When people communicate face to face, they convey information in several ways apart from by the words they use. Thus, how often they make eye contact and how long they sustain that contact can indicate their degree of intimacy, interest in or understanding of what they are communicating verbally. Their posture- the way they sit or stand- can reveal attention ,interest, disagreement or boredom. The distance they sit or stand from one another and the angle at which they do also can suggest friendship, hostility or respect. These and other forms of nonverbal communication are so pervasive that we usually scarcely notice them. Their importance quickly becomes apparent, however, when for some reason they are lacking or unclear. One occasion when most people notice the importance of nonverbal communication is when they are talking on the telephone. There is an unwritten rule of telephone conversations that the listener must supply frequent and regular confirmation that he or she is listening. This is done by saying Aha, Mmhm, Yes, I see, and so on. Failure to do this often enough may result in the speaker interrupting him or herself to ask if the other person is' still there'. In face to face conversation, this is unnecessary, as attention and understanding are conveyed silently, chiefly by eye contact and posture. Another situation where the importance of nonverbal communication becomes clear is during cross cultural communication. It is an instructive experience to travel in a foreign country whose culture is very different from one's own. Does one shake hands, bow, touch, point, wink, and se on, or are some or all of these behaviors considered rude? How long can eye contact be maintained without indicating something more than polite interest? How close does one stand before being disrespectful or too intimate, how far away before being thought cold or hostile? Features like these can sometimes be more important in a second language than grammatical accuracy or a good accent. You can use several ways to communicate with others except ______.