(Pg. 319 Question #4) Non Verbal Cues

In my opinion, non verbal cues have the power to speak louder than spoken words. The expressions people show and the body language they display make it hard to hide their feelings from receptive onlookers. There is obviously some reason why moms are constantly grounding their teenagers for a simple body movement; eye rolling. Rolling one’s eyes is the perfect example of how powerful verbal cues are. Without opening their mouths a person can show disagreement, disgust, anger, disbelief, and many other feelings with a simple eye roll.
I personally feel that every individual has their own non-verbal language, not just body language but facial expressions as well. When I read this question and it said to analyze myself, I took the next interaction I had and paid attention to what my natural non-verbal actions and reactions were in conversation. The first action I realized is a favorite of mine is narrowing of my eyebrows; I use this action to portray confusion or disagreement. What I then wondered was why do I not just come out and verbalize my feelings? This pondering moment made me come to the conclusion that non-verbal cues, such as narrowing my eyebrows, I use to portray any sort of negative feeling take the place of confrontation. I realized that I use non-verbal cues when I have a negative feeling towards something, but am not passionate enough to argue about it. I find that this is a release of my true feelings, while avoiding an argument that is unnecessary.
Another favorite non-verbal cue of mine is the old fashioned, never gets old, always appreciated, smile. For me, a smile is my go-to expression. Obviously if I am happy or pleased, a smile is an automatic reflex. But I also use a smile when I am uncomfortable, or can feel someone else is uncomfortable, when I am grateful, when I am excited or eager, and of course, when I am flirting (which is a whole different language in itself, right girls?) A smile is a universal communicator of peace and friendliness. Anyone who wears a smile is more approachable and inviting to others than a person who I scowling or even has no expression. I only hope that I am smiling more often than I am narrowing my eyebrows.
Non-verbal cues are relevant in our world. There are even careers such as body language experts who claim to have the ability to interpret a person’s mood by only a picture. Personally, I try to read the body language of people when I feel what they are saying is important. I will look for the non-verbal cues of people such as politicians, doctors, teachers, parents, significant others, or anyone else who I either respect or am trying to learn more about. Taking a look at my own personal non-verbal cues made me realize that I would like to be more aware of my non-verbal language. I would hate to send the wrong vibe by accident because I was portraying a negative body language or facial expression.