ABSTRACT
Speech conveys information. Simultaneously, a sender will be conveying numerous other messages nonverbally. These nonverbal messages may reinforce, contradict, emphasize or deemphasize, or modify the verbal messages. Often the nonverbal messages are more important than the verbal ones. People's appearance will influence important factors of their lives, including the jobs they do or don't get, with whom they will associate socially, how seriously others take them, and their concepts of self-esteem. Standards of beauty and positive personal appearance differ from culture to culture, subculture to subculture, and over time in the same culture or subculture. Although what is considered to be physically attractive is culturally relative, there are innate, universal factors that influence the perception of physical attractiveness. These include body symmetry and waist-to-hip ratios in women. The features of the physical and social environment also influence communication. An environment might be perceived as friendly or unfriendly, intimate or not, formal or informal, or inviting or scary.
