Topic outline

  • BADGE – Becoming a Digital Global Engineer


    • MODULE: Non-Verbal Communication

      Lesson 2. Facial Expressions and gestures [1]


    • BADGE – Becoming a Digital Global Enginee
      Project 2019-1-FR01-KA203-063010 (167 512 512)

  • Objectives

    • After studying this unit, you will be able to …

      1. Understand how non-verbal communication contributes to our understanding;
      2. Distinguish among different facial expressions that aid our communication;
      3. Incorporate appropriate facial expressions and gestures into your daily and professional communication.

  • Discussion questions

      1. How many kinds of non-verbal communication can you name?
      2. How do you think facial expressions and gestures contribute to meaning in conversations?
      3. When do you use different emojis or emoticons (emotional icons) in your daily communication? Why?

  • Did you know?

      1. “A substantial portion of our communication is nonverbal. Every day we respond to thousands of nonverbal cues and behaviours, including postures, facial expressions, eye gaze, gestures and tone of voice. From our handshakes to our hairstyles, nonverbal details reveal who we are and impact how we relate to other people” (Cherry, 2021).
      2. What kind of message is being sent by the body language illustrated in the following three images*? [2]


      3. Brainstorm what you know about each of these concepts below and think about the message you transmit with each.
        • Facial expressions
        • Gestures
        • Eye contact
        • Body language and posture
        • Proxemics and distance
        • Appearance

  • Reading

  • Activities

  • Further practice

  • Bibliography and additional resources

  • References

    • [1] This is the second of five lessons devoted to non-verbal communication (introduction, facial expressions and gestures, body language and posture, non-verbal communication across cultures, and non-verbal communication in virtual contexts). Each lesson should take students approximately 2 hours to complete. Suggested answers, bibliography and additional resources are provided at the end of each lesson. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, is open for all to use and modify with attribution to BADGE- Becoming a Digital Global Engineer (Project 2019-1-FR01-KA203-063010 - 167 512 512).

      [2] All images in this lesson were taken from www.pixabay.com (Accessed February 2022).

      [3] To distinguish between emojis and emoticons, see explanation in https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-emoji-and-emoticons

      [4] Copyright permission granted by BBC News Permissions Team (EO) on 18 July 2022. The images and tweets posted in the original article have been removed to protect original owners’ copyrights.

      [5]

      [6] In the original article, the tweet by Kim Zetter states “In Israel, you generally use this gesture when you’re annoyed or angry with someone”

      [7] In the original article, the tweet by Emile Hokayem states “This emoji represents several things in the Arab world, including two extremes […] (slowly, wait, calm down, patience, etc.) or […] (you will see what will happen to you, as in a threat).”

      [8] Lance Ulanoff is cited in the original BBC article with this comment.

      [9] @SoshIU is quoted in the original text as “MANDU YOU”. MANDU HEART.

      [10] To learn more about the Unicode standards and development, see https://home.unicode.org/