COMMUNICATION BY TOUCH at WORK
“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” Joel Arthur Baker
We have heard the old clichés that say, “Seeing is believing” and “One gesture is worth a thousand Words.” While it is true that these are oversimplifications, it is also true that certain aspects of them are actually correct. Physical behavior may affect the impact of words and voice upon the listener. It may also be possible to communicate a complete message to another person by using action alone such as messages you communicate with your immediate superiors in the conference rooms, co-workers in the pantry areas, or to friends along the office hallways, all in gestures. It includes not only gestures, posture, and movements, but also the mode of dressing, over-all alertness, animation, muscular tonicity, eye movements, the way the speaker sits or stands, his walk, his general responsiveness and reaction to the communicative process, the way he behaves when he listens to others talk, and everything and anything including communication by touch which furnishes the observer with a visual clue of the speaker, his character and total persona.
The First Mode of Communication
Touch is one of the first modes of communication of a human being. Infants learn much about their environment by touching. We communicate a great deal by it. Patting someone on the back, shaking a hand, or holding a hand can express more than a lengthy speech. It can connote a thousand meanings and can create various interpretations within the communication cycle. Touching is a powerful communication tool and serves to express a tremendous range of feelings such as love, anxiety, warmth, and coldness. Those you love and feel close to you will touch more often than you would casual acquaintances or strangers. The relational dimension of interpersonal transactions is often displayed through touch. While everyone can touch a baby or a young child, few people find it comfortable to touch a person of high status of authority.
Angel on the Shoulder
How you touch also communicates something about your relationship with another person. A tender and gentle touch does convey positive feelings. However, where you touch may have a high communicative value. Areas of the body that can be touched are usually culturally prescribed, and most of the time quite carefully so, because of the potential sexual meaning that touch connotes. Thus, it would be safe to lightly touch only the shoulders as an expression of encouragement, praise, admiration, support, acceptance, gratitude, or acknowledgment. One light tap on the shoulder may be worth a thousand words. It can make a difference in one’s life.
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