Scientists attach
great importance to the human capacity for spoken language. But we also have a
parallel track of nonverbal communication, and those messages may reveal more
than our carefully chosen words and sometimes be at odds with them. Since much,
if not most, of the nonverbal signaling and reading of signals is automatic and
performed outside our conscious awareness and control, through our nonverbal
cues we unwittingly communicate a great deal of information about ourselves and
our state of mind. The gestures we make, the position in which we hold our
bodies, the expressions we wear on our faces, and the nonverbal qualities of
our speech—all contribute to how others view us.
