The findings indicate that there were four non-verbal tendencies in ways of capturing attention. They were standing out, consistency (with variability), creating connections with others/the audience, and being expressive in gestures to others/the audience. | AN ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH ON NON-VERBAL EXPRESSIONS CAPTURING ATTENTION IN DAILY INTERACTIONS IN PUBLIC PLACES LE PHUOC THUC NHI The University of Florida, USA Abstract: This ethnographic study explored the different ways people tended to use to capture attention in their daily interactions and communication in various settings around a university campus in the USA. The study focused on the non-verbal aspect of communication, namely facial expressions, body language and gestures. It adopted non-participant observation for data collection. The findings indicate that there were four non-verbal tendencies in ways of capturing attention. They were standing out, consistency (with variability), creating connections with others/the audience, and being expressive in gestures to others/the audience. Key words: Ethnographic observation, non-verbal interactions, attention 1. INTRODUCTION It is natural that when people speak, they frequently move their bodies to supplement what they say. These gestures or non-verbal expressions constitute an integral part of human language. Gestures are used by speakers to illustrate what they want to transfer to the listeners and to catch their attention. Clearly, in social situations, interactions and conversations, communication is more likely to be fruitful when participating individuals pay attention. De Castell and Jensen ([2], p. 385) stated: The primary currency of an information society - that is, a society in which information is designated the main commodity produced, marketed, and consumed - is necessarily attention. Attention is such a fundamental need that wherever information exchange is involved, people tend to exhibit gestures or other non-verbal and verbal cues that would allow them to grab the attention of the people with whom they are communicating. Hostetter ([6], p. 299) pointed out, “Gestures may have communicative power because they engage the listener’s attention and promote a positive rapport .
