The Sounds of Silence

The Sounds of Silence

The Sounds of Silence


The Sounds of Silence is an article about the importance of nonverbal communication. It begins with multiple everyday situations where people communicate with each other in various, subtle nonverbal ways.
In the next paragraph it explains how this preverbal language works. The language includes posture, gestures, facial expressions, costume, the way you walk, and even the treatment of time and space and material things. It then continues to say that most people are only aware of the verbal communication when communicating with another. They often don't realize that they respond to nonverbal messages as well.
In the next section it tells us that few realize how much we all depend on body movement in our conversation or are aware of the hidden rules that govern listening behavior. These hidden rules include, looking into the person's eyes while they talk, nodding ones head to show they understand what is being said, therefore showing that they are listening, and making brief sounds such as, "Hmm". These gestures are the common nonverbal communication between two people in a conversation. However, there are other gestures that are produced by different emotions that are felt while conversing such as, smiling to show pleasure or affirmation. Even when someone wants to end a conversation, they may begin to shift their position, stretch their legs, cross or uncross them, bob a foot, or divert their gaze elsewhere than the speakers face.
Next, the importance of the language of the eyes is explained. Not only do men and women use their eyes differently, but there are class, generational, regional, ethnic, and national cultural differences. For example, most Americans complain about the way foreigners stare at people or hold a glance for too long. They often look away from someone who is using their eyes in an unfamiliar way because it makes them feel self-conscious.
There are three main ways eyes are used to...

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