Vocal Cues

Nonverbal communication includes some sounds, as long as they are not words. We call them paralinguistic features—the nonword sounds and nonword characteristics of language, such as pitch, volume, rate, and quality. The prefix para means “along- side” or “parallel to,” so paralinguistic means “alongside the words or language.”

The paralinguistic feature examined here is vocal cues—all of the oral aspects of sound except words themselves. Vocal cues include

• Pitch: the highness or lowness of your voice.

• Rate: how rapidly or slowly you speak.

• Inflection: the variety or changes in pitch.

• Volume: the loudness or softness of your voice.

• Quality: the unique resonance of your voice, such as huskiness, nasality, raspiness, or whininess.

• Nonword sounds: “mmh,” “huh,” “ahh,” and the like, as well as pauses or

the absence of sound used for effect in speaking.

• Pronunciation: whether or not you say a word correctly.

• Articulation: whether or not your mouth, tongue, and teeth coordinate to

make a word understandable to others (such as a lisp).

• Enunciation: whether or not you combine pronunciation and articulation

to produce a word with clarity and distinction so that it can be under-

stood. A person who mumbles has an enunciation problem.

• Silence: the lack of sound.

These vocal cues are important because they are linked in our minds with a speaker’s physical characteristics, emotional state, personality characteristics, gender characteristics, and even credibility. In addition, vocal cues, alone, have a persuasive effect for people when they are as young as 12 months (Vaish & Striano, 2004).

According to Kramer (1963), vocal cues frequently convey information about the speaker’s characteristics, such as age, height, appearance, and body type. For example, people often associate a high-pitched voice with someone who is female, younger, and/ or smaller. You may visualize someone who uses a loud voice as being big or someone who speaks quickly as being nervous. People who tend to speak slowly and deliberately may be perceived as being high-status individuals or as having high credibility.

A number of studies have related emotional states to specific vocal cues. Joy and hate appear to be the most accurately communicated emotions, whereas shame and love are among the most difficult to communicate accurately (Laukka, Juslin, & Bresin, 2005; Planalp, 1996). Joy and hate appear to be conveyed by fewer vocal cues, and this makes them less difficult to interpret than emotions such as shame and love, which are conveyed by complex sets of vocal cues. “Active” feelings such as joy and hate are associated with a loud voice, a high pitch, and a rapid rate. Conversely, “passive” feelings, which include affection and sadness, are communicated with a soft voice, a low pitch, and a relatively slow rate (Kramer, 1963).

Personality characteristics also have been related to vocal cues. Dominance, social adjustment, and sociability have been clearly correlated with specific vocal cues (Bateson, Jackson, Haley, & Weakland, 1956). Irony, on the other hand, cannot be determined on the basis of vocal cues alone (Bryant & Tree, 2005).

Although the personality characteristics attributed to individuals displaying particular vocal cues have not been shown to accurately portray the person, as determined by standardized personality tests, our impressions affect our interactions. In other words, although you may perceive loud-voiced, high-pitched, fast-speaking individuals as dominant, they might not be measured as dominant by a personality inventory. Nonetheless, in your interactions with such people, you may become increasingly submissive because of your perception that they are dominant. In

addition, these people may begin to become more dominant because they are treated as though they have this personality characteristic.

Vocal cues can help a public speaker establish credibility with an audience and can clarify the message. Pitch and inflection can be used to make the speech sound aesthetically pleasing, to accomplish subtle changes in meaning, and to tell an audience whether you are asking a question or making a statement, being sincere or sarcastic, or being doubtful or assertive. A rapid speaking rate may indicate you are confident about speaking in public or that you are nervously attempting to conclude your speech. Variations in volume can be used to add emphasis or to create suspense. Enunciation is especially important in public speaking because of the increased size of the audience and the fewer opportunities for direct feedback. Pauses can be used in a public speech to create dramatic effect and to arouse audience interest. Vocalized pauses—“ah,” “uh-huh,” “um,” and so on—are not desirable in public speaking and may distract the audience.

Silence is a complex behavior steeped in contradictions. To be sure, silence is far better than vocalized pauses in public speaking. Too, silence may signal respect and empathy when another person is speaking or disclosing personal information. One observer notes: “Sometimes silence is best. Words are curious things, at best approximations. And every human being is a separate language. . . . [Sometimes] silence is best” (Hardman, 1971). On the other hand, silence may signal the dark side of communication. People in power, in dominant cultures, or in positions of authority may silence others. Those with whom they come in contact may be marginalized or embarrassed and feel that they must remain silent because of sexism, racism, taboo, incidents of violence or abuse, shame, or a hostile environment (Olson, 1997).

Clothing and Other Artifacts

Objectics, or object language, refers to the study of the human use of clothing and other artifacts as nonverbal codes. Artifacts are ornaments or adornments you display that hold communicative potential, including jewelry, hairstyles, cosmetics, automobiles, canes, watches, shoes, portfolios, hats, glasses, tattoos, body piercings, and even the fillings in teeth. Your clothing and other adornments communicate your age, gender, status, role, socioeconomic class, group memberships, personality, and relation to the opposite sex. Dresses are seldom worn by men, low-cut gowns are not the choice of shy women, bright colors are avoided by reticent people, and the most recent Paris fashions are seldom seen in the small towns of America.

These cues also indicate the time in history, the time of day, the climate, and one’s culture (Frith, Hong, & Ping Shaw, 2004). Clothing and artifacts provide physical and psychological protection, and they are used to spur sexual attraction and to indicate self-concept. Your clothing and artifacts clarify the sort of person you believe you are (Fisher, 1975). They permit personal expression (Boswell, 2006), and they satisfy your need for creative self-expression (Horn, 1975). A person who exhibits an interest in using clothing as a means of expression may be demonstrating a high level of self-actualization (Perry, Schutz, & Rucker, 1983). For example, an actress who always dresses in expensive designer dresses may be showing everyone that she is exactly what she always wanted to be.

Many studies have established a relationship between an individual’s clothing and artifacts and his or her characteristics. Conforming to current styles is correlated with an individual’s desire to be accepted and liked (Taylor & Compton, 1968). In addition, individuals feel that clothing is important in forming first impressions (Henricks, Kelley, & Eicher, 1968).

Perhaps of more importance are the studies that consider the relationship between clothing and an observer’s perception of that person. In an early study, clothing was shown to affect others’ impressions of status and personality traits (Douty, 1963). People also seem to base their acceptance of others on their clothing and artifacts. In another early study, women who were asked to describe the most popular women they knew cited clothing as the most important characteristic (Williams & Eicher, 1966).

Clothing also communicates authority and people’s roles. Physicians have historically worn a white coat to indicate their role. For many people the white coat signified healing and better health. As the white coat has begun to be phased out, however, the physician’s ability to persuade patients to follow advice may have declined as well. Thus the physician may need to learn alternative symbolic means of persuasion (Panja, 2004).

Body modifications are a type of artifact. They include tattoos and piercing, which have been popular in recent years. Although they can be removed, the procedures may be both costly and time intensive. What do tattoos signal to others? Most people probably choose to adorn themselves with tattoos and piercings because they believe it adds to their overall attractiveness. A recent study, however, showed some different findings. Men with tattoos were viewed as more dominant than nontattooed men while women with tattoos were seen as less healthy than women without tattoos. These findings hold implications for a biological signaling effect of tattoos (Wohlrab, Fink, Kappeler, & Brewer, 2009).