Communication Cues Used by People with and without Visual Impairments in Daily Conversations and Dating

Sighted, partially sighted, and blind participants answered questions about their expression and interpretation of verbal and nonverbal cues during telephone conversations, face-to-face encounters, and dating. They also listed the advantages and disadvantages that people with visual impairments have during social interactions. Although all groups used similar numbers of cues, sighted participants used more visual cues, whereas visually impaired participants used more nonvisual cues. Common communication cues are listed and the implications of the findings for assessing and remedying communication problems are discussed.