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3. Effects of verbal and non-verbal elements in communication

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Verbal Communication
This chapter is in the book Verbal Communication
Nikolaus Jackob, Thomas Roessing and Thomas Petersen3 Effects of verbal and non-verbal elementsin communicationAbstract: Since the turn of the millennium, the contribution of nonverbal cues tothe overall effectiveness of rhetorical presentations has gained more and more at-tention among communication practitioners and scholars: practitioners spreadmyths about the alleged dominance of (audio-)visual cues in almost every commu-nication-context, while scholars tried to identify the effects facial expressions, ges-tures and vocal characteristics could exert e.g., in TV-debates, talk shows or tele-vised political conventions. Modern research in this field is based on empiricalmulti-method approaches, including Real Time Response-Measurement (RTR) andoften applying experimental designs. Recent research of this kind demonstratesthat the content, the rationale of a presentation, seems to dominate the structureof the audience ́s reception – particularly when confronted with lengthier stimuli.Nonverbal cues exert rather a moderating influence: applied adequately, they canstrengthen the effectiveness of the content, while they do not change the basalstructure of the recipient’s evaluation.Keywords: Nonverbal cues, Persuasion, Rhetoric, Experimental Research, RealTime Response-Measurement IntroductionOne of the most popular examples for the seemingly dominant influence of nonver-bal cues in persuasive communication is the famous presidential debate betweenincumbent Vice-President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy on Septem-ber 26, 1960 (Maurer and Reinemann 2007). Seen by most experts as being in thelead, Nixon was still recovering from having been hospitalized; he had lost weight,and was pale. Kennedy, by contrast, did not only appear much younger, agile, andsun-tanned, but he focused on the camera and addressed the TV audience directly.Nixon addressed himself to Kennedy most of the time and avoided looking into thecamera. Kennedy is believed to have won the debate – and he won the election.Following the debate, surveys suggested that the TV audience favored Kennedywhereas radio listeners favored Nixon. Maurer and Reinemann argue that this mo-ment gave birth to the myth of the dominance of nonverbal elements in persuasivecommunication (Maurer and Reinemann 2007: 319–320; see also Nagel et al. 2012:833).
© 2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Munich/Boston

Nikolaus Jackob, Thomas Roessing and Thomas Petersen3 Effects of verbal and non-verbal elementsin communicationAbstract: Since the turn of the millennium, the contribution of nonverbal cues tothe overall effectiveness of rhetorical presentations has gained more and more at-tention among communication practitioners and scholars: practitioners spreadmyths about the alleged dominance of (audio-)visual cues in almost every commu-nication-context, while scholars tried to identify the effects facial expressions, ges-tures and vocal characteristics could exert e.g., in TV-debates, talk shows or tele-vised political conventions. Modern research in this field is based on empiricalmulti-method approaches, including Real Time Response-Measurement (RTR) andoften applying experimental designs. Recent research of this kind demonstratesthat the content, the rationale of a presentation, seems to dominate the structureof the audience ́s reception – particularly when confronted with lengthier stimuli.Nonverbal cues exert rather a moderating influence: applied adequately, they canstrengthen the effectiveness of the content, while they do not change the basalstructure of the recipient’s evaluation.Keywords: Nonverbal cues, Persuasion, Rhetoric, Experimental Research, RealTime Response-Measurement IntroductionOne of the most popular examples for the seemingly dominant influence of nonver-bal cues in persuasive communication is the famous presidential debate betweenincumbent Vice-President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy on Septem-ber 26, 1960 (Maurer and Reinemann 2007). Seen by most experts as being in thelead, Nixon was still recovering from having been hospitalized; he had lost weight,and was pale. Kennedy, by contrast, did not only appear much younger, agile, andsun-tanned, but he focused on the camera and addressed the TV audience directly.Nixon addressed himself to Kennedy most of the time and avoided looking into thecamera. Kennedy is believed to have won the debate – and he won the election.Following the debate, surveys suggested that the TV audience favored Kennedywhereas radio listeners favored Nixon. Maurer and Reinemann argue that this mo-ment gave birth to the myth of the dominance of nonverbal elements in persuasivecommunication (Maurer and Reinemann 2007: 319–320; see also Nagel et al. 2012:833).
© 2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Munich/Boston

