from the Office of Publications and Information Dissemination

Have you ever wondered about...

HOW DEAF PEOPLE COMMUNICATE (Series 2)

Look around you and you can learn to listen with your eyes. You communicate in many ways without needing your voice. You nod your head up and down and mean "yes." You shake your head back and forth and mean "no. " You scrunch your shoulders up and mean "I don't know." These are just a few of the gestures you use everyday.

Sometimes when it's very important to be quiet, but you can't say "keep quiet" out loud, you show it. This is the gesture you use for it:

It means "sh-h-h-h."

What do you do if you can't answer out loud when somebody asks, "Where's the elevator?" You point. Other times we say as we point, "It's over there."

Facial expression is another way to communicate without talking. just think how much a face can tell a person who's watching. A smile, a frown, a scowl - each tells a different story.

We use gestures and facial expressions each day, sometimes alone, sometimes along with spoken words, to share ideas and feelings &hibar; and to communicate. But we rely on the words that we speak most of the time.

Get together with some of your friends and practice communicating without words. Use your face and body to get the message across.

Show these feelings without talking: tired,- afraid, shy, excited, angry.

Use gesture and mime to perform these activities without using your voice:

• Planting seeds in your garden.
• Blowing up a balloon that pops.
• Reading a book.
• Making a phone call.
• Riding a bicycle.

Copyright © 2002 Gallaudet University Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center
800 Florida Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002
File 492/492-1--last revised 01/1998
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