NON VERBAL HUMAN COMMUNICATION EVOLVED BEFORE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE

Nonverbal communication is usually communicating through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated with gestures; body language or posture; facial expressions and eye contact; object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture; symbols and infographics. Speech often contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons and punctuation. Much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-to-face interaction, where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, the physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction. When we speak (or listen), our attention is focused on words rather than body language. But our judgement includes both.

The first scientific study of nonverbal communication was Charles Darwin's research and book "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals"  (1872). He argued that all mammals show emotion reliably in their faces.
Paul Ekman's influential 1960s studies of facial expression determined that expressions of anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and surprise are universal. Elements such as physique, height, weight, hair, skin color, gender, odors, and clothing send nonverbal messages during interaction. Time perceptions include punctuality and willingness to wait, the speed of speech and how long people are willing to listen. Posture can be used to determine a participant’s degree of attention or involvement. Studies investigating the impact of posture on interpersonal relationships suggest that mirror-image congruent postures, where one person’s left side is parallel to the other’s right side, leads to favorable perception of communicators and positive speech; a person who displays a forward lean or a decrease in a backwards lean also signifies positive sentiment during communication.

A gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to express meaning. They may be articulated with the hands, arms or body, and also include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling one's eyes. A wave hello or a peace sign are examples of speech-independent gestures. Touches that can be defined as communication include handshakes, holding hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), back slapping, high fives, a pat on the shoulder, and brushing an arm. Touching of oneself during communication may include licking, picking, holding, and scratching. Watch and listen carefully. You’ll learn a lot.