The document discusses effective listening and communication in small groups, including barriers to listening such as prejudging others, rehearsing responses, and failing to adapt one's listening style. It also outlines different listening styles including people, action, content, and time-oriented styles. Nonverbal communication and developing trust within a group are important factors for effective small group interactions.

1. Review
Chapter One –
•Definition of small group
•The advantages and disadvantages of a small
group
•Primary and secondary groups
•How to be a competent communicator

2. Review
Chapter Three –
•Why people join groups
•Interpersonal needs (Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs and Schutz’s theory)
•Individual needs
•Group and team goals
•Establishing mutuality of concern
•Interpersonal attraction (similarity,
complementarity, and proximity)

3. Review
Chapter Four –
•How are self concept develops (gender, sexual orientation, culture and the
roles we are assigned or select)
•Our roles (Diversity in roles, group task roles, group building and maintenance
roles, and individual roles)
•Group norms (Rules that determine what is appropriate and what is not)
Clothing, values, language, use of humor, etc.
•Status (High status/low status behavior and manner of communication)
•Power (Who has it and why – what resources can you control or influence?)
•Trust – Trusting members in the team = successful, open group
•Self – Disclosure – Building trust involves sharing of your self – the more open
the better, but beware of TMI, and the risks involved

4. What’s the weather like?
Look out the window!
• How do you feel looking out
this window?
• Is it inviting?
• Do you want to go out and
enjoy the weather?

5. What’s the weather like?
Look out the window!
• How do you feel looking
out this window?
• Is it inviting?
• Do want to go out and
enjoy the weather?

6. Chapter 5 & 6 – Managing Group/
Team Communication
Ch. 5 - Improving Group Climate
Climate – Each group, class, team has a climate…like weather. (Many factors
such as temperature, air pressure, latitude, bodies of water affect what the
day is like. )
•Climate affects your desire to engage in certain activities.
•Group Climate consists of a variety of factors interact to create a group
feeling or atmosphere.
It involves:
•Behaviors that foster defensive and supportive climates, which you examined
in your take home questions.
•The way in which group members respond to each each other (It is it
disconfirming or confirming, which you examined in your take home
questions.)

7. How would you describe your
group Climate?
• Clear, warm, and breezy
• Humid, hot, and
uncomfortable
• Cold and rainy
• Party cloudy and cool
• Rainy
• Snowy
• Thunderstorms
• Sunny, no clouds,
• Other?

8. Chapter 5 & 6 – Managing Group/
Team Communication
Ch. 5 - Improving Group Climate

9. Chapter 5 & 6 – Managing Group/
Team Communication
The more group members equally talk to each other, as opposed
to singling a particular person, the more productive, more
accurate, better goal attainment and task performance.

10. Chapter 5 & 6 – Managing Group/
Team Communication
Ch. 5 – Other patterns
Leader centered – person
centered. These patterns are Circular – people talk to people to
more efficient – creating more their sides, across from them, or
cohesion. Less satisfaction, if go around the circle
members want more involvement

11. Chapter 5 & 6 – Managing Group/
Team Communication
Ch. 5 - Improving Group Climate
• Group Size – Three or more makes a group, but groups of 5 to 7 make the
best groups.
The Right size:
• More involvement
• Small enough to encourage
involvement, but large
enough for flow of ideas
• More satisfaction with involvement
and decisions

12. Chapter 5 & 6 – Managing Group/
Team Communication
Ch. 5 - Improving Group Climate
The wrong size:
•Less satisfaction when groups are too big
•Less involvement when groups are too big
•Group members efforts decrease when groups are too big

13. Communication
Competence
The competent communicator knows how and when to communicate and is able to do
so.
•One engages in supportive rather than defensive
communication.
•One is more aware of confirming and disconfirming
responses.
•Group size just enough people to ensure there is enough diversity in skills, role played,
etc.
•Group climate should be trusting, open, and members are free to express themselves.
•Group members respect the goals and group members.
"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding,
intimacy and mutual valuing." - Rollo May

