The Effect of Physical Communication on Words

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The Effect of Physical Communication on Words

Spoken communication can be greatly affected by more subtle

communication, such as body language, pauses and tone of voice. These

can be used to emphasize what is told, and to create new meanings to

the words said.

One of the most common ways to change the sense of words or phrases is

tone of voice. It is used very simply, and can express the emotions

felt by the speaker. A simple sentence such as “I don’t know” can be

used to express many meanings depending on the tone of voice used. If

a soft, slow tone is used, it could be seem as a sign of quitting or

giving up, on the other hand, if it is said in an angry, aggressive

tone it could mean that the speaker is exasperated, annoyed, probably

with someone else. Emotion therefore accepts the meaning of what is

said greatly, as it can entirely change what is meant.

Pauses are used more commonly to emphasize what is being said, instead

of changing the meaning. However, it does depend on where the pause is

placed. A well known example of this is the sentence “What is this

thing called love?” It could be said “What, is this thing called

love?” meaning is this object/feeling called love; or “What is this

thing, called love?” asking what the word love is referring to or

finally; “What is this thing called, love?” which is enquiring to

someone affectionately what an object is called. So it can be seen,

that these pauses do make a remarkable difference to what is said.

Bodily movement, pace and silences can also affect the meaning, but in

less varied ways. Body movement can make the meaning clearer, as

language can sometimes be vague or obscure. It doesn’t change the

meaning as such, but that does depend largely on cultural aspects. An

example of this would be shaking one’s head to mean ‘no’. In western

culture, this is commonly accepted, whereas in some regions this

gesture would be taken to mean yes.

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