Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

Communication has always been a vital part of our life and is important in the day to day interactions we participate in with friends, family and the people who are close to us. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “communication is the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common system of symbols.” Communication varies between two types, one being verbal communication and the other being non-verbal communication. Amy Lucas highlights in her article the fact that,

Our ancestors hunted and gathered as a collective, depending upon one another for protection, sustenance and companionship. Our success as a species and as individuals depends upon our ability to effectively communicate, both verbally and non-verbally. Verbal and non-verbal communication shapes our interactions with others in business and interpersonal relationships, as well as our financial and personal success, and our physical and psychological well-being. (2014)

Verbal communication is referred to the exchange of idea, thoughts, feelings and/or messages through the use of the mouth. Non-verbal communication refers to the sending and receiving of wordless messages. Such type of communication takes place through gestures, facial expressions, eye contact or symbols. Non-verbal communication has many functions for example contradicting, substituting, regulating and/or reinforcing a verbal message to improve on the verbal communication that takes place between two individuals. Couples today rely less and less on nonverbal communication as a mediator of problems and Interpersonal communication not only involves the explicit meaning of words, the information or message conveyed, but also refers to implicit messages, whether intentional or not which are expr...

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...gage less in nonverbal communication and expect the partner to understand what is being said without mentioning so. After reading various studies, non verbal communication is vital to have a healthy, long and strong relationship. We also noticed that couples who have been together for longer and are satisfied with their relationship are better at reading and encoding their partners nonverbal messages. Not all communication is the same, as they vary between different relationships, contexts and cultures but primarily portray the same ideas. Nonverbal could be considered integral for a relationship to flourish, but relationships may also be unsuccessful due to other factors not limited to communication. Nonverbal communication may seem very helpful as a medium of communication but can also be damaging to one as they could be unregulated and unconscious.