14. Chapter 6 – Enhancing Group/
Team Communication Skills
Objectives:
• Describe “three barriers” and how to avoid them
• Identify four listening styles
• Describe two major barriers to effective listening
• Learn to listen more effectively
• Explain why nonverbal communication is important to
study groups
Other:
• Difference between hearing and listening
• The listening process
• And, other facts, you should remember

15. History Repeats itself because no one listens the
first time. ~ unknown
Education is the ability to listen to
almost anything without losing your
temper or your self – confidence.
~ Robert Frost, Poet

16. Chapter 6 - Types of Listening: Hearing
Most of us are all born with the ability to hear
• Physiological activity that occurs when the sound waves hit our eardrums.
• People who have hearing challenges receive messages visually through writing,
lip reading, and American Sign Language (ASL) and Helen Keller Sign Language.

17. Chapter 6 – Hearing and Listening
• Hearing is being aware of sound generated by the
environment. Hearing is “hearing” the sounds.
Examples: A baby crying, breaks squealing from a car, a
police siren or a crash in the kitchen.
• Listening is a skill which allows us to interpret those
sounds that create meaning.
Example: Based on the type of cry from the baby, or the
length of the siren, or sound of the crash in the kitchen –
all might mean there is trouble, which has meaning to
us.

18. Chapter 6 – Hearing
and Listening
Review:
You must:
• Receive the sounds transmitted
• Translate those sounds into the words and meanings that were
intended.
• Understand the relationship of those words in the sentences spoken.
• Note the relevant nonverbal cues that reinforce the message.
• Comprehend the entire message as intended.
• It is the use of critical or creative judgment to interpret those sounds to
create a meaning; to hearing the message accurately.
• Listening is a skill that needs to be understood, practiced, appreciated,
and taken seriously
• It is an important skill at work; and more important in starting and
maintaining relationships

19. Listening to Succeed
Research from Paul Rankin, Ohio State
University revealed:
70 percent of an adult’s waking hours is
spent communicating.
– 9 % writing
– 16 % reading
– 30% speaking
– 45 % listening

20. We are a nation of poor listeners!
• Immediately after hearing a
message, most people
retain barely 50% of the
content.
Sperry Rand Corporation • Eight to twelve hours later,
estimates that every year if
each of the 100 million workers they barely retain 25%
in the United States made just percent of the content.
one $100 error because of a
listening mistake, then the cost
to United States would be $1 • Retention of Information-
billion. depends on interest/need.

21. Chapter 6 – Listening
Listening in Groups:
• Listening is an important skill for interpersonal and
group communication
• Poor listening is major reason for conflict, discord, etc.
• Listening is a skill that can be improved with practice
• Listening takes the ability to controls how one
responds to external and internal noise
• Listening more….enables you to learn more…..

22. The Listening Process
1. Being mindful
• We don’t let our thoughts drift, We do not focus on our feelings and
responses.
• We fully tune in (without imposing our ideas, judgments, biases,
stereotypes, prejudices, values, and feelings)

23. The Listening Process
2. Physically receiving messages
Hearing or listening to the receiving the message.
Gender Listening
• Women more attentive to the whole process (details,
relationship meaning)
• Men tend to focus on specific aspects of communication.
Usually how to solve or resolve.
Reason: hemispheric specializations (women more developed
right lobes - creative and holistic thinking; men better
developed left lobes, which control analytical and linear
information processing.)
Other influences on listening - Culture, experiences, childhood
experiences, etc.

24. The Listening Process
3. Selecting and organizing information
• We don’t perceive everything around us
– we selectively attend to only some
messages and elements in our
environment
• We focus on intense, loud, unusual or
communicators that stand out (The
squeaky wheel gets the goods.) Quiet
people often get overlooked.

25. The Listening Process
How do we organize? We organize based on prototypes, personal constructs,
stereotypes, and scripts.
As we listen, we decide how to categorize what we hear.
• Which prototype (good friend, person in trouble, student, teacher, etc.)
do they closely resemble.
• Then we apply the personal constructs to define more detail (are they
upset or calm, open to advice or closed to it.)
• Based on the construct of others, we apply stereotypes (how has this
person reacted in the past. Or how this situation similar to others) that
predict what they will do.
• We then apply the script (how the interaction should proceed, including
how we should act.)
• Lastly, the schemata (a pattern imposed on complex reality or
experience to assist in explaining it, mediate perception, or guide
response) we use helps us figure out how to respond to others.
• We select meaning by how we select and organize communication –
Perceptions should be tentative and open to revision.

