Nonverbal Communication: Communication Studies 3409

Welcome to the world of Nonverbal Communication! Did you know that a minimum of 65 percent of all communication is nonverbal in nature? Think of all the conversations that you have in a single day... it just goes to show that we live in a verbal culture. Yet, every conversation we have is seeped in nonverbal cues from one person to another. The way we dress, eat, stand, sit, gesture, or even smell sends messages to the people around us. In Nonverbal Communication, students will get to explore this topic and examine just what their nonverbal cues say to the world around them.

Communication Studies professor Susanne M. Jones, recipient of multiple awards for her research in the field of communication, is one instructor of Nonverbal Communication. She’s been teaching the course for over six years and it’s extremely popular amongst students. “Students truly enjoy this class and it’s very, very useful,” Susanne says, “To my knowledge, it’s the only course of that nature on campus.”

In the first half of her course, students will begin to navigate the structure of nonverbal communication centered on codes such as:

Haptics (touch)

Proxemics (personal distance)

Olfatics (smell)

Chronemics (time)

In the second half of the course, students explore how these nonverbal codes work together in different contexts, settings, and cultures. Students can expect Susanne to use multiple teaching tools to help them learn like in-class discussions and a research paper. At the end of the semester, students will not only walk away with an understanding of nonverbal cues, but will better understand its role in the process of communicating with others.

Want to learn more?

Read more about Susanne Jones.

Learn more about the Communication Studies department.

Test your knowledge of Nonverbal Communication, click on this link: Nonverbal Communication Quiz .