Persuasive Dimensions of Nonverbal Communication

Chapter 9 introduces the topic of persuasion in nonverbal communication with a case study involving the large number of news anchors who broadcasted from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and how their home surroundings may have impacted their audience’s perceptions of them. The chapter content then opens by defining nonverbal communication and describing the codes of nonverbal communication that connect it to persuasion. The remainder of the chapter content describes in depth how each code of nonverbal communication relates to persuasion. These codes include the following: environment , including formality, color, lighting, sound, smell, and temperature; proxemics , including Hall’s zones of space, cultural background, sex and sexual orientation, and status; kinesics , including posture, walk, and gestures; touch , including the types of touch and appropriateness of touch; physical appearance such as body types, hair, clothing, and jewelry; and face and eyes , including the Facial Action Coding System and eye behaviors.