26. The Listening Process
4. Interpreting communication
• Effective interpretation is person-centered.
• You engage in dual perspective so you can interpret others in their “own terms.”
• Listening expert Robert Bolton – don’t impose our meaning “Stay out of the
others’ way” so they can learn what others think and feel.
5. Responding
• Communicating attention and interest and engagement.
• In the U.S. (eye contact, nodding, attentive posture and questions and comments
invite others to elaborate.)
• Vocal response such as “mm-hmm” “go on” “I see” “really.”
6. Remember
• Retaining what you have heard can help in many ways (you can follow up later by
asking person how things are…this shows interest. You can use information to help
solve problems.
• Effective listeners let go of details to retain the more important content.

27. Chapter 6 – Four Listening Styles
People-Oriented Listeners
•Most comfortable listening
to others feelings and emotions
•They are empathetic, search
for commonalities and areas of interest
•Like long stories, examples
•In small groups, they are good at developing
relationships and fulfilling group maintenance
roles.

28. Chapter 6 – Four Listening Styles
Action – Oriented Listeners
•Want information to be
well organized, brief
(just the facts Madam, and
error free)
•Want to get to the bottom line, don’t like long stories.
•Are often skeptical about what they hear
•They help a group stay focused and assume task oriented
roles.

29. Chapter 6 – Four Listening Styles
Content – Oriented Listeners
•Like information-rich content
•Like complex, detailed infor-
mation
•Like organization, support material, and details…
if none, will likely reject the message.
•In small groups, they would excel at taking notes
and analyzing the issues for a group.

30. Chapter 6 – Four Listening Styles
Time-Oriented Listeners
•The time is always important
•Want to make sure meetings
don’t go to long, and that
goals can be met
•They like organized, brief
meetings
•They help keep groups on schedule and focused.

31. Chapter 6 – Four Listening Styles
• There is no single best listening style
• Each has its advantages and disadvantages
• There are tests to determine your style, but
we will not have time
• After learning about the four listening styles,
spend some time, determining yours
Groups do best, will all types of listeners…eight
ears are better than two!

32. Listening – In class exercise

33. What are your barriers to
Effective Listening?
Q: Have you ever experienced or done any of the following?
• Made fun of clothes, food, or physical appearance of
people from other cultures
• Told jokes directed against people from a particular
culture
• Used insulting language about particular cultural groups
• Made fun of people’s accents or names
• Favored students form some backgrounds more than
others
• Expected students from some cultures or linguistic groups
to do better or worse than others
• Not respecting people’s different religious beliefs
• Said “That is so gay.”

34. What are your barriers to
Effective Listening?
Stereotypes: Is a belief that certain groups of people
tend to have distinct characteristics. In other words, it’s an
assumption that belonging to a certain group will make a
person look, think, or act in a particular way.
Issues with Stereotyping:
• We all rely on stereotypes everyday.
• It helps to reduce uncertainty…and it helps to organize
experiences, people and events.
• There is some truth to some stereotypes in terms of
(Behavior of others can be predictable. Events can be
predictable. Organizations with special interests can be
predictable, but not when applied in a negative manner)

35. What are your barriers to
Effective Listening?
Prejudice: Means judging in advance - making an
evaluation before you’ve gathered or considered all
the relevant information. Prejudice can be based on
fear, anger, or jealously toward other people or
cultures.
Reasons: The way people were raised, past
experiences, influence of media, peer group, religion,
other influential organizations or groups.
Problems: Prejudice is most likely to influence our
opinions of people who are different from us -- this
can be a great hindrance for a diverse team.

36. What are your barriers to
Effective Listening?
Did you Know?
• One frequent source of prejudice is our own first
impressions.
• It takes about 20 seconds to determine whether you
are going to like someone/be their friend, hire them,
work in a group with them.
• Once we form an impression of someone, we pay
attention to further information that confirms what we
already think, but we ignore information that
contradicts it.
Example: You decide on the first day of work that your
boss is mean, the boss may do a hundred nice things
over the next year without changing your opinion.

