Essential Vocabulary


Body posture (noun) – how we stand or sit

Facial expression (noun) – a smile, a frown

Gestures (noun) – movement of hands and body to help to explain or emphasise our verbal message

Haptics (noun) – touch behaviour

Kinesics (noun) – body movement, gestures

Metacommunication (noun) – something 'in addition to the communication' and we must always be aware of its existence

Oculesics (noun) – gaze behaviour, eye contact

Orientation (noun) – whether we face the other person or turn away

Proxemics (noun) – spatial behaviour, interpersonal distance