Does body language speak more than words

Speech is a kind of language produced by articulating sounds into words to convey a message by use of the mouth. On the other hand, a non-verbal cue also referred to as body language, is the process of sending messages using body movements or lack of them thereof. Body language includes gestures, body movements, facial expressions, haptics, oculesics, proxemics and chronemics. The two forms of communication have for a long time sparked interest among scholars especially regarding their efficacy in conveying messages. The studies conducted in the languages reveal mixed findings. On the other hand, body movements refer to standing and sitting postures. These movements can easily convey messages such as confidence levels, attentiveness, weakness, and anger (Cienki et al. For instance, angry people will express dominance over others, attentive people will maintain facial contact, while weak and submissive people will have a posture depicting avoidance.

Other subcategories include haptics, oculesics, proxemics and chronemics. Haptics refers to touch in communication. Time wastage communicates disinterest or laziness, on the other side, the time spent in a conversation may express closeness or lack of it thereof (Cielki, 2013). The Efficacy of Nonverbal Cues According to Mehrabian & Ferris (1967), there are some instances where non-verbal cues speak more than words. Such is the case where there is an inconsistency between the words, the tone of voice and the actions. In this case, the scholars assert that people will tend to believe the message conveyed by the tonality and non-verbal behavior. Mehrabian and Weiner (1967) conducted a study to investigate inconsistency in the messages communicated by voice, words and body language to convey emotions and feelings.

The scholars relied on an aggregate result of 1,338 estimates conducted on 158 signals to deception. The study revealed that liars tended to be tenser, expressed more negative expressions than truth tellers. Liars also had less consistent body behaviour. The non-verbal cues helped the scholars identify a liar easily. Besides, Gu, Mai & Luo (2013) assert that body movements provide better insights about a person's feelings, emotions and attitudes as the body processes body movements simultaneously with the underlying feelings, emotions and attitudes. People can easily conceal their real emotions, feelings and attitudes by fabricating their body language. Ten-Brinke, MacDonald, Porter &O’Connor (2012) argue that deception is a common occurrence in everyday life and can lead to severe repercussions if undetected. The implications are particularly severe in parole hearings where judges rely on the offender's expression of remorse by body language in sentencing.

The scholars examined facial and body language cues in 3000 accounts of truthful and falsified parole hearings. They observed that people giving falsified remorse tend to deliberately express a wide range of seemingly genuine body cues pointing to remorse. According to Schriefers & Vigliocco (2015), there is a lot of variability in word pronunciation across speakers. Variations may involve accents and speed. People pronounce words at different speeds and using various dialects depending on where they come from. Accordantly, the differences may impede on comprehension. Another challenge is speed; Bungetal, Kaswan & Love (1970) posits that human beings can perceive speech with astonishing rapidity. However, in most cases, the brain perceives speech automatically, and hence the listener may end up misunderstanding the information. Besides, speech errors may accustom misunderstanding and hence impending on the efficacy of words.

Speech errors include phonemic errors, phonetic errors, and errors to do with syllables, stressing, morpheme, words, grammar and phrases (Valdes, 2014). Phonetic errors result in sound reversal and nasal reversal; syllable errors may result to syllable exchange and deletion, and stress errors result in an emphasis on the wrong syllables. All in all, speech errors significantly impede on the efficacy of words as parts of speech. People with mental disorders such as autism, psychosis and depression may experience difficulty in communicating efficiently. They may misconstrue words in communicating or listening. Similarly, people with sensory problems with auditory nerves may not effectively perceive words and hence inhibiting the influence. Regardless, communication by words has several unique advantages that impact on its efficiency. One advantage is that words allow for immediate feedback and clarification.

Besides, words are largely systemized across different languages. Accordantly, a word carries the same meaning across cultures, gender, socioeconomic and geographic dynamics (Sebastian & Ryan, 2018). The consistency provides that speakers can engage different people and still convey the same intended meaning. Conclusion This essay has explored the use of body language and words in speech. The analysis proves that both forms of expression underlie the social aspect of human beings and may be used together and interchangeably to convey messages, emotions, feelings and attitudes. R. Perception of contradictory meanings conveyed by verbal and nonverbal channels. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1970, 16, 647-655. DePaulo, B. M. , Fricke, E. , Ladewig, S. H. , McNeill, D. , & Tessendorf, S. Mehrabian, A. , & Wiener, M. Decoding of inconsistent communications.