4

Function of the Nonverbal Communication 5

Hindrance from Language or Word Choice 5

Listening Techniques Used 5

Situation 1 5

Setting 5

Nonverbal Communications Observed 6

Function of the Nonverbal Communication 6

Hindrance from Language or Word Choice 6

Listening Techniques Used 6

Conclusion 6

References 8

Introduction

During my time working for a certain delivery company, I witnessed or experienced many instances in which nonverbal communication was involved. Key states (1975) "Nonverbal communication is an important and little-understood aspect of human communication" (p. 236). Some of these instances led to greater problems among the workplace, and some led to better things for the workplace. In my opinion, it's all in how good a person is at reading signals, giving feedback, and understanding what's being asked of them.

Situation 1

Setting

In my first situation, one of the account managers told me one thing, but non-verbally meant another. It was my first week on the job, so I was not familiar with all of the company policies and procedures. Although, I had been trained on most procedures, since it was towards the end of my first week, I still was not completely sure of every policy.

Nonverbal Communications Observed

Upon returning to the warehouse, after my load had been finished, I was completing our customer refund slips. This is filled out whenever a customer orders something, but it is not delivered or is on the invoice but is missing. After completing these forms, I asked the account manager if the slips went into a certain bin. He said "Yea, they go in there", but he said it in a tone in which he was annoyed with the question. At the same time he was answering, he was shaking his head "no".

Function of the Nonverbal Communication

I was getting a verbal "yes", but at the same time, was receiving a contradicting nonverbal "no". I couldn't tell which to follow, so I went with his verbal "yes".

Hindrance from Language or Word Choice

The manager was actually telling me "no" by his nonverbal communication, but since he actually spoke the word "yes", I put the refund slips into the bin I asked. This caused so much confusion between the customer and the company I worked for. It was not found until a couple of weeks later that the refund slips were put into the wrong bin, which delayed the customers refund.

Listening Techniques Used

It seemed as though the accounting manager was using his casual listening skills, as if the information I was relaying to him was not high up on his priority list.

Situation 2

Setting

In my second situation, I witnessed a co-worker of mine get mixed signals from our boss. It was first thing in the morning. We had a couple of people call in that morning, due to sickness or whatever reason. So we were shorthanded on our loaders, the people who load our trucks that are to be out on routes for the day.

Nonverbal Communications Observed

Since we were shorthanded and had not many loaders for the day, I witnessed my boss yell out to one of the other employees, "[Whistle] Scott!", while he pointed at one of the trucks that needed to be loaded. Roloff and Write state (2009) "The length of a message may vary considerably, ranging from a single word to an elaborated tome, and may be presented via a variety of channels" (p. 101). This indicates a simple word or name can go a long ways in communication. While the boss was calling his name and whistling, he was also walking down the stairs to leave that work area.

Function