7 Tips to Using Nonverbal Communication in Your Writing

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There are definitely more than 7 tips that one could give.  Nonverbal communication is essential and complicated.  So, know that this is the tip of the iceberg tip.  After all, I always stick to 7 tips and making it longer would break tradition.  Let’s get going!

  1. Take some time paying attention to the nonverbal communication of those around you in order to get an idea of what to include.  Yes, I’m starting with research since this is something we don’t typically notice.  Notice facial expressions, gestures, voice tones, and whatever else portrays emotions besides words.  Connect them to personalities and speaker’s moods to get an idea of when to use them.
  2. A variation of dialogue tags can help portray voice tone.  This also avoids repetition when you have multiple characters speaking in a scene.  There are plenty of lists of dialogue tags beyond ‘said’ out there.  Try to collect a few for each emotion and keep the list on hand.
  3. Try to limit the amount of times you have characters sigh . . . I really need to remember this one myself.
  4. There is a difference between creepy staring, disgust staring, sexy staring, and general eye contact.  Try to make sure you establish which one it is if you want to bring attention to it.  Facial expressions can alter this as well.  For example, you could have a character simply looking at someone’s face during a conversation like normal.  If you suddenly have them lick their lips, you can change the tone. Now, the reader might think it’s either going to become romantic or cannibalistic.
  5. Hand gestures and arm movements can be very important.  If you don’t mention how a character’s body is moving during a long dialogue, the readers might have issues conjuring the scene.  The characters are just standing there talking like statues, which can hurt the scene on some level.  Think about how we might shift when nervous, bounce a bit when excited, or let our bodies slump when relaxing.
  6. Touch can be very difficult to pull off because it depends a lot on the situation, relationships, and general tone.  Unlike the other parts of nonverbal communication, this involves crossing boundaries.  Doing so can make a character feel either violated or comforted.  So, going for touch communications without a second thought can result in messing up a scene.
  7. Eye rolling . . . This is more of a pet peeve because I’ve learned that I react to this fairly often.  This action can be frustrating for a character who sees it.  I’ve noticed that most times it’s used to show how one isn’t interested in a conversation or showing disdain, but there isn’t typically a reaction.  Eye rolling has a lot of impact since it breaks eye contact, denotes negativity, and causes the target to realize that they should stop talking.
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About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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12 Responses to 7 Tips to Using Nonverbal Communication in Your Writing

  1. L. Marie's avatar L. Marie says:

    Great tips! I also need to remember to avoid so many sighs. 😊 But I am trying to use nonverbal communication more, especially in scenes of high emotion when a character feels a mixture of things. I so appreciate what Denis Villeneuve mentioned in regard to nonverbal gestures also.

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  2. These are all great. I use gestures and very few tags. Eye contact is something I should work on.

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  3. My characters seem to be nodding all the time. It’s something that happens in movies/tv a lot that irks me. A character is about to do something but first they have to look at another character and get that nod of permission. Like, they can’t take action on their own?

    On a more positive note, I know I’ve heard of an “emotion dictionary” that describes potential signals and reactions that are commonly linked to an emotion. These are especially good when showing without any telling. Readers are left to interpret what the signal means.

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  4. Great stuff to keep in mind as we draft our stories. The emotional dictionary is a real thing, but I don’t have one.

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  5. V.M.Sang's avatar V.M.Sang says:

    Excellent 7 tips. I have a problem with sighing, too!

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