Nonverbal Communication: Tex-Mex Restaurant

A nod, a wave, and even a simple look. These are all ways that we, as humans, communicate nonverbally with one another. Whether we realize it or not, we are constantly communicating with others, even when we are not speaking aloud. This form of communication is called nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is all of the ways we interact with others without saying a single word. It is comprised of a series of nonverbal codes. These codes consist of paralanguage, chronemics and proxemics, and physical appearance and object language. In order to observe these nonverbal codes in the real world, my group and I went to Moe’s Southwest Grill, a casual dining Tex-Mex restaurant. While there, I took note of the various uses of nonverbal communication …show more content…
Paralanguage, as it is defined by author Sarah Trenholm, is a variance of vocal characteristics. These characteristics include vocal qualities, such as a speaker’s tone or pitch. For example, upon entering the restaurant, the employees behind the counter welcomed me with their signature “Welcome to Moe’s!” greeting. The tone in which the employees spoke was pleasant and inviting, making me feel welcome into the establishment. Vocalizations, including crying, laughing, and yawning were also observed, as many people would often laugh while having conversations during their meal. When ordering my meal, …show more content…
Chronemics relate to time and include three different time orientations: psychological, biological, and cultural. Psychological time orientation involves whether people tend to think in terms of the past, present, or future. Past orientated people tend to dwell on what has already happened, those who live in the moment are present orientated, and those who set goals and focus on what’s next are considered to be future orientated. Biological time orientation has to do with each individuals’ internal clock and refers to how we physically react to time. For instance, many people at Moe’s were probably there at that time because they were hungry and need to eat dinner. Cultural time orientation is based upon how different cultures value time. In the United States, for example, our time is extremely important to us. If we have a meeting at noon, we are expected to arrive on time, however, in another country such as Italy, where time is not as strict, arriving a few minutes late is acceptable and even