Through kinesics we express all types of emotions
The Greek word kínēsis derived from the English word kinesic . That is the closest etymological antecedent of kinesics , a term that in our language refers to the body movements , postures and gestures that make up non-verbal language .
Elements of communication
Also called kinesia or quinesia , kinesics (which can be written with Q : kinesics ) is made up of those gestures and bodily actions that are not part of orality but that can communicate and have an expressive component. Kinesic elements are perceived through sight , hearing or touch .
Movements of the face and body in general, as well as body posture, transmit information about emotions and attitudes . In a person's face, for example, it is possible to "see" whether they are afraid or happy. These questions are part of kinesics, the name also given to the discipline dedicated to the study of the subject.
Kinesics positions and movements can be unconscious or conscious . Sometimes the individuals who carry out these acts do them spontaneously, without thinking about it, while in other cases there is an intention behind it.
Non-verbal communication
In non-verbal communication, kinesics is combined with paralinguistics (the volume of the voice, tone and other resources that complement linguistic emissions) and with proxemics (the use of personal space). These three dimensions define the characteristics of the communicative process.
Suppose that, in a work meeting, a man is sitting with his arms crossed , looking at the floor and with a grim expression . Even without speaking, the subject is transmitting his displeasure with the situation through kinesics.
One of the kinesic elements that we can perceive in this case is the position of the arms, which is related to blocking information or stimuli that come from outside . Crossing your arms is a way of “raising a barrier” to prevent others from approaching us, whether or not we are aware of what we are doing.
And this example serves to emphasize the importance of the unconscious or involuntary nature that kinesics can have. We must not forget that we learn to communicate from a very young age , and we incorporate a large part of our mechanisms "naturally" into our behavior , to the point of executing them as if they were reflex acts.
Gesture Categories
According to communication experts Wallace Friesen and Paúl Ekman , it is possible to distinguish the following five categories of gestures:
* emblematic : these are signals that we emit intentionally and that can be understood by our environment without having to explain their meaning;
* illustrative : they are coupled to verbal communication to provide nuances, highlight certain parts of the message or to replace a word, among other possibilities. Its use is intentional and can be very useful when speaking in front of many people;
We must be attentive to our own and other people 's body language
* interaction regulators : they regulate or synchronize communication without the channel disappearing. They are used to take the floor, to begin or end an interaction or to give the turn to another interlocutor;
* that express emotional states : they are a reflection of the emotional state of the sender and what the communication causes him at the moment. In instant messaging systems, we appeal to the use of emoticons with the same objective;
* adaptation : they are what we use to manage emotions that we do not want to externalize, to calm ourselves or release tension, among other purposes. Within this group, kinesics recognizes gestures in different directions: towards ourselves, towards an object and towards other individuals . They can be conscious or unconscious.