What is non-verbal communication?

Nonverbal communication is the process of sending and receiving messages through gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, among other nonverbal elements.

In the context of couple communication, nonverbal communication is an important part of daily interaction, and can be as powerful as spoken words. The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of nonverbal communication, its importance in the couple's relationship, how it influences the interaction and how to improve it.

What is nonverbal communication based on?

Nonverbal communication is an integral part of human communication. Humans use nonverbal communication to convey emotions, attitudes and moods. Body language, such as gestures and postures, is an important form of nonverbal communication. Gestures are body movements that express an emotion or an idea, such as raising the shoulders to indicate bewilderment or extending the hand in greeting. Postures, on the other hand, are the way the body is held in space and can reflect confidence, authority, insecurity or submission.

Nonverbal communication also includes facial expression, which is the way an emotion or feeling is shown through the muscles of the face. Eye contact is another form of nonverbal communication, indicating interest, attention or even threat in certain situations. Tone of voice is another important part of nonverbal communication, as it can communicate emotions and attitudes through variation in pitch and intonation.

Importance: In the context of the couple's relationship, nonverbal communication is crucial for understanding the partner's emotions, needs, and desires. Often, nonverbal communication can communicate more than what is said in words. For example, if a person is angry, they may cross their arms, make limited eye contact, or adopt a defensive posture. These gestures can communicate their emotion more effectively than the words they speak.

The importance of nonverbal communication in the couple's relationship is that it can help reduce ambiguity in the interaction and increase understanding. Nonverbal communication can provide information about a partner's emotions and moods that may not be evident in the words they speak. In addition, it can help create an atmosphere of trust and security in the relationship. When couples use nonverbal communication effectively, they can strengthen their connection and improve the quality of their relationship.

Body language: Body language is an important form of nonverbal communication in a couple's relationship. Postures, gestures and movement can communicate a great deal about a couple's attitude and emotional state. For example, a couple who are arguing may adopt closed postures and make little eye contact, indicating tension and defensiveness. On the other hand, a couple that is emotionally connected may adopt open postures, maintain eye contact and gently touch each other's arm, indicating closeness and understanding.

Facial expression: Facial expression is another important form of nonverbal communication. The human face is capable of expressing a wide variety of emotions, such as happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust, among others. In addition, the combination of different muscle movements in the face allows the expression of different shades of these emotions, which can give rise to a great variety of facial expressions.

Facial expression is a very powerful form of nonverbal communication, as it can convey emotional and social information quickly and effectively. For example, if we see someone with a smile on their face, we can interpret that person as being content or happy, while if we see someone with a frown and tight lips, we can interpret that person as being angry or upset.

However, it is important to keep in mind that the interpretation of facial expressions is not always clear and straightforward, as the same expressions can have different meanings in different cultural and social contexts. Therefore, it is important to consider other aspects of nonverbal communication, such as tone of voice, posture and body gestures, in order to more accurately interpret the emotions and attitudes of the people with whom we interact.