37. Barriers to Effective Listening
1. Internal obstacles - Preoccupation – with
our own thoughts, feelings, concerns, and
physiological issues (hunger, fatigue, etc.)
2. Prejudging communicator or the
communication:
• Listener dislikes or disagrees with speaker
• Listener anticipates what a person will say
and then tunes them out. (Especially
politicians who hold different views from
our own)
• As stated earlier, listeners will prejudge
others based on culture, religion, age, sex or
race

38. Barriers to Effective Listening
3. Rehearsing a Response - This barrier is perhaps the most
difficult to overcome. WHY?????
• We spend time rehearsing what we will say before the other
person is finished speaking.
• One of the reasons is the Speech-rate-ratio: The difference
between speech rate and thought rate.
• Speech rate - Most people speak at a rate of 100 to 125
words per second.
• Thought rate - We have the capacity to think at 400 or more
words per second…lot’s of time for our mind to wander,
rehearse responses.

39. Barriers to Effective Listening
4. Reacting to emotionally loaded language – Words and
phrases that evoke a strong response, positive or
negative. We often attack the other person or tune out.
“You should,” “Liberal,” “Far Right,” “Family Values,”
“Everyone or Everybody”
What are your triggers?
5. Failure to adapt to the four different listening styles

40. Barriers to Effective Listening
6. External obstacles
– Message overload – Too much information!(class
information, emails, text message, voice mail, work)
We have to screen or prioritize.
– Message complexity – Complex messages, topics
(science, economics, math classes. Technical words,
complex sentences with idioms or slang expressions.)

41. Forms of Non listening
• Pseudolistening
• Monopolizing
• Selective listening
• Defensive listening
• Ambushing
• Literal listening

42. Forms of Non listening
Pseudolistening
•Pretending to listen
•We pretend to
be present, but we
really not focused
•We fake listening
when we are bored
we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings
Most people can tell when someone is ‘faking it.”

43. Forms of Non listening
Monopolizing
•It is about me, me, me
Two tactics are:
1)Conversation rerouting
(A person shifts the
topic back to themselves.
“I know what you means.”)
2) Interrupting to divert attention from the speaker to ourselves
or to topics that interest us.
This form of listening creates frustration
and lack of participation.

44. Forms of Non listening
Selective listening
•Listener hears what
They want to hear.
•We reject communication
that makes us uneasy.
•We screen out communica-
tion that is critical of us.
You may miss important information by being
this approach to listening.

45. Forms of Non listening
Defensive listening
•A person perceives
personal attacks,
criticism, or hostility
in communication that
is not meant to be critical.
•Some people are more defensive based on low self esteem,
current and past experiences, lack of knowledge.
Defensive listening can discourage others to share feedback with
the listener and deprive them of valuable information.

46. Forms of Non listening
Ambushing listening
•Listening for
information, facts,
etc. to attack the
speaker
•Listeners use words
as weapons
We will not usually speak up when attacked, and people
who ambush bring out the defensiveness in others.

47. Forms of Non listening
Literal listening
•Listener ignores, or isn’t able to focus on the content
and meaning of the message.
•Communication is about more than the content, but
includes power, a liking between people, and non verbal
communication.
•Listeners don’t make an effort to understand how
others feel about what they say or to acknowledge them
as people.
.

48. Becoming an Effective Listener
“One of the best ways to persuade others is
with your ears – by listening to them”
~ Dean Rusk

49. Steps for being a more
Effective Listener
• Stop
• Look
• Listen
• Ask questions
• Paraphrase content
• Paraphrase feelings

50. Steps for Being a more Effective
Listener
• Eliminate distractions so you can concentrate and give speaker full attention.
• Be present - (eliminate self talk/intrapersonal communication)
Look:
• Nonverbal communication makes up about %85 of communication
• Listen to what isn’t being said as an additional component.
• Look for nonverbal clues that will help you understand what the speaker is feeling
• The face provides the most important information about how the person is feeling
Body also communicates feelings and emotions.
• The person’s voice quality, pitch, rate, volume, and use of silence also give
information on how the person is feeling.

