Non-verbal communication is a communication conducted without words. It conveys feelings, attitudes, personal characteristics, and it is expressed by facial expression, tone of voice, gestures, posture, touch and eye contact. According to most scientists, @ non-verbal communication makes up about two-thirds of all communication between two people or between one speaker and a group of listeners, @ (Hogan and Stubbs, 2003). However, that percentage considerably depends on the context of every single situation, so it should be cautiously used. Non-verbal communication is partly inborn, partly culturally determined. Non-verbal and verbal communication are inseparable from each other but they differ significantly in form and content.
Due to its great importance in interpersonal communication, non-verbal communication has been a subject of studying since the ancient times. Admittedly, it has never been a subject of a particular scientific discipline, but rather dispersed among various fields of human activities from psychology, sociology, anthropology and acting to contemporary cultural and media researches. To make it easier to use, bibliography is divided into various thematic units. However, interpersonal communication persistently evades any definitions of the subject, which makes it a truly interdisciplinary, actually a transdisciplinary field.
Lectures on Communication skills deal with some of the most important theoretical aspects of non-verbal communication such as its relation to verbal communication, relation between the inborn and the learnt, different cultural impacts, the use of time and place… Practical classes deal with the usage of non-verbal communication, namely the analysis of our own and other people’s non-verbal communication, and the raising of awareness about it.
To prepare yourself for practical class, read the first chapter of the book Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction (Hall and Knapp, 2010 or earlier editions), which can be found here here (translation into Croatian was published by Naklada Slap in 2010). If you find the chapter interesting, I warmly recommend you to borrow or buy the book and read it in its entirety.
If you want to practise a bit your knowledge of English, you can prepare for the practical class by reading the third chapter of the book Notes on Communication (Coates, 2009: 48-74), which can be found here.
Bibliography
Coates, G. (2009). Notes on Communication. Wanterfall Online. Text available here.
Hall, J. A. i Knapp, M. L. (2010). Neverbalna komunikacija u ljudskoj interakciji. Zagreb: Naklada Slap. The first chapter available here (in Croatian).
Hogan, K., Stubbs, R. (2003). Can’t get Through 8 Barriers to Communication. Grenta, LA: Pelican Publishing Company. Text available here.