Non-Verbal Training and Formation

Paralinguistics concerns all vocal emissions that are not strictly related to “words”, and includes:

• the tone of the voice;
• the volume;
• the silences;
• breaks;
• the rhythm of speech;
• the interjections (short emissions, like er, uhm …).

Paralinguistics establishes the punctuation of speech, and helps convey emotional information. Messages such as “I am tense”, “I am angry” or “I am well disposed” ooze more from the paralinguistic system than from the linguistic system. A sentence can carry completely different meanings that depend on the emphasis on words and tone of voice.

Exercise of modulation of meanings through the non-verbal and paralinguistic system

The exercise involves the modulation of meanings through the non-verbal system, gestures, intonations. Convey the different meanings associated with the following sentence: “Our company may be very interested in your proposal”. Possible formulations to be interpreted:

• Our company may be very interested in your proposal (emphasis on ours; meaning to be conveyed: “other companies less”)
• Our company may be very interested in your proposal (emphasis on can; meaning to convey: “we don’t know, we’ll see, doubtful”)
• Our company may be very interested in your proposal (emphasis on a lot; meaning to convey: “really interesting”)
• Our company may be very interested in your proposal (emphasis on interested expressed in a doubtful way; meaning to be conveyed: “interested, but it’s all yet to be seen”).

Non-verbal training and formation

Training in the use of paralinguistic requires training on the strategic use of pauses and tones. In general, training for the non-verbal includes access to all repertoires of theatrical and actor techniques, the Stanislavskij method and other theatrical training methods, the only ones truly capable of acting in depth on the transformation of expressive behavior.

Adequate training can be useful to train the negotiator to grasp the trembling of the voice of others (symptom of nervousness and stress), and the non-verbal reactions to one’s statements, to act “theatrically” through movement, pauses and alternating rhythms to give emphasis parts of the speech and key points to emerge. As with any other managerial task, without adequate preparation the chances of being competitive on a negotiating level decrease when the balance of skills is unbalanced.

As the gap between our training and the level of training of the counterpart increases, the risks of an unfavorable outcome of each negotiation increase.

© Article translated from the book “Negoziazione interculturale, comunicazione oltre le barriere culturali” (Intercultural Negotiation: Communication Beyond Cultural Barriers) copyright Dr. Daniele Trevisani Intercultural Negotiation Training and Coaching, published with the author’s permission. The Book’s rights are on sale and are available for any Publisher wishing to consider it for publication in English and other languages except for Italian and Arab whose rights are already sold and published. If you are interested in publishing the book in English, or any other language, or seek Intercultural Negotiation Training, Coaching, Mentoring and Consulting, please feel free to contact the author from the webstite www.danieletrevisani.com 

For further information see:

• Website of Studio Trevisani Academy For Business Training, Coaching e Mentoring, in Italian
• Website Dr. Daniele Trevisani in Italian
• Dr. Daniele Trevisani – Website in English
• Comunicazioneaziendale.it Italian website on Business Communication
• Medialab Research Cultural Association for Communication Research
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L'articolo Paralinguistic Channels proviene da Dr. Daniele Trevisani - Formazione Aziendale, Ricerca, Coaching.