51. Steps to Being a More Effective
Listener
Listen:
• Listen for what another person is telling you
• You may not always agree with what the person is saying, but try to give
them a chance to be heard
• Match verbal with the nonverbal to decipher both the content and
emotion of the person’s message (Incongruence – When nonverbal and
verbal don’t match – past experience helps.)
If a person you are talking with says “I’m OK” but nonverbal doesn't’t
match…take an opportunity to learn more.

52. Steps to Being a More
Effective Listener
Ask Questions:
• Help others to focus by using questions that clarify perceptions.
Four purposes of questions:
1. To obtain additional information
2. To find out how a person feels
3. To ask for clarification of a word or phrase
4. To verify your conclusion about the person’s meaning are
feeling.
Tip: Ask “How” not “Why” questions. “How do you feel about that?”
vs. “Why do you feel that way?”Or “How did that happen?” vs.
“Why did that happen.”

53. Steps to Being a More Effective
Listener
Paraphrase Content:
• After the person is done talking (Don’t interrupt) Restate in your own words
what you think the other person is saying. (Different from parroting)
• The goal of active listening is understand both the feelings and the content
of another person’s feelings.
Paraphrase Feelings:
• You could follow your paraphrase with a comment on feeling, such as “ I
imagine you must be feeling ______(frustrated, confused, happy, sad,
perplexed, etc.) Followed with “Is that true.”
• Give the person a chance to respond to your paraphrase.
• DVD – Example of Paraphrasing
• Slow down responses to match the speaker’s pace and processing of information. (Best way to connect with people is to match their use of words, and communication style)

54. Practice Paraphrasing
• I think we’re seeing too much of each other
• Do I hear you saying that you want some more space or time for
yourself?
• I really like communication, but what could I do with the major?
• I get the sense that you are struggling with career choices now, is
that right?”
• I don’t know if Pat and I are getting too serious too fast.
• I hear some hesitancy about your relationship with Pat, yes?
• You can borrow my car, if you really need to, but please be careful
with it. I can afford any repairs and if you have an accident, I won’t
be able to drive home this weekend.
• It seems like your car is very important to you right now.

55. Mindful listening in class
Most most students will have retained only half of it. Then, 48 hours later they will
have forgotten half of what they did remember.
"Top ten ways to listen to a lecture."
1. Choose to find the subject useful.
– Poor listeners dismiss most lectures as dull and irrelevant. They turn off
quickly.
– Effective listeners separate the wheat from the chaff. They choose to listen to
discover new knowledge.
2. Concentrate on the words and message, not on the professor's looks, clothes or
delivery.
– Poor listeners notice faults in a lecturer's appearance or delivery.
– Effective listeners strive to pick every professor's brain for self-gain.
3. When you hear something you're not sure you agree with, react slowly and
thoughtfully.
– Poor listeners stop listening to the speaker and start listening to themselves.
They either passively reject what is being said or they launch into impassioned
rebuttals (to themselves).
– Effective listeners don't jump to conclusions and then disengage. They keep

56. Mindful listening in class
4. Identify the "big ideas," those fundamental concepts to which everything else in
the lecture is related.
– Poor listeners say, "I listen only for facts." They may retain a few of those
facts, but the information is usually garbled.
– Effective listeners look for foundational concepts. They grab key ideas and use
them as anchor points for the entire lecture.
5. Adjust your note taking system to the lecturer's pattern.
– Some poor listeners attempt to outline everything, believing an outline and
notes are the same thing. They get frustrated when they cannot see "points A,
B and C."
– Effective listeners adjust their note-taking to the organizational pattern used
by the lecturer.
6. Stay attentive.
– Poor listeners let their minds to wander.
– Effective listeners remain focused and actively try to absorb material.

