Communication Needs

How might nonverbal communication assist a probation and parole officer when he or she is assigned a new parol

How might nonverbal communication assist a probation and parole officer when he or she is assigned a new parolee?

Public Comments

1. Studies have shown only a small percentage of communication is actually verbal. The rest is how it is said, and the non-verbal clues associated. There are several indicators that can be associated with truthfulness, and deception. Eye contact, nervous shifting, playing with your hair, and other subconscious actions can tell you more about the person than the actual words they speak. Take the following phrase: "I didn't take the money". The emphasis you place on one of the words changes the meaning. If you emphasize "I", it means you didn't, but you know who did. Stress "didn't" and you are probably telling the truth. Stress the word "take", it means you have the money, but someone else probably took it and gave it to you. If you emphasize "money", it means you didn't take that, but you took something else.
2. Got the same school assignment as this guy did, huh? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArbSiOjJ.4o_ckelgE6kLkrty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080105080751AA6W5rW&show=7#profile-info-AA10797373
3. Nonverbal cues are essentail. whether an offender is open or shut off from you can be important when first meeting. Is the offender giving you eye contact, where are the eyes wandering? Do you want to see if they are drug free? Ask them to give you a sample and see what they do. Do the sit up, divert there eyes or do they lock eyes and say lets do it. If you have an offender sitting back w/ a smirk, might be time to bring down the pain. If the offender is teary eyed and hunched forward, might be time to show compassion and explain that if they want a differnt life, that they can follow the rules of parole/probation and move on with their life.