This document discusses the verbal and nonverbal dimensions of communication. It defines verbal communication as symbolic and influenced by culture, while nonverbal communication conveys at least 65% of overall meaning through body language, touch, paralanguage, appearance, space and time orientation, and other means. Effective communication uses messages that interest, understand, and motivate receivers from a shared cultural context. Symbols are arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract representations that derive meaning from human interpretation and social conventions.

1. Dimensi Komunikasi Verbal &
Nonverbal
Oleh: Dr. Nuryah Asri Sjafirah, M.Si

2. Dimensi Komunikasi Verbal
 Wood (1997:123): “All language & much nonverbal behavior
is symbolic, but not all symbols are language. Art, music,
logos, object can be symbols that stand for feelings,
thoughts, and experiences. Symbols are arbitrary,
ambiguous, and abstract ways of representing other things.”
 Lambang tidak mempunyai makna, manusia yang
memberikan makna.
 Lambang bervariasi sesuai dengan budaya, tempat, dan
konteks waktu, begitu juga dengan makna yang diberikan
pada lambang tersebut. Contohnya??

3.  Mulyana (2001:237): Bahasa adalah seperangkat simbol
dengan aturan untuk mengkombinasikan simbol2
tersebut, yg dipahami & digunakan suatu komunitas.
 Krech at all (1982:307): “Language reflects both the
personality of the individual and the culture of his society
and in turn helps shape personality and culture”
 Apabila komunikasi melibatkan orang yg berbeda
budaya maka akan banyak pengalaman yg berbeda &
proses abstraksi menjadi sulit.

4.  Sapir & Whorf (dalam Kaye 1994:91):
“Language structures & systems which
people learn from their cultures strongly
influence how they view & interpret their
world”
 Infante, Rancer, & Womack (1999:198):
“Culture strongly influences the way a
linguistic system develops & is transmitted”

5. The Characteristic of Symbols:
 “Symbols are arbitrary, which means they are not intrinsically
connected to what they represent. So we can create private codes
that only we & certain others know. Language & meanings also
change over time”
 “Symbols are ambiguous, which means their meaning aren’t fixed.
Recognizing the ambiguity of language allows us to be sensitive to
the different meanings that people may have for the same words.”
 “Symbols are abstract, which means they are not concrete or
tangible. They stand for ideas, people, events, objects, feelings, and
so forth, but they are not the things they represent”

6. Principles of Verbal Communication:
 Interpretation create meaning
We construct meanings in the process of interacting with others and
through dialogues we carry on in our heads.
 Communication is rule-guided
Communication rules are shared understandings of what
communication means & what behaviors are appropriate in various
situations.
 Punctuation affects meaning
In interpersonal communication punctuations is mentally marking
beginnings and endings of particular interactions to assign meaning
to them.

7. Dimensi Komunikasi Nonverbal
 Porter & Samovar (dlm Mulyana,2001:308): “Komunikasi
nonverbal mencakup semua stimuli (kecuali stimuli verbal)
dalam setting komunikasi, yang dihasilkan oleh individu &
penggunaan lingkungan oleh individu,yang mengandung nilai
pesan potensial bagi pengirim & penerima. Definisi ini
mencakup perilaku yang sengaja & tidak disengaja.
 Porter & Samovar (1991:208): “Studying nonverbal behavior
can lead to discovery of culture’s underlying attitudes &
values”
 “Nonverbal communication & culture are similar in that they
are both learned, passed on from generation to generation, &
involve shared understandings”

8. Klasifikasi Pesan Nonverbal
 Wood (1997:151): “Nonverbal communication
includes how we utter words (inflection, volume), features
of environments that affect meaning (temperature,
lighting), and objects that affects personal images &
interaction patterns (dress, jewelry, furniture)”
 Mulyana (2001:316-383) mencatat klasifikasi nonverbal
sebagai berikut: Bahasa tubuh (isyarat tangan, gerakan
kepala, postur tubuh & kaki, ekspresi wajah & tatapan
mata), sentuhan, parabahasa, penampilan fisik (busana,
karakteristik fisik), bau-bauan, orientasi ruang & waktu,
diam, warna, artefak.

9. Fungsi Komunikasi Nonverbal
 Porter & Samovar (1999:207): “To repeat,
complement, and contradict what we have said; to
substitute for a verbal action; to regulate a
communication event”
 Birdwhistell & Mehrabian (dalam Wood, 1997:151):
“Nonverbal behavior is a major dimension of
human communication. The nonverbal accounts for
65% to 93% of the total meaning of
communication”
 Pesan nonverbal lebih banyak digunakan dlm
berkomunikasi dibandingkan dengan pesan verbal.

10. Alasan pentingnya pesan nonverbal
menurut Dale G Leathers
(dlm Rakhmat,2001:287-289)
 Faktor2 nonverbal sangat menentukan makna dalam komunikasi
interpersonal
 Perasaan & emosi lebih cermat disampaikan lewat pesan nonverbal
dibanding pesan verbal.
 Pesan nonverbal menyampaikan makna & maksud yang relatif bebas
dari penipuan, distorsi & kerancuan.
 Pesan nonverbal mempunyai fungsi metakomunikatif yg sangat
diperlukan untuk mencapai komunikasi yang berkualitas tinggi.
 Pesan nonverbal merupakan cara komunikasi yg lebih efisien
dibandingkan dengan pesan verbal.
 Pesan nonverbal merupakan sarana sugesti yg paling tepat

11. Terciptanya komunikasi yang efektif
diantaranya dapat dicapai melalui:
 Pesan yg akan disampaikan harus dirancang & disampaikan
sedemikian rupa agar komunikan tertarik
 Pesan harus menggunakan tanda2 yg tertuju pada pengalaman yg
sama antara komunikator & komunikan sehingga dapat sama2
dimengerti
 Pesan harus dapat membangkitkan kebutuhan pribadi komunikator &
menyarankan cara2 untuk memperoleh kebutuhan tersebut
 Pesan harus dapat menggerakan komunikan untuk memberikan
respon yang dikehendaki

12. TERIMA KASIH