THE ENVIRONMENT AS A NONVERBAL ELEMENT IN COMMUNICATION

1
THE ENVIRONMENT ASA NONVERBALELEMENT
INCOMMUNICATION
2
Roll (or is it role) Call

• What is intentional about this room?
• What is unintentional about this room?

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Think about it.

• Synchrony
• Environment and purpose, is there a match?
• Add the issue of immediacy
• Power
• Environment and purpose, is there a match?
• Immediacy
• Can the environment aid or detract?
• Always look at issue of intention

4
All interactions between people take place in
some environment

• an area established by others
• an area in which you attempt to structure, to
  create a mood or a response

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Meta-message

• A message suggesting how somewhat to behave or
  communicate

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PERCEPTIONS OF OUR SURROUNDINGS

• We are searching for synchrony
• Harmony between environment and the purpose of
  the communication
• Harmony between environment and purpose of the
  interactants
• If we achieve synchrony
• We have greater chance for high immediacy

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FORMALITY

• Greater the formality, communication will be
• less relaxed
• more superficial
• more hesitant
• more stylized
• forced, unnatural
• Is formality related to power?

8
WARMTH

• Warm environments
• encourage us to linger
• feel relaxed
• more comfortable
• Is lack of warmth a power indicator? What about
  warmth?

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PRIVACY

• Enclosed environments privacy
• Isolated environments privacy
• Greater privacy closer speaking distance and
  more personal messages
• Japanese steak house restaurant, have you been to
  Fujis?
• Issue of rural--urban environment

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FAMILIARITY

• Try to associate the familiar with the unfamiliar
• Is lack of familiarity a use of power?

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CONSTRAINT

• Reaction is based on whether, or how easily, we
  can leave
• Are we in low power when we feel constrained?

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DISTANCE

• Physical distance
• Psychological distance
• Can turn people into objects, do this with
  excessive crowding
• More distance, less immediacy
• How is distance a display of power?

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Offices

• What elements of the environment do you notice in
  these slides?

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ENVIRONMENTAL STRUCTURING

• Supermarket
• Most expensive items placed at eye level
• Store labels placed below
• Sale items, may be higher than store labels,
  placed at eye level
• Childrens cereals placed low, healthy adult
  cereals at adult eye level
• They know the average height of customers

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• Music
• Employers believe music improves employee morale
  and relieves job monotony
• Stores--faster music gets you in and out faster
• Storesfaster music increased sales in
  supermarkets
• what makes for pleasant music? Hard concept to
  define. Look at the music in this class!

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ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND MOVABLE OBJECTS

• Fixed Feature
• space organized by unmoving boundaries
• walls, rooms, etc
• height of walls
• considerable effort to change

• Semi-fixed features
• arrangement of moveable objects
• tables, chairs
• wall decorations
• carpeting, etc.
• clutter

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COLOR AND MOODS

• RED
• exciting, defending
• Hostile, love
• BLUE
• secure, tender, tranquil
• ORANGE
• distressed, defiant
• WHITE
• innocence
• GREEN
• Calm, nature

• BROWN
• protective, despondent
• BLACK
• protective, despondent, defiant, masterful
• PURPLE
• Royalty, wealth
• protective, dignified
• YELLOW
• cheerful, joyful
• Attention getter

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SAY IT WITH FLOWERS

• http//www.aboutflowers.com/FlowerTherapy/informat
  ion.htm

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Warmth and Color

• Compare fast food and elegant restaurants, when
  built, color is dated--will this building be
  dated? When, Why?
• Blue potatoes, while blue is a popular decorating
  color, it not for food! Green, brown and red are
  the most popular food colors.

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OTHER

• SOUND
• NOISE AS BACKGROUND
• NOISE AS PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT

• LIGHTING
• DIM
• talk softly, sit closer together
• BRIGHT
• cheerful, stimulating
• ABSENCE
• depression

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STRUCTURE

• MOVEABLE OBJECTS
• BARRIERS OR FACILITATORS

• NONMOVEABLE OBJECTS
• STRUCTURE AND DESIGN

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Classroom Participation

• no difference in windowless and open rooms,
  although there is distaste
• larger classrooms, participation seems to be a
  question of clarification or requests for
  repeating an idea
• question of communication apprehension
• seminar rooms
• fewer people participated but for longer periods
  of time

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Seminar room participation

• Most participation comes from directly across
  from the instructor (COM 324)
• Most avoid the 2 chairs on either side of the
  instructor

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Straight row rooms

• Students in eye contact range of instructor
• Center section of room
• Class size impact
• High verbalizers
• Participation changes as placement changes

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Pull it together.

• Synchrony
• Environment and purpose, is there a match?
• Add the issue of immediacy
• Power
• Environment and purpose, is there a match?
• Immediacy
• Can the environment aid or detract?
• Always look at issue of intention