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idea. Emblems are gestures like pointing, giving a thumbs up, or signing “OK” in specific
contexts where those gestures are intelligible.

Nonverbal communication is both powerful and indispensable in communication. Our
verbal communication would be ineffective if our nonverbal gestures did not accompany them. It

is at the heart of every message conveyed or received whether in face-to-face encounters or
over the telephone.

3.1.6. TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Non-verbal communications are numerous and varied, and they can reveal a great deal
about a person‟s thoughts and/or feelings. Non-verbal communication can be classified in order to

better understand its role in every day interactions.

Kinesics/Body Language: Body language refers to how someone positions their body in relation

to the person they are talking to, the situation, the environment, and how they are feeling.
Effective and impressive body language plays a very vital role in situations like interviews, group
discussions, meetings and presentations. Messages that are delivered through non-verbal cues

can complement, complete, emphasize or even contradict a verbal message.

We may talk with our vocal cords, but we communicate with our facial expressions, our tone

of voice and our body language.

R. Birdwhistell, are owned theorist in kinesics says in his book Kinesics and Context (1970), “A
person’s use of bodily activity will have unique, idiosyncratic aspects while also being part
of larger social systems hared with others”.

The statement is one of the six key assumptions of kinesics that Bird whistle has
propounded. The other five are:

1. All body movement shave meaningful potential in communicative contexts
2. Behavior can be analyzed because of its patterns and repetitions.
3. Although body action has biological limits, the use of body motion in interaction is a

part of the social system.
4. People’s visual bodily activity can influence others in a better way.

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