Inproving Nonverbal Communication

Communication 1

Nonverbal communication can be the most important type of communication. We can

control our verbal communication but how well can we control our nonverbal

communication? Nonverbal communication is probably the most important in criminal

justice. Law enforcement get lied to on a daily basis whether it is by a witness or a

suspect. Law enforcement must rely on nonverbal communication to see if someone is

lying to them.

The longer you know someone, the better you will adapt to what their nonverbal

communication is saying. Nonverbal communication can be different depending on the

person and culture. Different hand signals can mean different things in other cultures so it

is important that we are aware of the different meaning because in the criminal justice

world, we will come in contact with different cultures.

How can improve your nonverbal communication? Eye contact is probably the most

important. It shows a sign of confidence and a lot of employers look for this in people.

While making eye contact, you should be sitting straight up and have good posture. This

will also show a sense of confidence. If you are a police officer and you have two

witnesses, who will you believe more? A person staring at the ground all slumped over or

a person sitting straight up and looking you in the eye. You have to make sure you are

watching for nonverbal communication in a witness and improve your skills of

recognizing certain signs.

What if you are confused about the nonverbal communication signs someone is

giving you? Then you need to probe for information. If nonverbal cues contradict the

spoken message, you should politely seek more information (Wadsworth and Thomson

Communication 3

2003). It is also important to avoid mistakes because as I stated above, the same

movement can mean different things in different cultures so if you are dealing with a

different culture then study up on that specific culture.

Kinesics, the study of body movements in communication, has been classified into

nine categories: emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators, adaptors, body size and

shape, posture and gestures, the face and head, and eye movement (Thomson and

Wadsworth 2003). All of these categories need to be understood to understand nonverbal

communication even body type. There are three types of body types identified with this

research and they are endomorphs (short, fat, round), ectomorphs (tall, thin), and

mesomorphs (muscular, well-proportioned).

How can law enforcement become familiar with all the different aspects of nonverbal

communication? When race, age, culture, body type, and intelligence plays a part in

understanding what a person is saying through nonverbal communication, it can be

overwhelming