Nonverbal communication

The transmission of information through channels other than spoken or written language, including facial expressions, eye contact, head gestures, hand movements, body posture, spatial proximity, and tone of voice. Nonverbal communication conveys essential social information about attention, agreement, emotion, and conversational turn-taking. In accessibility, nonverbal cues present significant barriers for people with visual impairments (who cannot see gestures or facial expressions), people who are deaf or hard of hearing (who may miss vocal tone), and autistic individuals (who may process social cues differently). In digital environments such as social virtual reality, nonverbal communication is typically conveyed through visual avatar behaviours, requiring alternative representations through audio, haptic, or textual modalities to be accessible.