沟通英语听力原文Unit 2 NVC

沟通英语——高级实用英语视频说技能听力原文

Unit Two

Listening Task

Nonverbal Communication: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Teacher: Ok, class. OK. . . let's begin. What do we mean when we say that actions speak louder

than words?

Student: Uh. . . that means we believe people's actions more than we believe their words.

Teacher: Yes, exactly right-----and, uh, in a sense, actions are more important than words. That's

because we usually judge speakers' intentions by the nonverbal signals they send us. And that's

what our subject today's all about, nonverbal communication ----- how we communicate through

our actions ----- facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, uh, body movement, and so on. And

if any of you doubt the importance of these things, you might like to consider a couple of statistics

I've got here in front of me. Some communication specialists estimate we spend about 75 percent

of our waking hours communicating. And, more to the point, words account for only, mm, 10 to

30 percent of that communication----the bulk's nonverbal. That is food for thought, uh? Now

although people clearly understand its importance, nonverbal communication, I'll call it NVC for

short ---– is actually a rather recent field of study. Now although today I want to focus on physical

nonverbal communication --- oh often called body language or kinesics, that's K-I-N-E-S-I-C-S ---

you should know that there are other types of nonverbal communication. G..W. Porter, for example,

divides nonverbal communication into four categories, which I'd like to look at just briefly. There's

the Physical NVC I just mentioned. Secondly, .there's Aesthetic NVC----that's A-E-S-T-H-E-T-I-C,

meaning related to beauty. And Aesthetic NVC takes place through creative expressions, like

playing instrumental music, dancing or painting, sculpting. And we certainly know that we can

communicate with people through creative expressions like these.

Now, next is Signs, which is a mechanical type of communication. Now, it includes the use of

things like signal flags used at airports, the twenty-one gun salute used in the military, and police

sirens used on public streets. And last is Symbolic NVC, which uses religious, status, or

ego-building symbols----you know, things like wearing crosses in the Christian religion or special

pins to show membership in a particular club, like a fraternity. So, again, you've got physical,

aesthetic, signs, and symbolic nonverbal communication, Got that?

But let’s go back to Porter's first type, Physical NVC, or body language. .Um, it's divided into

two main types ---- static features and dynamic features. Static features include distance,

orientation, posture, and physical contact. Let’s look at distance first. The distance a person stands

from another often sends a nonverbal message. In some situations it’s a sign of attraction; in others

it's a reflection of social status; in others it shows the intensity of the exchange. Distance has to do

with personal space and what an invasion of someone's personal space signifies, what it means.

Now, orientation's different from distance and has to do with the way we position ourselves

in relation to others. For example, people cooperating are likely to sit side-by-side, while

competitors are likely to sit face to face. . . right? And posture's different again; it concerns

whether we’re slouched or we’re standing or sitting straight. You know: Are our legs crossed, our

arms folded? That sort of thing. These convey the level of formality, or relaxation in the same

situation.

Then comes physical contact, and here we're talking about touching, holding, hugging, and so

on. These convey or show messages-----particularly how intimate we feel----and their meaning

沟通英语——高级实用英语视频说技能听力原文

can vary a lot between cultures. Hands touching in one culture may be an act of great intimacy,

whereas in another. . . simply a sign of friendship.

So those are Porter's static features. Let's now look at his dynamic features. These are

basically things like facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and uh, body movements. Facial

expressions, then... these continually change during a conversation, and participants constantly

watch and respond to each other's expressions. These expressions usually communicate the

emotions and attitudes of the speaker. In some communication studies, it's been estimated that

facial expressions provide 55 percent of the meaning of a message; vocal cues, such as, pitch and

volume, provide 38 percent; and verbal cues only 7 percent. So, a person's expressions seem to be

a better indicator of his meaning than words, which play a minimal part.

OK, now where are we? Oh. We're looking at Porter's dynamic features of communication.

Next we come to gestures. You know, one of the most important parts of gesturing, hand

movements, is one of those least understood by scientists. Most are not universal, and as we all

know, the same gesture can have different meanings in different countries. Here in the U. S. we

make a circle with our thumb and first finger and it means "OK.." In Japan, however, it means

"money," and in South America it has a sexual meaning. We have to be very careful about what

our bodies are saying. . . especially when in a different culture.

Now Let’s move on to eye contact. Eye contact is a very powerful form of nonverbal

communication. One thing about eye contact that is generally agreed on is that someone with

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