Even though our society subtly discourages the verbal expression of emotions, most of us, in ostensibly conforming to our roles, nevertheless manage to express likes, dislikes, status differences, personalities, as well as weaknesses in nonverbal ways. Using vocal expressions; gestures, postures, and movements, we amplify, restrict, or deny what our words say to one another, and even say some things with greater facility and efficiency than with words. In this new, multidimensional approach to the subject of nonverbal communication Albert Mehrabian brings together a great deal of original work which includes descriptions of new experimental methods that are especially suited to this field, detailed findings of studies scattered throughout the literature, and most importantly, the integration of these findings within a compact framework.

A semantic space for nonverbal behavior -- The language of posture and position -- Language within language -- Implicit rhetoric -- Nonverbal betrayal of feeling -- Inconsistent messages and sarcasm -- Styles and abilities in implicit communication -- Categories of social behavior -- Child communication.