Do you hear what I hear?

Although paralanguage falls under the nonverbal heading within the study of communication, it is in fact verbal. These audio clips give specific examples of a variety of different kinds of paralanguage that you might hear everyday. It is funny to think that our communication is compiled of much more than words. After you listen to a few of these examples, ask yourself what element of paralanguage you use the most. I'm big into sighing. Some paralanguage studies suggest that means I'm never satisfied and that I've always got something on my mind. I'd agree. What does your paralanguage say about you?

Paralanguage Quiz

Too often in life, I think I know something inside and out, because I once read it in a book somewhere. I've been interested in paralanguage for the last three years. My fascination with it most likely comes from my theater background, where I analyzed dialogue thoroughly for an number of years. Do you think you know a lot about paralanguage and nonverbal communication? Test your nonverbal deciphering skills here. I always think that I can read people's paralanguage well, because I've studied it a lot, but I find that I'm frequently surprised about how wrong I am. I was extremely right on this quiz, however. I got a 100%. Did you?

Defining paralanguage

Do you ever listen between the words? If you're wondering what I mean by that, you're not alone. Commonly known as how you say what you say, paralanguage provides a window into the mind of the communicator. Knowing the definition and elements of paralanguage is just a start in understanding the bigger idea of listening between the words. Click on the links to discover more.