57. Mindful listening in class
7. Aggressively tackle difficult material.
– When poor listeners encounter a tough topic, they stop absorbing and let
things start bouncing off them.
– Effective listeners condition themselves to be interested in challenging
matters. They find a challenge in grasping the meaning of what is being said --
no matter how difficult the subject.
8. Don't get derailed by emotionally charged "buzz" words that trigger negative
responses.
– Poor listeners tune people out on the basis of a few words.
– Effective listeners don't let the emotional baggage of a word hinder them
from getting at the substance of a lecture.
9. Get to know the professor personally.
– Poor listeners see professors as talking heads.
– Effective listeners like to pick up interesting facts about professors (personal
history, family life, hobbies, etc.).

58. Mindful listening in class
10. Understand and use the differential between the speed of
speaking and the speed of thinking. We think at about 400 words
per minute. That's four times faster than most speakers can talk.
– Poor listeners drift back and forth between a lecture and
thoughts about other things.
– Effective listeners use the thinking/speaking differential in
three ways:
• Riding the crest of the wave by trying to anticipate the
next point of the lecture.
• Evaluating what the lecturer is using for supporting
evidence.
• Periodically summarizing the lecture to themselves.

59. Types of Nonverbal Communication
• Brief overview of nonverbal communication – for
more detail review text; and visit
http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu/ and other
recommended sources.
• 100 minute video you will
see over next two class
session really gets into
detail
• Experts evaluate celebrities,
Political leaders and more

60. Nonverbal Communication
• All aspects of communication other than words
• More time spent communicating nonverbally than verbally -
85%
Nonverbal cues include:
• Posture, movement and gestures
• Eye contact
• Facial expression
• Vocal Cues
• Personal space, territory, and seating arrangements
• Personal Appearance
• Communication Environment

61. Nonverbal Communication
1) Posture, movement and gestures
The way we stand, move, and
gesture provide information on..
• Our status
• Intensity of attitude
• Warmth
• If we are seeking approval
• The group climate
• Deception

62. Nonverbal Communication
2) Eye contact
Functions of eye contact…
•Cognitive function: Provides cues about thought processes – some look away
or down. Right/brain process, lying, can all effect.
•Monitoring function: Allows feedback from others. Signals when the
communication channel is open and closed. Listeners/speakers look at
nonverbal cues to determine if message is understood.
•Regulatory function: Signals when communication channel is open and
closed. Eye contact or lack of eye contact is used to invite participation and
interest.
•Expressive function: Provides information about feelings, emotions, and
attitudes. The areas around the eyes provide much information.

63. Nonverbal Communication
3) Facial Expressions
•Paul Ekman, An emeritus professor of psychology at the University of California
at San Francisco, Ekman is a world authority on facial expressions.
•Seven primary facial expressions are recognized around the world????
•Sadness, happiness, fear, anger, contempt, surprise, disgust
•The face is the most important revealer of emotions.
•On Paul Ekman’s http://www.paulekman.com/, you can view a few video
interviews that he has done over the years analyzing and explaining his reading
of faces. These videos are great both as training tools to understand the range
and depth of information that faces present.
•New research from the UK challenges shows that east Asian people struggle to
recognize facial expressions that western Caucasians attribute to fear and
disgust. By focusing on eyes and brows, Asians miss subtle cues conveyed via the
mouth.

64. Nonverbal Communication
sadness, happiness, fear, anger, contempt, surprise, disgust

65. Top row, from left to right: Fear, anger, happiness, contempt
Bottom row: surprise, disgust, and sadness

67. • QUESTION: In the video A World of Gestures,
people from all over the world demonstrate
the remarkable diversity of international
gestures. Can you guess the meaning of this
Japanese gesture?
a. I'm scared like a bunny
b. I've been hearing things about you
c. I'm angry

69. • QUESTION: In A World of Gestures, this
woman from France demonstrates this
gesture. Can you try to guess what this French
gesture means?
a. I don't believe you
b. I wish I hadn't seen that
c. I am looking at a very handsome man

