Nonverbals

Nonverbals refer to aspects of communication that do not use words. They include facial expressions, gestures, posture, eye contact, proximity, touch, paralanguage (tone, pitch, tempo, volume), and appearance. Nonverbal cues accompany spoken language to convey attitudes, emotions, or social meaning, and they can regulate, reinforce, or contradict verbal messages.

Key categories of nonverbal communication include facial expressions, which reveal basic emotions such as happiness, anger, surprise, and sadness; eye behavior and gaze; gestures, including emblematic and illustrational movements as well as subconscious hand and arm actions; posture and body orientation that signal interest, openness, or defensiveness; proxemics, the use of space and distance in interaction; touch or haptics, such as a handshake or pat on the back; and paralinguistic features like tone, rhythm, loudness, and pauses, which color spoken language. Appearance and artifacts, such as clothing and grooming, also convey information about identity or status.

Functions of nonverbal cues include signaling emotions and attitudes, regulating turn-taking in conversation, emphasizing or contradicting spoken content, and expressing relational messages (power, intimacy, dominance). Interpretation is highly context-dependent and influenced by culture, setting, and individual differences, making judgments about others based solely on nonverbals risky.

Research and applications span psychology, communication studies, anthropology, and forensics. Nonverbal analysis informs fields such as negotiation, education, therapy, and human–computer interaction. While useful for understanding communication, nonverbal cues are not universal or foolproof indicators of truth or intent; they should be interpreted in conjunction with verbal messages and situational context.