A-4 Welcoming Nonverbal Behavior: A Case Study of Group Communication and Visitor Impressions
Presenter Status
MA Student, Department of Communication
Location
Buller Room 108
Start Date
1-11-2013 3:45 PM
End Date
1-11-2013 4:00 PM
Presentation Abstract
With consideration for interpersonal communications within a group setting, the literature suggests that specific nonverbal behaviors can positively influence the development of relationships between communicators. This study sought to identify and represent those behaviors and their relationship to a visitor’s perception of welcome. Following video- and photo-elicitation interviews with the 20 student volunteers in this qualitative case study, data was collected and coded to reveal three overlapping categories of nonverbal behavior that impact a visitor’s first-time experience in a Seventh-day Adventist Church. The repeated, consistent, congruent actions identified as kinesics, chronemics, and proxemics were seen to correlate with either a positive or negative participant reflection on the overall encounter. This information is compounded by the significant expansion of the communication model to include elements of attribution theory and expectancy violations theory in predicting the outcome of a nonverbal communicative encounter. Based on the identified behaviors, including handshaking; head nodding; leaning; smiling; a longer, but regulated length of interaction; socially-anticipated times of service; and spontaneous member-initiated encounters, recommendations can be provided to the church site and additional parochial groups interested in improving the welcoming visitor culture of their community.
A-4 Welcoming Nonverbal Behavior: A Case Study of Group Communication and Visitor Impressions
Buller Room 108
With consideration for interpersonal communications within a group setting, the literature suggests that specific nonverbal behaviors can positively influence the development of relationships between communicators. This study sought to identify and represent those behaviors and their relationship to a visitor’s perception of welcome. Following video- and photo-elicitation interviews with the 20 student volunteers in this qualitative case study, data was collected and coded to reveal three overlapping categories of nonverbal behavior that impact a visitor’s first-time experience in a Seventh-day Adventist Church. The repeated, consistent, congruent actions identified as kinesics, chronemics, and proxemics were seen to correlate with either a positive or negative participant reflection on the overall encounter. This information is compounded by the significant expansion of the communication model to include elements of attribution theory and expectancy violations theory in predicting the outcome of a nonverbal communicative encounter. Based on the identified behaviors, including handshaking; head nodding; leaning; smiling; a longer, but regulated length of interaction; socially-anticipated times of service; and spontaneous member-initiated encounters, recommendations can be provided to the church site and additional parochial groups interested in improving the welcoming visitor culture of their community.