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface to Handbooks of Communication Science series v
  3. Contents ix
  4. Introduction
  5. 1. Verbal communication. An introduction 3
  6. I. Verbal communication: Fundamentals
  7. 2. The origins of human verbal communication 23
  8. 3. Effects of verbal and non-verbal elements in communication 39
  9. II. Explicit and implicit verbal communication
  10. 4. Semantics and verbal communication 57
  11. 5. Evaluative contents in verbal communication 77
  12. 6. Understanding implicit meaning understanding 97
  13. 7. Reference and Informativeness as cognitive processes in verbal communication 123
  14. 8. Metaphor and figurative meaning in verbal communication 141
  15. III. Conversation, dialogue and mutual understanding
  16. 9. Conversation and interaction 165
  17. 10. Dialogue and mutual understanding 181
  18. IV. Types of discursive activities
  19. 11. Narration and reasoning, from structure to biological function 205
  20. 12. Narrative discourse 225
  21. 13. Argumentation and communicative practices 245
  22. 14. Discourse Genres 269
  23. 15. Writing systems and scripts 287
  24. 16. The integration of multimodal resources in documents: Issues, approaches and methods 309
  25. 17. Multimodal resources and the organization of social interaction 329
  26. V. Verbal communication across media and contexts
  27. 18. Media Discourse 353
  28. 19. Language and interaction in new-media environments 375
  29. 20. Verbal communication in organizational settings 395
  30. 21. Translation 413
  31. 22. Multilingual communication 429
  32. 23. Two levels of verbal communication, universal and culture-specific 447
  33. VI. Verbal communication quality
  34. 24. Misunderstandings in verbal communication 485
  35. 25. Deceptive and uncooperative verbal communication 509
  36. 26. Verbal communication quality in institutional contexts 535
  37. 27. Oral communication skills 549
  38. 28. Written communication skills 567
  39. Biographical sketches 587
  40. Index 595
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110255478-004

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface to Handbooks of Communication Science series v
  3. Contents ix
  4. Introduction
  5. 1. Verbal communication. An introduction 3
  6. I. Verbal communication: Fundamentals
  7. 2. The origins of human verbal communication 23
  8. 3. Effects of verbal and non-verbal elements in communication 39
  9. II. Explicit and implicit verbal communication
  10. 4. Semantics and verbal communication 57
  11. 5. Evaluative contents in verbal communication 77
  12. 6. Understanding implicit meaning understanding 97
  13. 7. Reference and Informativeness as cognitive processes in verbal communication 123
  14. 8. Metaphor and figurative meaning in verbal communication 141
  15. III. Conversation, dialogue and mutual understanding
  16. 9. Conversation and interaction 165
  17. 10. Dialogue and mutual understanding 181
  18. IV. Types of discursive activities
  19. 11. Narration and reasoning, from structure to biological function 205
  20. 12. Narrative discourse 225
  21. 13. Argumentation and communicative practices 245
  22. 14. Discourse Genres 269
  23. 15. Writing systems and scripts 287
  24. 16. The integration of multimodal resources in documents: Issues, approaches and methods 309
  25. 17. Multimodal resources and the organization of social interaction 329
  26. V. Verbal communication across media and contexts
  27. 18. Media Discourse 353
  28. 19. Language and interaction in new-media environments 375
  29. 20. Verbal communication in organizational settings 395
  30. 21. Translation 413
  31. 22. Multilingual communication 429
  32. 23. Two levels of verbal communication, universal and culture-specific 447
  33. VI. Verbal communication quality
  34. 24. Misunderstandings in verbal communication 485
  35. 25. Deceptive and uncooperative verbal communication 509
  36. 26. Verbal communication quality in institutional contexts 535
  37. 27. Oral communication skills 549
  38. 28. Written communication skills 567
  39. Biographical sketches 587
  40. Index 595
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