Question and Answer

Question and Answer

with Tiffany Rathfon, Senior Communication Major at Youngstown State University.

1) Would you say non-verbals or verbal communication is more important in a conversation? Please explain.

Answer: Well, we've all heard the phrase, "actions speak louder than words," and after taking so many years of communication and being able to apply it in the real world, I would agree, non-verbals indicate what the person is really saying. After all, no-one things it's weird when they see a person speak just with their hands (sign language), but isn't it odd to see someone who doesn't use any non-verbals at all?

2) Explain one situation where someone's non-verbals made you question what they were saying?

Answer: I really love Fox's new tv show, "Lie to Me," which is all about the use of non-verbals to indicate lying. Recently, I had made mix drinks at my sisters and left the bottles at her house because I didn't want to be carrying open bottles over state lines. Well, when I went back the bottles were empty! When I asked her what happened she looked me straight in the eye and blamed it on one of her boyfriends friends. I knew she was lying, because when someone is trying to recall information, they look upward and toward the right. After listening, I told her she owed me a bottle of Stoli Raz and she knew she was busted, she had used it all.



3) In your opinion, what are the most significant or obvious non-verbals a person can give you?

Answer: Hand signals are always the most obvious, especially regulators. Things such as "stop," rolling the hands to indicate, "get a move on it," or even pointing left or right on a bike....Those are all pretty obvious.


4) Do you try to censor your non-verbals? Why or why not?

Answer: No. In high school, on debate team we were taught about our "box," this little invisible space to stay within when using our hand movements. I think it got drilled in pretty well. Non-verbals are so subconscious, it would just take too much work to censor them.