Education

Difference Between Nonverbal Communication and Paralanguage

Difference Between Nonverbal Communication and Paralanguage

A human person is a social animal who requires a means through which to communicate himself, his thoughts, and his emotions. He may communicate his pleasure, sadness, thoughts, ideas, and so on with others via the use of communication methods such as writing and speaking. There are many other aspects of communication, such as verbal and non-verbal communication, to consider. There are additional subparts of these as well, such as pitch, tone, body language, paralanguage, and so on, and they are included below.

Nonverbal Communication Vs. Paralanguage

When comparing Non-Verbal Communication with Para Language, the most significant distinction is that Non-Verbal Communication is a kind of communication in which information is communicated without the use of language. However, Para Language is a subset of Non-Verbal Communication that employs non-lexical components of speech such as tone, pitch, pauses, loudness, and other such characteristics as these.

When messages, ideas, or information are sent without the use of words, this is known as nonverbal communication. It might be anything, such as a signal, facial expressions, or gestures, among other things. Animals interact with one another via nonverbal means as well as spoken means. Inasmuch as verbal communication is incomplete without nonverbal communication, it is the most fundamental component of communication.

Para Language is a kind of nonverbal communication that is used in conjunction with other nonverbal communication methods. It comprises the use of tone, intonation, prosody, loudness, and other elements to convey an emotion or communicate our thoughts, among other things. It might be conveyed intentionally or subconsciously depending on the situation. It is a one-of-a-kind approach in which the same message may be presented in several ways just by altering the volume, pitch, tone, and other aspects of the message.

What is Nonverbal Communication?

Nonverbal communication is a technique of communication in which the sender and receiver share sentiments, thoughts, messages, and other information without using any words. It encompasses signals, posture, body language, gestures, and other things that people use to communicate with one another and with other people. Even animals employ these nonverbal communication strategies to communicate with one another and with humans.

“The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals”, a book written by Charles Darwin in the late nineteenth century, is a non-verbal communication technique described in detail. He investigated how various animals, including lions, tigers, dogs, and other canids, communicated by facial expressions and movements, and for the first time, Non-Verbal Communication drew the attention of the general public.

The study of nonverbal communication is based on three qualities that are important to understand. First and first, there are the ambient circumstances in which communication takes place, followed by the physical state of the Communicators, and finally, there is the manner in which the Communicators act during communication It may be encoded and decoded deliberately or subconsciously, depending on the situation.

Even during verbal communication, we are influenced by non-verbal signals such as body language, motions, facial tones, and other non-verbal indications. It is an extremely significant aspect of the communication strategy. When we are unable to grasp someone’s native language of communication, we depend on non-verbal ways of communication to convey the vast majority of the time in any circumstance.

What is Paralanguage?

Para Language is a subset of Meta-Communication in which we communicate our message, thoughts, and emotions to others via the use of non-verbal tactics such as altering the pitch, volume, and intonation of our voice, among other things. It is a subset of non-verbal communication, and as such, it may be conveyed deliberately or subconsciously in the same way as other non-verbal communication.

When we converse verbally, just a small amount of relevant information is communicated by words; the majority of vital information is communicated through Para Language. For example, when someone says sorry, whether or not the word sorry is intended in the same way is dependent on the tone, pitch, and intonation of the word used in apology. As a result, what a person is conveying is mostly reliant on these clues, which are referred to as Para Language.

When a speaker takes extended breathes or gasps during a speech, it indicates that he is frightened or that he is talking falsehoods. Since signals are more significant than words when communicating, the individual should be able to recognize and comprehend these hints when they are communicated. Paralinguistics is the study of paralanguages, which is a branch of linguistics.

Many individuals, such as motivational speakers, persons presenting presentations, and those who give speeches in public need to grasp the relevance of paralinguistic signals, since listeners are also aware of the speaker’s paralinguistic cues. As a result, learning Para Language may help individuals become more confident public speakers.

Difference between Nonverbal Communication and Paralanguage

  • The primary distinction between nonverbal communication and paralanguage is that nonverbal communication is a communication technique, while paralanguage is a language. Para Language, on the other hand, is a component of the non-verbal form of communication and is thus included in this category.
  • Nonverbal communication is a combination of body language, motions, postures, and other nonverbal cues, while Paralinguistic communication comprises voice tone, pitch, prosody, and other nonverbal cues.
  • Nonverbal communication is a technique of communication in which no words are used, while Paralanguage is a subset of this way of communication that exclusively employs modulation of voice as its only means of communication.
  • The difference between nonverbal communication and paralanguage is that nonverbal communication is a synthesis of multiple components, while paralanguage is merely one component of communication that cannot be comprehended in isolation.
  • In nonverbal communication, the recipient must both see and hear the message, but in paralanguage, the receiver just has to pay attention to the signals and ignore the message.

Conclusion

Communication is a two-way process, which means that both the sender and the receiver must participate in order for the communication process to be successful. Whichever technique is employed, the sender just encodes the message, and the recipient is responsible for decoding the message. This procedure may be carried out utilizing a variety of approaches, each of which is composed of a number of components.

Nonverbal communication is a technique for conveying thoughts, ideas, and sentiments via the use of many components such as eye contact, signals, gestures, postures, and body language, among others. It is a form of communication that does not need the use of words. The use of changes in voice tone, pitch, intonation, and other aspects of communication to transmit signals while talking is referred to as paralinguistics (also known as paralinguistic communication).