Essay Sample on Kinesics: Unlocking the Power of Non-Verbal Communication

Introduction

Ideally, human beings are social by nature. As a result, the study of human body motion or body behavior is one of the most significant fields that substantially contributes to the comprehensive understanding of social development. The non-verbal gestures, also commonly referred to as kinesics, are a considerable part of any conversation as they play a vital role in effectively getting across a relevant and clear message between the individuals communicating with each other (Albert 453). However, just like different categories that characterize the verbal language, non-verbal communication can also be broken down into various classes (Zabolotskaya, Alina, and Tatyana). As such, there are five most significant gestures in kinetics that include affect displays, emblems, regulators, illustrators, as well as adaptors (Albert 455). The nonverbal signals are often used together to contradict or modify the primary verbal message and also combined to depict repetition significantly. This essay critically explains some of the most common and effectively used gestures from a recent experience. Indeed, the body gestures are used unintentional, although when observed keenly from the people's reactions, it is apparent that they are continuously used.

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In particular, a few days ago, I went shopping in one of the most famous and biggest malls in town and took a seat at one of the Pizza in food court and waited for my order to be ready. However, the place is always noisy and busy as everyone is still on the move, buying and selling various distinct varieties. Therefore, much of the communication is accomplished via the assistance of nonverbal gestures. The primary objective of my trip to the mall was, however, to venture out and keenly observe and document the most frequent and effective non-verbal signs that were primarily used by different individuals in their conversations. Just a few minutes later, I realized a couple who sat only a few meters from where I was, and they had just come in probably for their lunch break. I observed them and noticed they used various gestures, and one significant sign was an emblem. Ideally, emblems are adequately described as gestures associated with a particular meaning or the body movements with a direct verbal translation and can solely convey a meaning (Albert 453). The two did not use, any word but the male raised his right hand and beckoned at the waitresses possibly to signal them that they wanted to talk to one of them and order their meal. As a response to them, one of the waitresses did the "ok" sign as heed or approval of their inquiry. This gesture was often used primarily by customers who came to the restaurant. In their conversation, there was also the twisting of the head whereby the female repeatedly twisted her head right and then to the left as a sign of disagreeing with her husband on what they ordered at the food court.

Additionally, another gesture that was regularly used at the scene is the regulator. Regulators are fundamentally unintentional and mostly involves the body movements that terminate, sustain, and control the conversation (Zabolotskaya, Alina, and Tatyana). Towards the end of their lunch break, the man looked and pointed at his watch to notify his wife that time was not on their side. Also, during the entire time of observing, a group of five men sat at the back and were having fun when one of them began narrating a story while others nodded their heads as an indication they were listening. In the bakery area, I observed that the attendants employed the use of illustrators more often.

A specific instance is when one waiter required a particular tool, they pointed towards it, and the other colleague would hand it over to them, often without uttering even a single word. The illustrators are the most commonly used set of gestures that are used to describe the spoken words they accompany. Unlike the emblems, the illustrators don not convey a meaning on their own. The use of illustrators is not explicitly taught, but they are frequently used automatically. Another incident where an illustrator was used is when a very young lady who seemed to be lost approached one of the attendants at the restaurant and was giving her the directions. However, there was a verbal communication between them, and they also used hands to point towards the right direction.

However, the most exciting and repeatedly used nonverbal signs I observed was the use of adaptors. These are mostly the gestures that make a person feel more comfortable in a conversation, for example, tapping the fingers and twirling the hair (Rahmat et al. 1). Adaptors are thus the body movements that are used to show some of the internal states primarily associated with anxiety and excitement. While waiting to be served at the food court, I observed the couple engage in several adapters, such as shaking their legs, putting the elbows on the table while massaging the forehead with the hands. They were doing all this probably to make use of the excess energy as well as to relieve the anxiety of waiting to feel more relaxed. Also, when the attendants experienced hurdles in the course of their daily tasks of cooking and serving their clients, they would tap their fingers and appeared to be in deep thought. They were, however, doing this to get a solution to the situation and calm their minds as well. Self-adaptors that are internally manifested like throat-clearing sounds or coughing were also evident in the setting. I realized I was using the object adaptors while playing with the straw on my drink or fiddling with my smartphone, mainly to signal boredom or ease the anxiety.

Lastly, I observed the affect displays that are commonly indicated through facial expressions often inspired by emotions. Indeed, smiles form an influential communicative gesture and are a central imminence action (Rahmat et al. 3). In spite of the facial expressions being considered as distinctive or inborn, while others are generally identifiable, they are not always emotionally related or internally stimulated (Rahmat et al. 3). For instance, a lot of smiles produced by people are primarily directed to other individuals and not just an unintentional reflection of the emotions. At the food court entrance, the guards convinced and welcome the customers with a huge smile and were very kind. Next to my table, I also observed a man with a frowny face, a clear indication that he did not like what was served to him by the waitress. Generally, from my venture at the mall, I recognized that the kinesics are large and correctly used to communicate. This can, however, be attributed to the fact that the place is noisy and ever-busy and would rather not talk with loud voices all through.

Conclusion

In conclusion, nonverbal communication is vital in every aspect of life, as it significantly enhances the conversation. Although they are often used unintentionally, it is apparent that they are applied consistently.

Works Cited

Albert, Mechthild. "Nonverbal communication." The Bonn Handbook of Globality. Springer, Cham, 2019. 453-461. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-90377-4_38.Accessed 6 February 2020

Rahmat, Noor Hanim, et al. "The Influence of Kinesics and Vocalic in ESL Oral Presentation among Undergraduates." Studies 5.1 (2019): 1-13. Online Science Publishing.com DOI: 10.20448/807.5.1.1.13

Zabolotskaya, Dayana Sergeevna, Alina Alekseevna Umetskaya, and Tatyana Evgenevna Charnovets. "The importance of non-verbal communication in business activities." (2019). http://rep.bsatu.by/bitstream/doc/7097/1/the-importance-of-non-verbal-communication-in-business-activities.pdf. Accessed 6 February 2020.