As far as the technical study of body language goes perhaps the most influential pre-twentieth-century work was Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals' published in 1872. This spawned the modern studies of facial expressions and body language and many of Darwin's ideas and observations have since been validated by modern researchers around the world. Since that time, researchers have noted and recorded almost one million non-verbal cues and signals. Albert Mehrabian found that the total impact of a message is about 7 per cent verbal (words only) and 38 per cent vocal (including tone of voice, inflection and other sounds)and 55 per cent non-verbal. Professor Birdwhistell made some similar estimates of the amount of non-verbal communication that takes place amongst humans. He estimated that the average person actually speaks words for a total of about ten or eleven minutes a day and that the average sentence takes only about 2.5 seconds. Like Mehrabian, he found that the verbal component of a face-to face conversation is less than 35 per cent and that over 65 per cent of communication is done non-verbally.
Most researchers generally agree that the verbal channel is used primarily for conveying information, while the non-verbal channel is used for negotiating interpersonal attitudes and in some cases is used as a substitute for verbal messages. For example, a woman can give a man a "look to kil!': convey a very clean message to him without opening her mouth.
Regardless of culture, words and movements occur together with such predictability that Birdwhistell says that a well-trained person should be able to tell what movement a man is making by listening to his voice. In like manner, Birdwhistell learned how to tell what language a person was speaking, simply by watching his gestures.
Many people find difficulty in accepting that humans are still biologically animals. Homo sapiens is a species of primate a hair-less ape that has learned to walk on two limbs and has a clever, advanced brain. Like any other species, we are dominated by biological rules that control our actions, reactions, body language and gestures. The fascinating thing is that the human animal is rarely aware of his postures, movements and gestures that can tell one study while his voice may be telling another.
A1 : Complete the sentences by choosing the correct information from the extract. (2)
I. Charles Darwin's book inspired many studies on .. ( facial expressions and body language)
II. The total impact of a message according to Mehrabian is __% non-verbal (55%)
III. The verbal channel is used for.... ( conveying information )
IV. Non-verbal channel is used primarily for ( negotiating interpersonal attitudes )
A2: Give reasons : (2)
We can generally convey a lot without actually speaking because
Ans : We can generally convey a lot without actually speaking because we use facial expressions, body language. There are millions of cues and symbols for communication.
A3: True or False : (2)
Rewrite the following sentences stating against them whether they are true or false :
I. Human beings are very rarely aware that their posture and gestures are telling different story from the voice which is telling a story. ( True)
II. 355 Words and accompanying gestures are generally predictable regardless of culture. ( True)
III. The non-verbal channel is used for conveying information. ( False)
IV. Darwin's work is the most influential study of body language. ( True)
A4. How important are movements and gestures when we are communicating face to face? (2)
Ans : Movements and gestures are important when we are communicating face to face. They add extra meaning to the conversation. There is a smoothness in the conversation. Some unspoken are conveyed through the gestures.
A5. Grammar :
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed : (2)
1. Most researchers generally agree that the verbal channel is used primarily for conveying information. (Rewrite as a simple sentence)
Ans : According to the most researchers the verbal channel is used primarily for conveying information.
2. We are dominated by biological rules. (Change the voice)
Ans : Biological rules dominate us.
A5. Give antonyms of
Modern , Similar, able, aware.
Ans : Modern - ancient , Similar - different, able - disable, aware - unaware
B Summary Writing (3)
Write a brief summary of the above extract with the help of given clues and suggest a title.
Channels of communication, research, use of non-verbal ....... Importance.
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Charles Darwin's book about body language gave vent to modern study about facial expressions and gestures. According to Albert Mehrabian the impact of message is 7% verbal, 38% vocal and 55% nonverbal. Professor Birdwhistell made similar observation stating nonverbal impact is about 65%. Verbal channel is used for conveying information whereas nonverbal for negotiating attitudes. Humans are dominated by biological rules that control body language. The voice tells the different story while gestures a different story.
