Reducing Communication Apprehension
Here's a novel method for rehearsing your speech and for reducing your communication apprehension.

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Nonverbal Cues to Lying

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Here’s an interesting article on lying and the nonverbal cues that often (but, not always) reveal that a person is, in fact, lying. The author correctly points out that the first thing one needs to know is how the person behaves normally—what we call establishing a baseline of behavior. Deviations from this baseline are the most revealing. Here are the 11 signs.  1. Liars change their head position more than truth-tellers 2. Liars' breathing changes 3. Liars stand still 4. Liars repeat words and phrases 5. Liars provide more information than needed 6. Liars touch or cover their mouth 7. Liars cover vulnerable body parts 8. Liars shuffle their feet 9. Liars find it difficult to speak 10. Liars stare without blinking 11. Liars point a lot
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Height

Here is a revision of a little quiz to introduce the topic of height in a nonverbal or other communication class.  It contains both historical and contemporary personalities and should play well in the classroom. The Self-test Try estimating the heights of the following famous people whom you’ve probably read about or heard about (but probably not seen in person) by circling the guessed height. In each of these examples, one of the heights given is correct. 1.       Baby Face Nelson (bank robber and murderer in the 1930s): 5ʹ5ʺ, 5ʹ11ʺ, 6ʹ2ʺ 2.       Ludwig Van Beethoven (influential German composer): 5’6”, 6’0”, 6’5” 3.       Kim Kardashian (media personality): 5’2”, 5’5”, 5’8” 4.       Buckminster Fuller (scientist, credited with inventing the geodesic dome): 5’2”, 5’10”, 6’3” 5.       Bruno Mars (singer): 5’5”, 5’8”, 5’10” 6.       ...
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Functions of Smell

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In the current issue of Wired (May 2014) there’s a brief article on Menssana Research and their efforts to detect sickness from breath samples. According to their website, they do NOT provide diagnostic tests for disease but instead a breath test to tell you if you don’t need to get more tests. So, for example, in the case of a lung cancer test, if the breath test is negative, the person need not go for additional tests. If the test is positive, then additional testing (such as a chest CT) is needed.  We do something similar when we make judgments about someone having, say, an upset stomach from their bad breath. So, in The Nonverbal Communication Book the four functions of smell that I identify--to attract others, to aid taste, to aid memory, and to create an image—need to be increased to add: to detect illness and well-being.
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