70. Nonverbal Communication
4) Vocal Cues
The pitch, rate, volume, and quality of voice communicate emotion, credibility, and
personality perceptions:
•Pitch is placement of the voice on the musical scale ranging from high to low. Usually men speak
in lower pitch (about 120 Hz) than women (220 Hz).
•Low-pitch talkers are associated with authority, credibility, strength and self-confidence.
•Tone refers to the emotional content carried by our voices.
•Volume Volume refers to the power of loudness of your voice. (Do they speak loud, are they
quiet or a combination. )
•If you are a soft-spoken person, you can be perceived as shy or insecure. Too loud you might
give the impression of someone, who loses their temper easily.
•Rate (Does the speaker speak fast, slow or a combination)
•Slow speakers usually give people the impression of being calm, composed and confident. They
appear relaxed and in control and often have a soothing effect on people they talk to. T
•Talking at a pace that is too high makes it challenging for people to mentally keep up with the
message and follow the trace of thought. It also gives the impression that the speaker is agitated,
loves to chat, lacks seriousness and can be easily manipulated.

71. Nonverbal Communication
5) Proxemics – The study of how close or far away we choose to
be to other people and objects.
•Personal space – Western Culture
Q: What’s your personal space:
•Intimate zone: 0 to 1.5 ft.
Loved ones, close friends.
•Personal zone: 1 ½ to 4 ft.
Family and friends
•Social zone: 4 to 12 ft.
Campus, professionals, etc.
•Public space: 12 ft. and beyond – Teachers, speakers

72. Nonverbal Communication
6) Territoriality: A term used in the
study of animals to refer to how they stake
out and defend their areas.
Humans also do this:
•Fences, planters, they way a car is parked,
books on tables at the library or class, parking
spots, saving places at a party…more?
Neighbors gone bad….#1 complaint of Glendale
Police Dept.
Library research: sweater on chair.
•High status people take up more room; as
do most men when they sit our stand compared
to women.
•Low status people permit territorial invasion.

73. Nonverbal Communication
6) Seating Arrangements – Small Group Ecology
•Square or circular seating demonstrates more equality.
•Rectangular tables have a head, which most people assume the selected or
perceived leader sits.
•People who are more centrally located get more messages.
Stress – During times of stress or conflict, people prefer more space around
them.
Gender – Women generally sit a bit closer to others than men do. Men tend
to to prefer greater personal space when sitting next to other men.
Personality - Extroverts (outgoing people) tend to sit across from others or
next to others; Introverts (people who are less outgoing)- prefer more
distance between themselves and others. Often leaving seats between them
selves and others, or sitting in the back.

74. Nonverbal Communication
7) Personal Appearance - Most people
Pass judgment about others in seconds.
•How we dress
•The jewelry, watch, pens, phones we
wear and use all communicate messages to the world about
us
•Height, weight, hairstyle, make-up affect your communication
with others – Remember: Intrapersonal Communication?
•Changing our appearance with plastic surgery, tattoos, and
body piercings, are all symbols that send messages about who
we we want to be or want to be perceive as

75. Who looks and sounds more presidential?

76. How Do People Choose Their Political Leaders?
Mr. President: Height, Nice Voice, Bright Smile, and Charisma.
Published on September 30, 2012 by Gad Saad, Ph.D. in Homo Consumericus
Bottom line: While policy issues matter, people vote for candidates who look and sound
presidential
•People are driven by peripheral cues that are largely irrelevant to actual matters of policy.
•The height of competing candidates is perhaps the most influential of all such cues. In the great
majority of presidential elections over the past one hundred years or so, the taller candidate has
won.
•The facial features of prospective (male) leaders constitute another important feature
•The Voice – Deep and resounding voices. Obama’s voice is deep and somewhat mellifluous. The
Barry White and Darth Vader effects.
•Finally, there are the intangible peripherals such as personal charisma, which might include a
bright smile. In the current context, Obama’s smile is warm and inviting. Romney’s
aura comes across as strained and slightly distant
•Recall Machiavelli’s maxim regarding appearances: “Everyone sees what you appear
to be, few experience what you really are.” This is why all politicians seek to appear in
a photo shoot carrying a baby. They wish to exude the appearance of nurturance,
empathy, and kindness even if they are largely void of such qualities.

77. And, educate yourself about the issues.
• Regardless of your political party VOTE…it is a privilege that was fought
and won for all of us.
• http://www.rockthevote.com/
• Register on Campus – There is a tent with people who will help you.
• California Official Voter Information Guide - http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/