What is the difference between verbal and non-verbal communication?

We tend to use Verbal as well as Non-verbal Communication in everyday life. Interestingly, a huge chunk of our Communication is Non- verbal. During a child's developmental years, s/he relies a great deal on non- verbal communication. Crying when hungry and smiling when fed are all non- verbal gestures when language acquisition has not happened. Once children acquire language skills, they begin using verbal as well as non- verbal communication and this continues through lifetime. Verbal Communication essentially entails the use of words to express a point of view. Let us assume that you are in a foreign country, you are lost, you don't know the language and you need to ask someone to help you with directions to your hotel, you would most likely use hand gestures to describe the surroundings of the hotel, you would use eye contact to figure out if the other person can understand you or not, you would try reading into their facial expressions to see whether you are being understood and you would probably make use of a small proportion of words and sounds which comprises verbal communication. Non- verbal Communication basically accounts for your Facial Expressions, Eye Contact, Postures, Gestures, Tone, Proxemics (Proximity- How close is too close), Haptics (Touch) and Body Movement. We include Tone as part of Non- verbal Communication because sometimes, the meaning of a sentence changes depending upon the word that is being stressed upon. Don't believe it- Try reading the sentence "I didn't do my Homework." Now stress on one particular word at a time and read the same sentence and see how the effect and the meaning of the sentence changes.Things are generally smooth when your verbal and non- verbal communication complement one another. However, sometimes, people do send out conflicting messages- An example of this would be smiling (Non- verbal Communication) while giving critical feedback (Verbal Communication). It is best to ensure that your Verbal and Non- verbal Communication are complementing one another in order for Communication to flow smoothly without any conflicts. read less