Communication in general is process of sending and receiving messages that enables humans to share knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Although we usually identify communication with speech, communication is composed of two dimensions - verbal and nonverbal.

Nonverbal Communication has been defined as communication without words. It includes apparent behaviors such as facial expressions, eyes, touching, and tone of voice, as well as less obvious messages such as dress, posture and spatial distance between two or more people.

Everything communicates, including material objects, physical space, and time systems. Although verbal output can be turned off, nonverbal cannot. Even silence speaks.

Nonverbal Communication in Action

The following humorous video, about 6 minutes long, helps illustrate the wide variety of messages that might be sent and received without saying a word.

After watching the video, can you think of a message that you might commonly see communicated in a school setting that could be acted out like the ones in the video?