What Is Manual Communication?

@dautsun - Manual communication is definitely pretty important in our society, and in other societies as well. A friend of mine went to Japan for a study abroad, and they have different gestures over there than we have that mean a bunch of different things. Not only did my friend have to worry about knowing the language, she had to learn Japanese manual communication also!

I imagine this would be true of any country you visit, because manual communication isn't completely universal.

@JessicaLynn - I can see how something like mirroring would work as a form of manual communication, as long as you're not too blatant about it. It's almost like you're showing someone you're on the same wavelength as they are, and I can see why it would make someone more comfortable.

Anyway, this article got me thinking about how many manual communication gestures there are in our society that everyone knows. For example, we all know that a wave usually means "goodbye." Clapping is a pretty universal form of expressing enjoyment for a performance. I could probably go on and on!

So basically, it sounds like manual communication encompasses things like sign language and agreed upon gestures like raising your hand to answer a question in classroom. But it also extends to things that are unconscious, like body language. Very interesting.

I've had a little bit of experience in sales, and you can use what you know about manual communication to read your customer, as the article said. But you can also use it to influence the customer too.

For instance, there's a technique called something like "mirroring and matching" that helps you do this. When you use this technique, you basically mirror the customer's body language, which is supposed to make them more comfortable.

I think that eye contact is one form of manual communication that can say a lot about who you are. I was always taught when I meet someone to look them in the eye.

If someone always looks down and has a hard time making contact, it may mean they don't feel confident about themselves or are trying to avoid something.

I often talk with my hands when I am verbally communicating. For me, these two forms of communication go hand in hand. If I had to sit on my hands while I was telling a joke or story, I would have a hard time with that.

I am a much better communicator when I can use a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication.

One form of communication that everyone recognizes no matter what language they speak is a smile. This is a universal sign that is understood by everyone.

Facial expressions play more of a role in our lives than what we realize many times. When I am in a new or unfamiliar situation I try to "read" someone by watching their facial expressions and body language.

This can really tell you a lot about someone whether they realize it or not. If someone is sitting there with their arms crossed the whole time, it is often an indication they are not interested, bored, etc.

If they are leaning forward, it often shows they are interested and eager to learn more. It is pretty easy to read the body language of a child, but this is not always as easy to do with adults.

The more I focus on it, the better I have become at reading people. I never have to guess too hard when it comes to reading my kids, but some adults can be really hard to figure out no matter what.

I have a friend who has two autistic children, and they often use sign language as a way to communicate with them. Many times it is easier for them to connect with them using sign language than verbal communication.

It seems easier for kids of all ages to communicate manually. When you think about how frustrating it would be for someone who has trouble communicating verbally, you can understand why sign language is so beneficial.

My friend uses a combination of verbal and manual communication with her kids. With time, she has learned which method of communication will work best depending on what the situation is.

When I was in college I took a sign language course which was really interesting. I already knew how to sign the alphabet, but this class taught us how to communicate using sign language using more than just the alphabet letters.

One other neat thing we got to do in this class is meet some deaf people in our local community. This gave us the opportunity to use the sign language we were learning to communicate with someone who used this as their main way of communicating.

It also opened up my eyes to a completely different world, and gave me an inside view into how those who are hearing impaired live and communicate.

I think the interactions with the lady I connected with were much more beneficial than the classroom training I received on sign language.