Reyes, Dalila

Instr. Gross

English 103

March 17, 2011

Nonverbal Behavior

            In retail, nonverbal cues are very important, as it can make a huge difference when providing service to a customer.  I am trained to read cues such as a customer restlessly looking thorough a stack of shirts or a customer with a bag at hand looking hurriedly around the store.  All these nonverbal cues are signs of customers in need of a size or searching for the check out, and without these cues, associates such as myself, would not know when a customer is in need of assistance.  Although technology is advancing everyday, we still live in a predominantly personnel society.  The DMV, post office, banks, including retail stores are all social ran facilities in which verbal cues come into play.   Due to all the different personal interactions, it can become very easy to be influenced by them.  The slightest nonverbal cue can be perceived as a positive or a negative.  Depending on the perceptions, a negative one can be the beginning of personal discomfort or the start of an argument.

            Nonverbal cues can be heavily influenced by the media.  The advance of technology has allowed quicker and easier access to music videos and television shows.  With teenagers and young adults having access to this media at their palm of their hands, many feed off of the actions or “fashion” trends many of these celebrity figures do or say.  For example, the hand “shake” that many young men use, is very different than a normal hand shake a fifty year old man would use.  The hand “shake” means hello, a sign of respect and acknowledgement for one another. If a young man would use such gesture with a much older man, the gesture would be meaning less.  The younger generation has been influenced by mass media and has essentially created new meaning to gestures and nonverbal cues. 

            We all rely on nonverbal cues when communicating with one another.  The cues can be universal such as a hand wave which means hello, a smile which indicates happiness or satisfaction, or a frown to indicate sadness or disappointment.  Working in retail for many years, I have become accustomed to the many facial expressions that can be portrayed by a customer.  One customer alone can express happy, excited, relieved, perplexed and angered expressions within a thirty minute shopping experience.  The expressions can be limitless.  At times the tone of voice can indicate the mood of person.  When interacting with a customer, the first statement that I make is “Hello, How are you today?”  The most common answer is “good. “ The responses can be very genuine at times, as the tone can be very pleasant and happy.  There are occasions in which the answer is “good,” although that good can be very contradicting as the tone of voice is harsh, unpleasant, irritated and annoyed.  In those types of cases, the actual words are meaningless as the tone conveys the real truth.  The nonverbal cue that can be understood is that the customers do not want to be bothered as they are having a bad day.  Working in retail strengths the idea that nonverbal cues are just as important as verbal cues